Australian hip-hop artist Phatchance was met with success and critical acclaim when he released his debut LP “Inkstains” back in 2009. Raw, emotive, and painstakingly honest, the album remains distinct from many other recent hip-hop releases due to Chance’s unpretentious and perceptive raps, combined with some excellent productions from Australia’s best beat makers.

Now Phatchance has decided to build upon that release via this EP which takes some of the standout tracks from “Inkstains” (as well as the first offering from his upcoming second LP) and re-interpret them into well-constructed acoustic versions with assistance from some very talented Aussie musicians. As an added bonus, you also get his mate Coptic Soldier’s. EP with it, also an excellent acoustic interpretation of great Aussie hip-hop.

Many independent hip-hop artists have attempted to work with acoustic songs and the concept sometimes falls flat on its face; Thankfully, this EP succeeds at giving us a very welcome twist on the five tracks included.

One of ‘Inkstains” best offerings - ‘Mountains of Glass’ - serves as the EP’s opener and abandons the original beat for a smooth melody which includes some nice vibraphone work and an acoustic riff which makes the sung hook sound even better than in the album version. The music here, however, takes a backseat to Chance’s raps and if the purpose of this EP was to highlight his emotion-driven lyrics then it couldn’t be more successful.

The philosophical ‘Infinity’ is the first release from his upcoming album and while dark and moody, the track has an uplifting feel to it which is largely in part to the excellent instrumental over which Chance glides effortlessly. The perceptive hook and witty lyrics mix well to make this his best track to date.

The banjo sounds excellent on following track ‘Build It Up,’ which was the lead single from his debut. It must be hard to pull off a ‘heartbreak’ song nowadays without sounding too cliché but Chance’s wit combined with the soulful hook, assisted by indie six-piece Charlie Mayfair, this track remains one of his finest.

‘Leaving the Nest’ comes with an improved, more pop-friendly hook; With no drums, this version sounds like a nice campfire sing-a-long - not to say that it’s is soft however, Chance’s intensity remains throughout and the catchy bridge towards the end draws you in.

Closer ‘I Don’t Know’ which features local singer John Reichardt is Chance’s most personal track to date and the instrumental only adds to the emotiveness that is embodied in both Chance’s raw verses and Reichardt’s heartfelt chorus.

It is hard to fault an EP which couldn’t have done better in achieving its goal. If I had to nitpick I would say variety is missing and if you are looking for ‘harder‘ raps you may be disappointed, but these are small drawbacks to this brilliant offering. The instrumentals make for material which is very distinctive from anything on ‘Inkstains’ while Chance’s excellently-written raps are given an extra punch by the lack of conventional hip-hop beats. Promoting both his debut and upcoming album, this EP is a sure-shot winner and something that Australian hip-hop can use to show that the genre isn’t going anywhere.

Review score: 8.5/10