Resin Dogs: Get Set.

The Resin Dogs play the Great Northern Hotel in Byron Bay on Thursday and the Troccadero, Surfers Paradise on Sunday.

The Resin Dogs should hardly need an introduction. They’re beyond doubt Brisbane foremost hip hop crew, and fresh of the press is their new five track disc Set It Off, heavily laden with big horns, percolating basslines and the attention demanding voice of Los Angeles MC Abstract Rude, who once again joins the act for a string of dates across the country.

“I’m getting our files ready for the tour,” explains Resin Dogs sample guru Geoff Blunted. “We’ve got a lot of stuff we haven’t taken on the road before, different versions of songs, things from the new album. It’s time consuming putting it together on the keyboard for me an Katch. We’re not using sequencers, it’s a total human error show.”

Nothing like a bit of freedom to mix things up, and throw out a new mix to an eager crowd…

“The live thing varies greatly from the recording,” he confirms. “It’s very hard to capture what happens live onto the recordings.”

When you hit the studio, how do you decide on the definitive version of the song that’s going to make it to record?

“Things just sort of go unsaid now. If it comes out with the same kind of energy it’s pot luck. You have to treat studio work as studio work, and live playing just takes it’s own form. We generally write separately, and as it gets closer to recording a track we’ll get everyone’s input.”

When was Set It Up out together?

“It’s been about a year in the making, that little EP, just from various ideas. We have played it in previous shows with out MC, DNO, rapping. Abstract Rude was in Brisbane about a year and a half or two years ago. He put down lots of lyrics for the Resin Dogs and Two Dogs when he was staying at Katch and Dave’s place. Since then I’ve gotten into the vocals and mixed them up a bit for the Dogs release. It’s totally up with the hip hop mentality of bragging and boasting, really over the top. We’re totally into it. He’s an incredible rapper as well, which is always good.”

When you write, how do you know what’s going to make the Resin Dogs set, and what you’re going to keep as a solo performer?

“Sometimes you know from the outset. Sometimes you know if it’s going to work for Blunted Stylus, or if it’s for a remix or a Resin Dogs track. Other times you just start making stuff, and you show the guys and the really love it. A lot of Resin Dogs stuff comes from thing we’re half finished with being played around with by the rest of the band. It works really well.”