With a list of accolades to each of their names separately, the joining of rapper Teether and producer Kuya Neil last year brought together two heavyweights of Melbourne’s underground hip-hop scene. In February, the pair set things in motion with their first collaborative release God of Surprises and a few months later were signed to the inimitable Chapter Music, seemingly all amounting today at the release of their latest mixtape GLYPH.

If you’re new to the project, ‘Carafe’ plays as the perfect entry point. Across the track, Kuya Neil blends impenetrable and restless production that glitches and warps haphazardly around Teether’s pokerfaced vocals - the track masterfully existing in the space between push and pull that makes the listen as thrilling as it is unnerving. The new clip builds on this atmosphere masterfully - created by Phillip Dixon VII, the video stitches together blown-out visuals and evocative effects, and while the duo are on camera performing the track, they’re largely lost beneath a disorientating sheen. It’s a fitting accompaniment, one that manages to highlight the track’s addictively compelling attitude while reinforcing how enigmatic this pair really are.

As the rest of GLYPH expands open, Teether and Kuya Neil don’t let up. ’Addy ft. Sevy’ is nervy and turbulent yet anchored by a pulsating groove and ‘Theory’ is dark and relentless, and even when the pair do shift gears, with the hazy ‘Waver ft. ZK King’ or the enthralling ‘Lung’, their soundscapes remain as arresting as ever. To pull the curtain back on the mixtape as a whole, Teether and Kuya Neil have walked us through each track that makes up GLYPH.

Carafe

Neil: This was the first song for the mixtape that we wrote and recorded together in person. We ended up with this footwork inspired track. It seems to capture us both in our element, blending our sounds and influences.

Teether: The first verse and hook were recorded in that initial session. We played an early version of it at the end of our first show together that was missing the second verse. That part came on a whim one day soon after, which is why the tone of it is different to the rest. “Posted in a deep dwell, reminiscing past” feels like the perpetual state. It felt correct ending on that note.

Addy ft. Sevy

Neil: This track was my attempt at making dancehall. I have a fond memory of making this beat while sitting on my mum’s couch. I sent it to Teether in the spirit of trying new genres and tempos. Sevy is one of our favourite artists in the country, and we felt he was the perfect fit for the feature. Be sure to check out his music!

Teether: This song came together really quickly. One of those where you just write things down and realise after the fact that these words are quite sentimental. Sevy came to visit earlier in the year and we made a couple of tracks in that time but this wasn’t one of those. We spent that weekend more focused on connecting with people, there was a cute night where it felt like the whole city went to see Neil DJ. Sevy’s verse has a couple of references to that time but that man is on his own energy entirely. All we can do is give thanks.

Blade

Kuya Neil: This track was really fun to produce and arrange. I spent a lot of time playing around with the filters to shape the track and give it the feeling of emerging from a fog, coming in and out of range. I like how the music finds weird peaks and valleys, building around Teether’s vocals, but never completely resolves or releases.

Teether: Though I’ve been trying to veer from expressing and therefore spreading discontent recently, sometimes you have to do it to get it out of your system. This began as a checklist of less than ideal circumstances and occurrences but didn’t quite end that way. I don’t really know what to make of it but it’s a cute song.

Waver ft. ZK King

Neil: After hearing her solo projects and production on ‘Dad Boiled the Ox’ with Teether, I was excited to work with ZK King on this record. Her delivery is so effortless and was the perfect switch in mood and tempo... like floating on air. Listen to this one on headphones while dissociating in the shopping centre.

Teether: ZK King is the GOAT. Really. This particular collab is long overdue and will be just one of many I’m sure. I met her, Cousin Temi and Chef Chung through Soundcloud years ago and thank my lucky stars for that every day. I’m regularly blown away by ZK’s mastery of production, vocals and writing. If you’re reading this you should go purchase Gunk Baby and read every single word.

Kareem

Neil: This one sounds good on car speakers \m/

Teether: Blessings to Kareem Campbell and that insanely hard fit he had on in THPS4. I knew this was the one as soon as Neil pulled up the beat. It’s essentially a list of status updates with no chronological order. When you’re alternating between contentment and its opposite.

Lung

Neil: We had to have a guitar track on the tape to pay homage to our teenage years. While not intentional, I think the track captures a lot of our feelings of being in lockdown... experiencing a type of bliss in pressing pause on the pressures of performing, productivity and social engagement. The instrumental was made in the first lockdown spending a lot of time alone writing music everyday.

Teether: This seemed like the logical next step after ‘I Told U’ from the last EP. Definitely a song from the time chamber, an ode to that quiet and to the future we were looking toward. It seems to suit now a lot, the sun coming out and that.

Theory

Neil: This song almost didn’t make the record but ended up being the first track we released! Ben and Guy (Chapter) really believed in the song, and encouraged me to push the production further from the demo version, which was more minimal. We love the energy, tension and dark pads in Gqom music. Big shout out to the producer Echosoul, a young producer from Margate, South Africa who kindly shared his drum samples with me over Whatsapp.

Teether: Lyrically, I wanted to view the concept of being here now from all angles. The pressure, the privilege, the obstacles, the cause and effect. I think the more you analyse things, it becomes clear how much more there is to explore. So I’ve settled on some ideas, some theories about it all, but that’s all it can ever really be.

Critical Hit

Neil: I think Teether’s lyricism come through really strongly in this one, and in my opinion it’s the most intimate track on the record. I have found myself going back and re-reading a lot of the lyrics. I felt it was the perfect closer, giving a glimpse into the conversations we’ll have before we make music, and how much that fuels the process.

Teether: This beat was really easy to write to, this track came together pretty fast. It was one of the earlier ones that formed. There was no goal which is probably why it sounds so free. It’s cathartic to just talk shit, great for the soul.