Full Tote Odds

Southern Wind   Alternative content What's Going Down

Ladies & gentlemen, boys & girls.. from the State that brought us Hilltop Hoods, Funkoars & Vents, we would like to introduce yet another talented crew – Full Tote Odds. Cleverly combining hip hop with a diverse array of tradional sounds, they’ve already caused a groundswell of reaction courtesy of their  radio hit, ‘Southern Wind’ we welcome to the  incredible musical world that is Full Tote Odds.

Of course, these guys have garnered their talents through a few years of experience, with the story being as follows:

Full Tote Odds are Levelheaded, Slats, Eslev, Dj Hacksaw and Ross Read. These five boys from the Adelaide hills have crossed paths in the music world for over fifteen years. Mates since the first year of High School, Slats, Levelheaded & Dj Hacksaw were members of the Blackwood Hip Hop group Train Of Thought. Under that name they released a highly acclaimed Demo (2002) and a hit debut album Moving Heads (2004). The Moving Heads LP was released through Obese Records and featured two other emergingAdelaide acts in Hilltop Hoods and Funkoars.

The album skyrocketed Train Of Thought to national recognition in the Oz Hip Hop scene and they performed with Hilltop Hoods, Jungle Brothers, Hyjack & Torcha, Pegz and Funkoars. They were recognized as a Triple J next crop artist and performed live in Triple J studios with Robbie Buck on the show Home & Hosed. Their left wing political track Counter-war terrorism appeared on the international compilation Peace Not War alongside marquee artists such as Jurassic 5, Michael Franti and Lyrics Born.

In the meantime, Eslev was developing and honing his own musical abilities. A man of many talents, he was also a member of Adelaide metal band Likamiza and worked on several Hip-Hop projects through the mid 2000s. Also passionate with the acoustic guitar he has done work with various artists including Purpose (Pagen Elipsis) by incorporating the acoustic sound into production.

Working closely with Debate (Train Of Thought) and Ross Read he began producing the sound for the upcoming release. In 2009, Levelheaded released his debut solo album, The Spice Of Life. Eslev and Slats featured heavily as guests on the album along with Trials (Funkoars) and Reason (Obese Records). They became an important part of the live show and travelled extensively as the album tour reached Melbourne, Geelong, Hobart, Adelaide, Loxton and Berri. The Spice Of Life was played nationally on many community radio stations and was nominated for Australian Hip Hop album of the year on Ozhiphop. com.

Levelheaded supported west coast heavyweight Xzibit and Obese Record’s Spit Syndicate in 2010 as well as playing to a packed crowd in Mt Hotham. Ross Read is an integral part of the FTO project and has been working in the music industry for over 15 years. The quality of this product is largely due to his high level of technical knowledge, creativity and attention to detail. He has been honing his craft through many years of experience as a musician, producer and sound engineer and is now using these skills to take FTO to the next level.

Full Tote Odds is about five musicians combining their abilities to focus on one project. It is about musical diversity, as much as it is about pure Hip Hop. With the help of esteemed music director PJ Murton and creative director Darren Lock, the FTO team has spent 2 years intricately crafting their LP titled ‘Place Your Bets.’ The release is due out with Obese Records mid 2012!

You know the tune (check out the incredible video below). Stay tuned for more details coming very soon

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