Kwizyne

If you’ve heard the McDonald’s Everyday Savers Menu rap on your televisions, you’ve heard “Kwizyne”. Known to his family as Michael Basa, he’s released tracks with Asian-based label, 1OR8Faction, since clinching the 2007 98.7FM rap battle championship.

Then there’s Pietrek Chan, or DJ Perk Pietrek. The 6-time DJ Battle Champion became vice-champion of the DMC (Digital Music Club) DJ Singapore Championships when he was just 16, making him the youngest DJ to do so.

They hated each other the first time they met 4 years ago.

Pietrek, whose name has Chinese astrological roots, laughed as he shared the anecdote. He was overwhelmed at his first DJ gig when Kwizyne came up to him “wearing these pink shoes and some really douche cap or something like that, so I got really annoyed”.

These days the “enemies” are working together happily to make their bar invasion tour happen.

Many would think that 2 people of such contrasting personalities – Kwizyne is outspoken and leaps before he thinks, Perk Pietrek (or “Perk” for short) is more reserved and cautious- would never get along, but the pair works with a balance not unlike that of yin and yang.

Their differences don’t end there, when asked about who they’d love to collaborate with, Kwizyne mentioned producer-rappers like Kanye West, Ryan Lewis and Dr. Dre “because rappers who produce as well tend to know the technical side other than lyrics, they know what song works for your voice and they know how to write the songs, and what type of songs to write that will work for radio and underground.”

“I think I can die the next day after working with them,” the 26-year-old added, a look of unadulterated admiration on his face.

“I wouldn’t be like willing to die the next day,” Perk, 19, disagrees.

Perk has his dream collaboration wish list categorized by region, naming Angger Dimas and Derrick Motif as his dream collaborators in Asia and Australian duo What So Not for those he put under his “overseas” category. “

“I guess I feel like it’s finally one of my chances to really show [what’s unique about] my sound, so I’ll really have fun with them during the entire process,” he added.

Their camaraderie had them making jibes at each other throughout the time that UrbanWire spent with them, especially when Kwizyne was trying to explain why he likes K-pop group Big Bang, or more specifically, its frontman, G-Dragon.

“The thing is, I’m not familiar with Big Bang,” Kwizyne explained, and before he could continue, Perk interjected with a skeptical, “Are you sure or not?”

“I’m studying the market, I’m not a fan,” he asserted while Perk shoots him a look of amused disbelief.

UrbanWire noticed on Nov 3 during their final out of 8 stops of their Bar Invasion Tour at Mambo Beach Club that Perk tones down Kwizyne’s outbursts when speaking to fans and friends to a more acceptable level, while Kwizyne personifies the energy that Perk’s music embodies, hyping their set up as Perk spins tracks like Justin Timberlake’s “Suit & Tie” and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ “Thrift Shop (featuring Wiz Khalifa)”.

The tour was initially intended as a way to promote their EP, but “we realized that there is a market for doing this sort of tour, it’s something new that we wanted to try,” says the DJ.

As with other tours, the duo has their fair share of hilarious moments. You’d think these club denizens would know their limits with alcohol, but Perk reveals otherwise. It seems Kwizyne had a tad too much to drink and ended up somewhere outside of their concert venue, Bar 57, at Clarke Quay.

His brother, fellow rapper Charles Enero, their guest act Krickz and Perk eventually found him semi-conscious on a mini grass patch. Amused, DJ Perk took a photo of his inebriated partner before helping him back into the bar.

This doesn’t mean that Perk isn’t capable of fun though, “he doesn’t really enjoy himself because he’ll be studying the technicalities of performance, so he really only has fun after his set” Kwizyne explains.

“I’ll look out (for my other friends), but for this guy, he’ll find a way to protect himself… Like on a grass patch.” Perk joked, relishing in the Kwizyne’s embarrassment.

The Bar Invasion Tour may have ended, but the duo has their sights set on greater heights. Just out of their bar invasion tour, the duo will be appearing at the Electronic Music Conference in Sydney from Dec 2 to Dec 4, while being in the talks for a Bar Invasion Tour in Australia. - The Urban Wire

Fresh from the first half of their Bar Invasion Tour that kicked off from 10 October – 3 November, we managed to squeeze in an interview with the talented blokes from Fresh Bloc Records; Perk Pietrek and Kwizyne.



Hi Pietrek & Kwizyne! How’s the first leg of your Bar Invasion tour so far?

P: What’s good Actually! Thanks for having us. It’s been exciting so far, we’ve made new friends, convinced them to be our new fans + the recent weekend was off the hook! Big shootout to everyone who came down and supported us for all the dates consistently, you are amazing.

K: The first leg of the tour has been slow at first but it picked up fast afterwards. We’re glad that its finally happening after a month of planning. It was also exhausting for me because I had to juggle my day job, school assignments and exams in the midst of the tour dates. Oh yeah, and we still had to meet people from the venues to talk about the tour dates. But you know, end of the day, everything paid off so far. The stress we get doing everything to make the tour happen is just enjoyable.



Since the both of you have been performing at different venues to different crowds in different atmospheres back-to-back, how do you stay enthusiastic and pumped up for each show?

K: Sacrifice. Young virgin sacrifices. Nah I’m kidding. The sacrifice and hardwork involved into making Bar Invasion Tour happen is what kept Perk and I excited for each show. It is no longer us performing for the venue but more of performing for ourselves. We planned every venue and date, merchandise, artists including admin. We’re in control of what happens. The thrill of finding out what happens on that night, the results, kept our blood pumping.

P: Before this bar tour, I’ve been spending a lot of time in the studio working on my debut EP “WYWF” that was released early this year. Then I’ve been working on remixes for a couple of labels like Top Billin’ and most recently, Sweat It Out. So I’ve never got the chance to play out as much as I would like. I’ve been preppin’ some really cool material and now for every single show, I get to try out new vibes and enjoy myself.



Kwizyne & Perk Pietrek at BLU JAZ

Is there a crowd preference which you two enjoy performing to the most?

K: Before Perk and I decided to collaborate, we’ve already had performance backgrounds. I’ve been performing for a general hip-hop audience, the hearing-impaired and void deck uncles and aunties. While Perk’s been making his presence known to the EDM community and clubs locally and globally. I really think there’s no preference or anything. I just think adaptability is always essential in an artists’ repertoire. Besides, I get free alcohol and money talking to drunkards.

P: I shouldn’t be picky about the crowd, but the recent show we did at Blu Jaz definitely stood up as one of the best. We got them to shout “Bar Invasion Tour” too.



How’s working with each other like? Is this your first collaboration together?

P: I’ve said this to my friends before, Kwizyne is one of the coolest guys to work with. We’ve done a couple of shows together already, but the first time I’ve worked with him was during my very first gig at esplanade outdoor theater. It was a hip-hop show and he was wearing bright pink sneakers so it annoyed the hell outta me. By the way, Kwizyne took my copy of GTA V + all my metal gear solid games and haven’t returned them to me yet… Asshole.

K: Perk and I used to hate each on the first show we were on at Esplanade back in 2009. Long story. It’ll probably take a whole magazine page or maybe a website about how much we wished for each other’s death. Years later, we got together to do a song which eventually turned out to be an EP. We’ve been cool doing music together but when it came to doing this tour we had a bit of friction going on due to the stress of planning a tour by ourselves. I wasn’t doing enough initially until Perk spoke straight up to me and then I got my act right. He’s one of those artists everyone should work with because he’s really meticulous and professional with his craft. He respects everyone and I mean EVERYONE he collaborates with. He’s a master of the bro code.



Any future projects/tours we should watch out for?

P: We’ve got a collaboration EP coming up on Fresh Bloc, titled “Baked Ideas”. This EP is a mix of hip-hop, trap & bass music. It also features a couple of upcoming artists like Daví (US), Ian Boom (US), Beach Club (UK) and Relic (UK). This one is super fresh and definitely something to look out for. I’ve intentions of heading down to the electronic music conference at Sydney too so that I can link up with the labels there for future collaborations. There’s a lot going on!

K: Perk Pietrek X Kwizyne for BAKED IDEAS EP (Fresh Bloc Records), Monkey King X Kwizyne for VAGABOND EP (1OR8Faction Label) and more tours outside Singapore by Perk Pietrek & Kwizyne. Details on our Facebook page by the end of this year!



Interview by: Erin Riduan - ACTUALLY Magazine