360’s groundbreaking new album, Falling & Flying, sounds like no hip-hop release to come before it. The sophomore release from this innovative indie rapper is at once an inspired mix of rap’s traditional down-to-earth grit and indie electro’s atmospheric heights.

Subverting the elitist worlds of both indie and hip hop into something bigger and better, 360 manages to make his music both stunningly accessible and strikingly original by relating deeply personal stories with effortless wit and charisma. 

This album is world-class, but the base is all local. 360’s diverse, textured soundbed is the work of Melbourne producer Styalz Fuego - who of late has broken into the US hip-hop scene, collaborating with Chamillionaire, Busta Rhymes and Snoop Dogg among others.

The songs on Falling & Flying show off both 360 and Styalz’s breadth of musical influences and talents. This is clearly evident on the first radio teaser "Take Off (Sky Is Falling)", which starts out as a tension-fuelled lyrical exercise in the vein of Eminem’s epic track "Lose Yourself". 

But that’s where the similarities end, and at 0:43 the track hits an unexpected turn into glitchy electronica, elevating 360 above his ‘Aussie hip-hop’ contemporaries. The trippy soaring chorus vocals emphasise the album’s moniker, Falling & Flying and the track propels the listener airborne.

“It’s not typical hip-hop. I wanted to do something that’s never been done before,’’ says 360. “This album is not just for rap fans. This is for anyone who likes good music.

"My influences have grown. I don't just listen to hip-hop anymore, I also listen to a whole bunch of indie and dance - The Temper Trap, Justice, Phoenix, and The Presets. So this album takes a few turns. It goes from poppy electro to grunge electro to jams with a live band to dancehall and back again.”

Falling & Flying breaks new ground; makes a new sound. And 360 delivers, ready to start flying into the stratosphere.