Shooting For The Moon: ANALOG DIVE

WRITER Nicholas Mansouri

Nestled underneath a moss-covered overpass in Culver City’s Bolona Creek stands Blake Borisoff of the hip-hop group Analog Dive. The sound of laughter resonates from under the bridge like a ceiling in a cathedral. The mood is relaxed as everyone sets up for the shoot; a buzzing hum permeates in the atmosphere, lilting to the sounds of Blake’s laughter. A small boom box on the floor sets the tone as hypnotic hip-hop beats reverberate off the graffiti-splattered concrete, emitting warmth from the setting sun.For us, shooting with Blake is like collaborating with family. His exuberant demeanor complimented by his infectious laughter is everything we expected of the animated rapper. Playfully mimicking animals and free styling every chance he can get, the Hawaii native’s confident personality on-stage is balanced with his quirkiness in-person as evident in his ninja-style run along a sloped concrete. Behind the 23-year-old’s vibrant self, however, lies an individual set on the perfection of his craft as well as the promotion of his local artist community. Community has always played a major role in Blake’s life. Born and raised in Hawaii, it was through community that he was introduced to beat-producer, Kelii Behasa. Free styling and battle rapping at parties, Blake was referred to Kelii and through him, facilitated an outlet for Blake’s lyrical endeavors as an aspiring rapper. Communicating through phone and digital interfaces, the two cultivated a symbiotic relationship between a beat-maker in need of a rapper and vice versa. Ultimately through recognition of the benefits of their collaboration, the group Analog Dive was born. The process of media transfer and digital collaboration now has a more dominant part in the progression of the group as there are thousands of miles of ocean separating the two.

Blake resides in Los Angeles now where he is passionate about the enhancement of community. Through artistic endeavors such as LA GOT ALOHA and the upcoming event OHANA TREE, Blake has promoted themes of community, creativity, and respect. It is events such as these that network Blake to multitudes of creative individuals. Sharing the same core values of synergy and respect, we at Suspend felt compelled to take a closer look at the inventive rapper driven to rebuilding the nature of the art community.

With the sun swiftly descending, it was my time to sit down with Blake and capture a bit of the essence of his passion. Sitting atop a sloped wall of tagged concrete I could feel that he was a bit nervous about answering my questions. Like a kid sitting in the principal’s office—tense and fidgety—I joked with a bit to lighten the mood. Seconds later that quintessential Blake laugh came back and I knew we were ready to start. I readied my pen as I asked the first question, knowing I was never going to be able to keep up with his mile-a-minute speaking. Thank God for a tape recorder.

 

As a musician, your group name is akin to a company’s logo or philosophy. How does Analog Dive represent your ethos?
The word ‘analog’ is to describe one of the original forms of media. A more raw form of media. As Analog Dive, we want to dive back into that original source. Back to the roots. I’ve been trying to find a better name. I kind of just pulled that one out of my ass.

With Kelii in Hawaii and you in Los Angeles and miles of ocean separating you, how do you guys manage collectively to create under the same banner?
We have to talk on the phone and Skype a lot, ha. The crazy thing about that is the connection through the music. Like we don’t need to communicate sometimes. Most of the time he’ll just come up with the beats and they’ll just click and our ideas will just mesh without us even talking to each other. I mean of course we do talk, but we both have an understanding of what we want to represent. But definitely a lot of file trading and fine-tuning things back and forth between the both of us.

As a Hawaiian native, how do you balance showcasing in Los Angeles while still keeping your roots?
I’ve always wanted to rep Hawaii. Always, always, always. But I was a little insecure about it at first. Being in LA, I didn’t want people being like, ‘Who the fuck is this guy trying to rep somewhere that isn’t here.’  But actually I fell in love with Los Angeles as soon as I got here. Hawaii is my roots, the culture, the community. It’s always home. But moving to Los Angeles forced me to adapt and grow from the adaptation. So I’m grateful for both sides. That’s why I ultimately want to represent both LA and Hawaii in harmony with one another. Falling in love with LA but still holding true to my roots was one of the inspirations for LA GOT ALOHA.

Inspiration can be found anywhere. What have been some of your greatest inspirations in the progression of your art?
Kelii’s beats evoke what I want to rap about. But of course just experiencing life! Even just the random stuff—Eddie [Saucedo’s] mustache inspires me. I made a song around making coffee, ha. The culture of Los Angeles definitely inspires me, as well as my past, growing up in Hawaii.

Your EP Rebuild the Moon has recently launched. What inspired the name? What’s the overall tone?
It’s an introduction to a series of EPs leading up to the album, Rebuild the Sun. It’s kind of the flipside of that. The songs are a bit darker—not like ‘emo’ dark—just dark undertones. But the difference in this EP versus every other album we put out is going to be the attention to detail. This album is based on perfecting our sound. We worked really hard fine-tuning everything, even down to the syllables I use. This album also has more concrete themes to the song; they are meant to evoke thought.

For someone discovering your music for the first time, how would you best describe your sound with as few words as possible?
Energetic and experimental.

You play a major role in the live hip-hop art events such as LA GOT ALOHA and the upcoming event, OHANA TREE. How have these events impacted you as an artist?
Putting them together is an amazing experience and also seeing the outcome of how we bring people together: ‘I’m an artist. You’re an artist. Lets have some fun. Lets make sure that it’s fair and share the love.’ It’s one of the most grateful experiences I’ve ever had because it’s not just me. I’m collaborating with a bunch of amazing people and it makes me want to do more. More events. More for the community. And it pushes me to be on point with what I bring to the table.

What can fans expect for future Analog Dive endeavors? 
MORE DUBSTEP! More perfection really. We are striving for that. We also want to have more concrete themes to our songs in order to take the listener through a journey that gets them involved with the music.

Finally, being that you created a great network of artists as well as collectively gained success in your aspirations, what words of wisdom could you give up-and-coming artists trying to breakthrough?
Work your ass off, ha. And thank you for calling me successful. I still have a lot of work to go but don’t think you’re the shit, because I’m not. And be nice. Be firm but not an asshole.

With dusk quickly chilling the air and concrete around us, we packed up our gear. Behind us, a full moon crept up into skyline, almost like an ode to the artist we were with.
Blake’s music mirrors his personality and philosophy. His nimbly flit lyrics inspired by the every day beauty and pain of life is the perfect forefront to Kelli Behasa’s nostalgic beats. Together the two embody the acceptance of the new while maintaining reverence for one’s roots. Analog Dive’s ambition has them shooting for the moon. Regardless of whether they hit it or not, they will still find their home among the stars.