I.E. knows the meaning of balance. Between the daily grind and kicking back, fresh sounds and day ones, this Sydney local is part of the new wave that is bringing the hip-hop scene in Australia to a new level. Forging a new persona, I.E. is all about that rebirth to make the dream work, as exemplified by his latest track ‘Put On’.

In his words, I.E. was created in order to “present an artist as separate from themselves, and in other words”. This stems from his ethos that “new music is sometimes best listened to without any preconceived notions or opinions about an artist or their context; as a blank page”. Think about it—sometimes the most enjoyable gigs are from artists you’ve never heard of, or the best movies are those you go into with no idea what you’re about to see.

With this blank canvas, I.E. has released a new track as a part of a larger upcoming project, which is one you don’t want to sleep on. Anyone willing to revamp is a real one in our books, and along with the drop comes a flick from resident A1 lens Darren Luk, who brought us our first wavy visuals. The image itself seems to promise more to come, so we know where we’re keeping our eyes in ’17.

In the wake of dropping his first track under a new moniker, we caught up with I.E to gauge his top picks for places to kick back this summer, so as to balance out that heavy grind from 2k16.

Be sure to give his latest track a play (or ten) below, and you can peep more of Luk’s finesse here.

• Photography & Styling: Darren Luk
• I.E.: As himself
• Threads: G-Star RAW