Confucius MC + Bastien Keb

Our man Max chats with South London rapper Confucius MC and producer/multi-instrumentalist Bastien Keb about their new collaborative album ‘Songs For Lost Travellers’ They discuss the creative approach, influences, family & the current state of Hip Hop.

Most of the music on Songs for Lost Travellers is beatless. How did you go about collaborating as producer and MC without the use of drums? Did this pose any challenges to the writing process?

Keb: Nah, not at all. I definitely refer to myself as a composer rather than a producer, and in the hip hop world being a producer is very different from in other genres, so for me I approached this as I approach all the music I make, if drums are needed then I’ll play some, if not then I don’t.

How did you guys meet and what made you decide to collaborate on a full album?

Keb: As boring as it is, in this modern world we did meet over socials. We got a few friends in common in the music world, so we knew each other music, then it was

just a message..

There’s a cinematic feel to the music. Were there any films or soundtracks that inspired your production?

Keb: I always wanted to be a film composer, that was the main aim, but it never happened. So naturally when I make music I think of films and scores. I always use Taxi Driver and Suspiria (Argento version), as main references. But Bernard Herrmann’s work on the Twilight Zone, and things Mica Levi been doing also mad inspiring.

“Time repeats, I repeat the pattern. What indeed has happened? Nobody reads the caption.” The lyrics on the album are poignantly poetic. Are there any poets (rather than rappers) that influenced your writing process?

Con: I remember being at school and looking at the work John Donne and other metaphysical Poets. I’d already started writing lyrics at the time and really related to the concept of using something mundane/eveyday as a platform to explore larger philosophical ideas about the human experience. This is a principle that I thinks at the heart of alot best rap writing.

The album’s title, the raw recordings and the lyrics exploring the human condition all create a deeply personal record. How would you summarise the overall message of Songs for Lost Travellers?

Keb: Just limbo between sleeping and waking.

Con: I mean wouldn’t like to attach a definite answer to that… But it’s definitely an

album about the important things we should remember when we feel lost and even lyrically a note to myself on that level. To remember that no matter how lost we may feel or how far into the darkness we may have trodden it is very often only the light inside us that can guide us home and that no matter how dim it may have become it’s always lit.

A two-part question: why does Hip- Hop suck in 2025? And in what new and refreshing ways is it evolving?

Keb: I dunno, I think sometimes its way to panto, and I find that hard to watch.

Con: Haha… I mean personally I think its more about the hip hop that’s platformed by the mainstream and up and comkng artists can only feed of off whats available to them. When I first started listening to hip hop there was a plethora of voices and approaches from the absytact to the

heavily commercial, but it was all coming from the same house. In 2025 hip hops more like a series of segregated and isolated buildings and the common thread that unifies them is what’s missing.

The inclusion of your respective family members on the record really makes it feel like you’re leaving a legacy. How would you like the album to impact future generations to come – within your families and beyond?

Keb: Well, honestly I think the bloodline dies with me, haha. Nah, one side of my family still going strong. Mark (millington) who plays some sax on the record, he’s my cousin and his kids are doing great things as actors, musicians and in dance. So I hope they all go on to do great things, because they’re great people. Mark’s debut record is out this year on Albert’s favourites.

To flip the album’s closing question back on you guys: beyond music and family which you’re obviously passionate about… what do you care about? What makes life meaningful for you?

Keb: Happiness for all, understanding, compassion and of course the mighty Arsenal, skateboarding and cinema!

Con: I care about the people I love and I care about the future of the world children are growing up in. Both of these things are enveloped in the care I gave for my art as well my passion for helping people develop their own art.

Songs for Lost Travellers is out now on all major streaming platforms