Rhymes. Beats. Games.
The Ranger
Biography of The Ranger
May 26th
Tim Wallis has been a recording artist since 2006 but has been honing his craft since the late 1980s. After releasing some early tracks for Rhyme Torrents compilations under the name boumtje, Wallis proceeded to form a group with himself and two alter-egos called Down Underdogs. Tracks such as “Nerf Herders” and “Heavy Flow Day” were well received by nerds and hiphop heads alike, but Wallis tired of playing multiple characters and decided to take things a little more seriously under a new stage name: The Ranger.
Dozens of guest appearances and random singles followed but it was his work with The 8 Bit Boys that introduced him to a much larger audience, joining Entity, ytcracker and T.Y.T. to create the 2008 album “8 Bit Diagrams”. Before the 8 Bit Boys album had even been completed, Wallis and T.Y.T formed a second group, Heightened Titans, with Whoremoans and Pelicaine. Their self-titled album was released in late 2008.
It took until 2009 for The Ranger to release his debut solo album, “The Cook Up”, which was essentially a compilation of various singles, guest appearances and unreleased material from the preceding two years. It was followed soon after by the “Evolution” EP which is The Ranger’s most personal work to date, featuring tracks about his relationships, marriage break up, his children and his desire to be a better person and father.
The Ranger is a member of 8 Bit Boys and Heightened Titans.
Discography
Extra Links
Q&A with The Ranger
May 26th
1. What’s the meaning of the name The Ranger?
It’s a roleplaying thing. I usually play a ranger in D&D games and when I was stumped for an emcee name, that’s what came to mind. I also like to think I have a bit of Strider/Aragorn in me. A bit rough around the edges and misunderstood but somewhere in there is a good man capable of doing great things.
2. Where do you hope to go with your music?
I got started a lot later than most people do, so I already have other things that have to take precedence. My kids, mostly. So, I treat it kind of like a hobby and just hope that other people dig what I’m doing. I don’t expect to ever make a full-time career out of it because I understand it takes a lot of hard work and a good dose of luck to be able to do that. I’m just having fun with it.
3. What’s going on with The 8 Bit Boys and Heightened Titans?
There’s been some talk about second albums for both groups but not a lot happening with either just yet. I know Entity and Pelicaine are working on beats but that’s about as far as it’s gone. Hopefully, both groups will get it together and release something in 2010.
4. How similar is your real personality to your stage persona?
I’m kind of a schizophrenic on the mic. Sometimes I’m just myself, other times it’s all about that hiphop bravado. I do a lot of character stuff like with the 8 Bit Boys and Heightened Titans. The Evolution EP is very personal and all the stories are based on real events.The rest of my tracks are a mixture. I think I’m a complicated person, so I guess what you hear on record is always at least a part of who I am in reality.
5. The Evolution EP is supposed to tell the story of your journey from barfly sex addict to a responsible father. Do you feel like you’ve completely left that old life behind you?
Not completely. I love my kids and that’s what dragged me out of that lifestyle of drugs, binge drinking and irresponsible sex. Bangkok almost ate me alive but when my marriage fell apart, I knew I had to clean myself up and make sure my kids were taken care of. I’ve done that but the demons are still there waiting for me. As soon as I have a few days off when the kids are at Grandma’s or whatever, I usually fall back into that kind of behaviour. I’m not proud of it but I’d be lying if I said the booze, drugs and sex no longer had any appeal. It’s under control though and I have my priorities right.
6. You’ve long been associated with the Nerdcore scene but don’t like to use the label yourself. If you’re not Nerdcore, why have you been so involved in the online community?
I’m a nerd, I just don’t think that tells the whole story of who I am and only a fraction of my music is inspired by my nerdiness. I think labelling yourself is restrictive in any case but when I have lyrics about politics, relationships, drugs and sex as well as D&D and Star Wars, I don’t think the label really fits me at all. But I’m still a nerd and I can relate to a lot of the Nerdcore artists and fans and for the most part, they’ve been very receptive to my music.
7. You are moving back to Thailand soon. Will that mean you will have more or less time for music?
Probably about the same. I’ll be homeschooling my kids as well as trying to make a living, but at the same time, their mother is there and extended family, so I have more support. And there’s a lot more to inspire me over there. I intend to spend a lot of my spare time on music to keep me away from some of the other distractions. I hope there won’t be a Regression EP in the future.
8. Any chance that you will tour in the future?
There’s a chance. It’s not really something I can do at the moment with the kids and all. I would like to get some gigs in Bangkok though and maybe visit TYT in Japan and do something with him. Unless my business really takes off, I doubt I’ll have the time or money to tour the US.
9. When can we expect another album or EP?
I have an album just about finished already but from past experience, the last 20% of it will take at least 6 months. It doesn’t have a title yet. i’d really like to get it finished before the end of the year but we’ll see. It’s full of guests and is kind of in the same vein as The Cook Up. Then there’s a an EP I’ve been working on for over a year which features production from D-Form. He’s used samples from Thailand and Laos to make all the beats and the lyrics are all centred around Thailand. I really want to get that one right, so I’ve re-written a bunch of times and I’m not expecting to get it out this year.
10. Is there anyone that you’d like to work with in future that has yet to appear on a Ranger track?
Dr.Awkward is top of my list right now. He’s the only guy in the NRS crew that I haven’t collabed with yet and I hope to rectify that soon.
