The Song and Album

Although the song was the first single from When the Dust Settles it was released as an Internet download only. The song came out in October 2003 and received extensive airplay on Triple J, a radio station in Australia.

The album got nominated for the Triple J Award in 2005. Several tracks also got good airplay from many radio stations in Australia, among them 4ZZZ in Brisbane, FBi in Melbourne and RTRFM in Perth.

Because Clap Your Hands was released as a download it isn’t officially included in the album that was released in December 2004. There are two versions of the song, a clean edit and the unedited one.

When the Dust Settles has 23 tracks, including the title track, Lesfortunate, Bring It All Black, Take it Off, Arabian Knights and Outro. The album was released through Obese Records.

Except for Arabian Knights and Bring it All Black, all the songs were mixed and recorded at the band members’ residences. Arabian Knights and Bring it All Black were recorded in Remantle, Western Australia at Studio Couch.

The band members are Optamus (Scott Griffiths), Armee (Damien Allia), Dyna Mikes aka Shahbaz (Shahbaz Rind), Cheeky (Mathew Cheetham) and Dazastah (D. Reutens).

Other Albums

Before releasing Clap Your Hands and When the Dust Settles, the band had released other albums. The first was called Eponimous and came out in 2000. The songs there were actually recordings from the years 1996-2000. Good Life, the first single, came out in 2003. It was a hit and became nominated for Best Dance in the 2003 Australian Dance Music Awards.

Downsyde’s second album came out in 2003. Called Land of the Giants, it was awarded the Most Popular Local Original Album during the 2003 Western Australian Music Industry Awards. This was followed in 2004 by the single Lesfortunate.

After Lesfortunate came the album When the Dust Settles, which featured Clap Your Hands as the first single, albeit as a download only. Their fourth album called All City came out in October 2008.

Origin of the Group

Downsyde’s origin began in 1996 when Griffiths and Rind participated in a school talent show after which they released a demo tape. Later on they added Reutens and DJ Armee whom they met at Hyde Park. Some time later, Salvatore and Cheeky were invited to the group as well.

For four years before the release of Eponimous, the group played in various gigs and local shows. The positive feedback they got eventually led to the release of their first album.

The success of Clap Your Hands and When the Dust Settles have solidified Downsyde’s status as one of the top hip hop groups in Australia. Their popular songs have led to performances in festivals like the Southbound Festival, the Big Day Out and the Falls Festival.