With the release of their third album The One…COHESIVE (on 1/1/11, no less), Huntsville duo G-Side have established Alabama as a legitimate hotspot for a new breed of Southern rappers. Their set on Saturday brought the same fiery passion and energy to Pitchfork’s secluded Blue Stage where ST 2 Lettaz and Yung Clova, along with their crew brought the energy to a sweltering, sweaty crowd. More than just the duo, the collective includes S.L.A.S.H., a woman who brings the incisiveness of Jean Grae with an intensity all her own. Talking with her later she said that in the past common thought was that Southern rap meant Atlanta or Houston, so part of their mission is to distinguish them from that stereotype. “Huntsville definitely has its own sound. Saying Alabama rap is just like Atlanta or Houston rap is like saying Chicago rap is the same as, like, Cleveland rap. It would be like Kanye West is the same as Bone Thugs, it makes no sense!” Well she’s working on defining her own sound now, with a new album expected early next year that she describes as “Kanye West meets MC Lyte meets OutKast”.

G-Side already has a new album in the pipes, too, and after their set, and after Clova showed off his golden grills to a couple of adoring fans, we talked him and ST 2 Lettaz about their ‘Cohesive’ philosophy, Julianna Barwick, MTV and where they’re taking Huntsville next.

SOTS: So this is your first time in Chicago?

ST: First time in Chicago, first time at Pitchfork.

SOTS: And it sounds like you’re going to make the most of it. You said you have a show later tonight at the Hard Rock. Is there anybody else on the bill or will it be all you guys?

ST: It’ll just be us, and our opening acts will probably be our artists Kristmas, Bentley and S.L.A.S.H.

SOTS: Yeah, I was just talking to Slash for a little bit; she has her album coming out.

ST: Yeah, it’s crazy.

SOTS: And you guys have another album coming out, in November,  on 11/11/11?

Clova: Yeah.

ST: Called The Island.

Clova: And the first one was on 1/1/11.

SOTS: That was The One…Cohesive.

Clova: Right.

SOTS: So where did the ‘cohesive’ idea come from?

ST: It’s got a double meaning. You know, we make albums and we wanted to make one that just sounded cohesive from front to back, you can listen to it back to front, right? And it just sounds like one continuous piece of music.

And then, we’re a big family. If you notice there’s like a guest appearance on every song, or a guest producer. In our compound there’s like eight studios, and eight different producers, and so we all work together all day, every day, and we move as one cohesive unit.

SOTS: That’s great, and today you were able to bring everybody on stage. And S.L.A.S.H. was saying that everybody is from Huntsville or Alabama?

Clova: Yeah.

SOTS: So how important is that for you guys?

ST: It’s really dope because nobody knows what Huntsville is supposed to sound like, and so we get the chance to be trendsetters and trailblazers.

SOTS: And you get to establish Huntsville as another music breeding ground.

Clova: And there are a lot of artists there.

SOTS: And you wouldn’t necessarily hear about it, so it’s great that you guys are bringing them with you.

It also sounds like you’re trying to distinguish yourself from the rest of Southern rap. When you think Southern rap, a lot of people think Atlanta or Houston, so then to differentiate yourself, how do you do that?

 ST: We do the exact opposite. And us being from the South, our mannerisms and our habits, they had to change. In order for us to make different music, we had to listen to different music, and we know that most of our peers don’t listen to Beach House. So going there for inspiration, or going to a Katy B record for inspiration, you know what I’m saying? That’s what’s gonna set us apart. But we still have that driving bass, that 808 knocking…

SOTS: Yeah, so you have that Beach House sample. Who else do you guys listen to to get those new ideas?

Clova: Everybody, for real. Not like, rappers, but we listen to different music.

ST: We get fed a lot of shit, and honestly I don’t remember the names of most of it, but I’m gonna fuckin’ name one. Juliann…she just played.

SOTS: Julianna Barwick?

ST: Yeah, Julianna Barwick. I always butcher her name, but her voice is amazing. And we’re gonna try to work with her. On the next album.

SOTS: Oh cool. Anybody in particular you’re working with on the new album?

ST: Uhhh, we’ll keep that all under wraps, haha.

SOTS: Of course. So you have a couple of spot tour dates coming up, any plans for a bigger tour when the album drops?

Clova: Yeah, in December.

ST: Yeah, in December we have a lot moving. October we go back overseas for another short stint over there, in like in Norway and Sweden. And then we’ll be back, so probably December we’ll kick off.

SOTS: And so what’s that like, being over there, bringing Huntsville to Europe?

ST: Craaaaaaazy.

Clova: Yeah, it be cold over there, too.

SOTS: Haha, yeah and you’ll be over there in October?

Clova: Yeah, it’s gonna be super cold.

SOTS: It also sounds like you have used the Internet as sort of your media to get yourselves out there.

ST: Yeah, and also where we get our music from. The same places that post our music, we go back to those places and go back to those sites and we look and see what else they’re posting, and who they’re posting us with. Like we were in Spin’s 25 best albums so far and we went and listened to all those guys like Bon Iver and James Black just to see who they were mentioning us with.

SOTS: And I just saw you did a little bit with MTV. What was that all about?

ST: That was cool, it was kinda weird.

Clova: It was a show called ‘Weird Vibes’.

ST: ‘Weird Vibes’, yeah, and they had us walking around interviewing random people…

Clova: Asking them weird questions. I don’t think it’s started yet, though. (Note: It looks like the show is still in development. Stay tuned for updates.)

SOTS: Cool. Well are you gonna be here all weekend, are you coming back tomorrow?

ST: Yeah, I think we’re chilling tomorrow, trying to catch the Odd Future show.

SOTS: Have you been able to catch anybody else since you’ve been here?

ST: I wanted to see James Blake and Curren$y, but we was doing too much shit, man. And we didn’t get a chance to. And the only other one I got to see was Julianna Barwick.

 Check out more pictures from G-Side’s set  over at our Facebook album for Pitchfork Saturday.