Track listing
- “Hey Ok” – 3:23
- “She Gets Up” – 4:00
- “Logical” – 2:50
- “Recoil” – 5:00
- “Tzu Blues (Sweet Little Hoochie)” – 4:31
- “Won’t Get Played” – 5:52
- “Coming Round” – 6:16
- “In Front Of Me” – 3:38
- “Back To Front” – 3:09
- “Reminisce” – 4:52
- “Lounge” – 4:09
- “Raise ‘Em Up” – 3:13
- “Unnecessarily Blue” – 5:21
- “Unnecessarily Blue (Remix)” – 7:55
What happened to those four boys from Melbourne that made so much noise with their debut album ‘Position Correction’?
You know, the ones who were all over the radio, playing at all the festivals, bouncing on stages from Tassie to Darwin? You know, that group that made Aussie hip-hop fun last year……….
Well, TZU are back. And this time they have no pants on. Metaphorically, of course.
Never the type to be pigeon holed TZU are back with a new album “Smiling at Strangers” ; which is an open challenge to themselves, their audience and anyone else who’s listening in. The album is a radical shift in direction for a group better known for it’s use of samples and drum machines.
The four members – Joelistics, Seed, Paso and Yeroc joined forces with acclaimed producer Magoo (Regurgitator/Butterfingers) to create an album that was heavy in live instrumentation.
The boys themselves duly played all the drums, bass, guitars and keyboards on the record, and were joined by a cast of string quartets , horn sections and male choirs.
The results are impressive to say the least, Primarily, they have honed their skills as songwriters and musicians and refined their trademark talent on mics and turntables.
It’s the progression Australian hip-hop had to have.
MC/multi-instrumentalist Joelistics explains the changing landscape, “Somewhere along the way hip-hop became a tied corporate beast that ran to a formula and trotted out the same lame clichés.
With this album we wanted to push ourselves to do something different.
We challenged ourselves to write an album where we played all the instruments and wrote songs that were equally influenced by Muddy Waters as well as A Tribe Called Quest.”
“A lot of inspiration for the sound of the songs comes from the concept of ‘what would it sound like if the Beatles made hip-hop? What if Ray Charles was taken to a jam with DJ Krush and The Kinks?”, Joelistics adds.
Producer Magoo was the perfect choice to steer the ship.
“He understood that we weren’t looking for virtuoso playing or th bright shiny production. We also wanted dirt and grime and mistakes.”
Lyrically, the band tackles the meaty subjects of Australian cultural identity, American foreign policy and mass media de-sensitisation… but this time around they mostly just rap about girls.
In many ways, TZU are the Bill Murray of Australian hiphop. Funny but serious. Popular but arthouse. White but black.
They truly are a band for curious music lovers, B Boys on acid , political activists with a sense of humour and humourists with rhythm.
They are here to steal your girlfriend, smoke your pot and teach Australia how to dance.