Don’t call it a comeback. Melbourne band 1200 Techniques have dropped a brand new EP, ‘Time Has Come’ – their first new music in a decade – but they’re not making a statement about their status as Australian hip-hop game changers. “We had a whole stack of ish from so-called ‘albums’ we weregonna put out over the 10-year period that we were away in the computer catching dust,” DJ Peril explains. “We just need to get it out. There was no real point of why and how. It’s just, if we don’t put it out now, it’s never gonna come out. That’s all.” Besides, the 1200s do everything “for the love”, not money or ego.
The trio’s first album, Choose One, cracked the Australian Top 20. The 1200s were nominated for ARIAs; their signature hit Karma scoring “Best Independent Release” and “Best Video”. The posse’s follow-up, Consistency Theory, revealed a more international orientation, its R&B-tinged Fork InThe Road featuring Rashad Haughton, Aaliyah’s talented older brother, who had been hanging out on the Melbourne set of Queen Of The Damned (N’fa was an extra). “That was pretty much the first neo-soul song recorded in Australia,” Peril states.
Expecting a new incarnation of 1200 Techniques on Time Has Come? You shouldn’t. “We jumped back on where we left off,” Peril stresses. Adds Kemstar, “We’re just doing our own thing – and trying to do a better version of what we did last time.”
Time Has Come is released in CD, vinyl and cassette formats via legend indie label Rubber Records, the artwork referencing Peril’s love of street art. The producer, who recruited Puzzle to design the 1200s’ earlier forays, reached out to “ol’ skool” aerosolist Paris and the emerging Adnate (he’s behind a landmark-size mural of the band in Fitzroy, photos of which have gone viral on social media). What’s next for the 1200s? They’re hitting the road again; live shows are their “forte”, as Peril reminds us. “We’re gonna get on stage and I’m gonna lose a kilo every time I play – ’cause we go off. We sweat.”
1200 Techniques Live
Saturday March 14th – The Laundry Bar – 48-50 Johnston Street, Fitzroy VIC 3065 – Tickets: www.oztix.com.au
Plus Very Special Guests, King Excel, Mau Power & Cazeuax Oslo
