| 1200 Techniques | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Genres | Hip hop |
| Years active | 1997–2005 |
| Labels | Rubber/Sony |
| Website | http://www.1200techniques.net |
| Members | |
| DJ Peril: Turntablist, percussion Nfamas (N'Fa Forster-Jones) : Vocals Kemstar: Guitar |
|
| Past members | |
| Kabba | |
1200 Techniques were an Australian hip hop group. They formed in 1997 and released two LPs before going on hiatus in 2005.
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The group was formed in 1997, starting out as DJ Peril and brothers Nfamas and Kabba, soon after Peril's brother Kemstar joined and together they wrote many of the tracks that appeared on the debut single "Hard As Hell" and the group's debut album Choose One. DJ Peril & Kemstar's involvement in the hip hop scene dates back to the early 1980s as pre-teens. DJ Peril being a founding member of one of Melbourne's first ever hip hop crews The Island Boys, Peril also DJ'd in a number of different bands. In 1998, Kabba moved to England. Live shows by the group added a human drummer to the line-up.
Their 1998 song "Hard as Hell" received airplay on Triple J. 2001 saw the release of the Infinite Styles EP. Their debut album, Choose One, was released in 2002 on Rubber Records (distributed by Sony Records). The first single from this album was "Karma", which reached the top 40 of the Australia ARIAnet singles chart—peaking at #36[1]—and took the 2002 ARIA Award for Best Video and Best Independent Release.[2] Choose One peaked at #20 on the Australian album chart.[3]
Their 2004 release Consistency Theory included the singles "Eye of the Storm" and "Where Ur At?". The former received some airplay on mainstream radio, while the latter reached the top 40 singles chart, peaking at #35.[4] Following the album's release, the group appeared at the Big Day Out festival in early 2004. Consistency Theory peaked at #38 on the album chart.[5]
Nfamas and DJ Peril have branched out into solo careers. DJ Peril released a solo album, King of the Beats", which includes the single "It's About to Blow", and "Rock Ya Baby" which features singer Rahsaan Patterson. DJ Peril is currently signed to the Street Elite record label. Nfamas also released a solo album as N'fa called Cause An Effect in 2006.[6] Both of the album's video clips were directed by his friend Heath Ledger, the title track Cause An Effect and Seduction is Evil (She's Hot).[7] Kemstar played guitar with the Australian supergroup The Jack (with members of You Am I, Grinspoon, The Living End, Spiderbait, and Sender) for the Thunderstruck soundtrack, performing on the songs "Crash & Burn" and "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)".