1200 Techniques

1200 Techniques
Origin Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Genres Hip hop Funk
Years active 1997–2005, 2014-
Labels Rubber/Sony
Members DJ Peril: Founder, producer, turntablist, percussionist
Nfamas (N'Fa Forster-Jones) : vocals
Kemstar: guitar

1200 Techniques is an Australian hip hop group consisting of the old school 80's Aerosol Artist & Founder Dj Peril (producer/percussionist/dj), N'fa Forster-Jones (vocalist under the name Nfamas) and Kemstar (guitarist).

The group have been described as "an important part" of the mainstream recognition of hip-hop in Australia,[1] whilst drawing influences from other genres including rock, funk, soul, electro, drum and bass, electro jazz and breakbeat.[2][3]

History

Brothers DJ Peril and Kemstar were involved in the hip-hop scene since the early 1980s as pre-teens.[4] DJ Peril started with The Island Boys, one of Melbourne's first ever hip hop crews[5] and DJ'd in a number of different bands.[4]

Peril formed 1200 Techniques in 1997 with brothers Nfamas and Kabba. Kemstar joined soon after, replacing Kabba who moved to London, England in 1998.[6][7] Kabba's vocals can still, however, be heard on some of the group's early tracks.[8] 1200 Techniques continued with the three remaining core members, recruiting a drummer for live shows.

Their debut single "Hard as Hell" was released in 2001 and received airplay on Triple J.[9][10] Their first EP Infinite Styles dropped later the same year.

1200 Techniques released their debut album Choose One in 2002 on Rubber Records. The album was distributed by Sony Records and became a crossover success,[11] debuting at #20 in the Australian music charts.[7] This also led to an ARIA award nomination for "breakthrough artist"[12] and winning "best debut artist" and "best hip-hop act" awards at the Dance Music Awards.[7][6] The album's second single "Karma" charted in the Australian top 40 and won ARIA awards for "best independent release" and "best video".[7][6][12] The group also scored a support slot on a Linkin Park tour that year. Later, they headlined their own tour with support by American rapper Princess Superstar.[7]

Their sophomore album Consistency Theory, released in early 2004, peaked at #38 on the ARIA album chart and all three singles appeared on the ARIA singles chart. Following the album's release, the group appeared at the Big Day Out festival in early 2004. The group went on hiatus in 2005 to allow the individual members to pursue solo work.[6]

In late 2014, the group broke nearly a decade of silence by announcing the release of a new EP.[13] After a successful fundraising campaign on PledgeMusic, the band released Time Has Come in January 2015.[14] The deluxe edition of the EP includes the extra track "Flow Is Trouble" featuring Ghostface Killah, which was also released as a limited edition vinyl single that same year.[15]

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, the latter featuring singer Rahsaan Patterson. DJ Peril signed to the Street Elite record label. as well as being a very accomplished name in the Aerosol Art at street Art scene since 1983 as well as running many club institutions over the years.

Nfamas also released a solo album, as N'fa, called Cause An Effect in 2006.[16] Both of the album's video clips—the title track Cause An Effect and Seduction is Evil (She's Hot)—were directed by his friend, actor Heath Ledger.[17]

Kemstar played guitar with his band Quarter 2 nine circa 1990 as well with the Australian supergroup The Jack (with members of You Am I, Grinspoon, The Living End, Spiderbait, and Sender) for the 2004 Thunderstruck film soundtrack, performing on the songs "Crash & Burn" and "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)".

Discography

Albums/EPs

Year Album AUS
2001 Infinite Styles EP —
2002 Choose One 20
2004 Consistency Theory 38
2015 Time Has Come EP —

Singles

Year Song AUS Album
2001 "Hard As Hell"[18] — Choose One
2002 "Karma (What Goes Around)"[19] 36
2003 "Eye Of The Storm"[20] 84 Consistency Theory
"Where Ur At"[21] 35
2004 "Fork In The Road"[22] 55
2015 "Time Has Come"[23] — Time Has Come EP
"Flow Is Trouble"[15][A] —
Notes
  • A ^ available only on the Deluxe Edition of this EP[15]

DVDs

References

  1. ↑ "1200 Techniques Biography". ARTISTdirect. Retrieved 24 April 2013. Although Australia had an underground hip-hop scene starting in the late '80s, it wasn't until 2001 that it began to be recognized by the mainstream of Australian music. 1200 Techniques were an important part of that moment, with charting singles, appearances on TV shows like John Safran's Music Jamboree, and a sound that contained an eclectic blend of rock, dance, and funk influences to win over those Australians unconvinced their country had a place as a producer of quality hip-hop music.
  2. ↑ "1200 Techniques Biography". Take40.com. Retrieved 25 April 2013. 1200 techniques also have influences from a wide variety of music styles, including 70's rock, funk, electro, drum and bass.
  3. ↑ "1200 Techniques". Discogs. Retrieved 25 April 2013. Blending eclectric [sic] tastes ranging from: hip hop, rock, soul, funk, electro jazz and breakbeat, 1200 Techniques are a hard band to classify.
  4. 1 2 "1200 Techniques". Waterfront Records. Retrieved 25 April 2013. You can trace DJ Peril & Kemstar's involvement in the hip hop scene right back to the early 1980's as pre-teens. With the distinction of being a founding member of one of Melbourne's first ever hip hop crews The Island Boys, Peril also DJ'd in bands such as Big Pacific, Rollercoaster, Dub & Reggae Band Blow Sound Unit.
  5. ↑ "DJ Peril w/ Suburban Intellect". International Music Concepts. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "1200 Techniques Biography". ARTISTdirect. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 "1200 Techniques". Discogs. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
  8. ↑ "1200 Techniques". International Music Concepts. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
  9. ↑ "1200 Techniques". Waterfront Records. Retrieved 25 April 2013. …1200 TECHNIQUES debuted as a threesome with the Triple J favorite 'Hard As Hell'.
  10. ↑ "1200 Techniques - about". IN 2001 1200 TECHNIQUES WERE SIGNED TO AN INDEPENDANT LABEL CALLED RUBBER RECORDS WHICH SPAWNED THERE FIRST RELEASE E.P NAMED "INFINATE STYLE'S" WHICH SAW THE TRACK OF THE E.P CALLED "HARD AS HELL" WITH A LOW BUDGET CLIP TO THE SAME SONG GETTING NATIONAL RECOGNITION AUSTRALIA WIDE THROUGH TRIPLE J PUSHING THE SONG, TRIPLE J THEN BECAME A HUGE SUPPORTER OF THE GROUP…
  11. ↑ "1200 Techniques". International Music Concepts. Retrieved 25 April 2013. Choose One was released June 2002 on Rubber, with distribution through Sony Music, and became an instant radio hit.
  12. 1 2 "2002 ARIA Award Winners". ARIA Awards website. Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 27 November 2011. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
  13. ↑ 1200 Techniques Announce PledgeMusic Campaign And New EP Time Has Come
  14. ↑ 1200 Techniques: Time Has Come on PledgeMusic
  15. 1 2 3 "1200 Techniques Ft Ghostface Killah - Flow Is Trouble (Vinyl) at Discogs". Taken from the delux (sic) edition of the EP "Time Has Come"
  16. ↑ inthemix.com.au Album Review: N'fa: Cause An Effect
  17. ↑ Cause an Effect Songfacts
  18. ↑ "1200 Techniques - Hard As Hell (CD) at Discogs".
  19. ↑ "lescharts.com 1200 Techniques - Karma".
  20. ↑ The ARIA Report, 28 July 2003.
  21. ↑ "lescharts.com 1200 Techniques - Where Ur At".
  22. ↑ The ARIA Report, 16 August 2004.
  23. ↑ "1200 Techniques - Time Has Come by Rubber Records - Free Listening on SoundCloud". First single from the forthcoming Time Has Come EP
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