TZU
TZU were an Australian hip hop group, formed in 1999 by Joelistics, Yeroc, Seed MC and Paso Bionic. Duzy What joined in 2005. The band used live instruments in their recordings and live performances, giving their shows a rock-infused feeling. Musically, TZU often blended hip-hop with other genres, such as rock, blues, jazz and electronica. TZU released four studio albums, Position Correction, Smiling at Strangers, Computer Love and Millions of Moments, before disbanding in 2013.
History
1999–2004: Formation, ''Um... Just a Liddlbidova Mic Check'' and ''Position Correction''
TZU formed in 1999 in Melbourne, initially as a side project. The group's lineup stayed the same until their disbandment; MCs Joel Ma and Phillip "Pip" Norman , who also played guitar and bass; Corey McGregor on drums and samplers, and Shehab Tariq on turntables. According to Seed MC, the group started out as an almagation of two groups; Pan and Curse ov Dialect. Pan, the group he was a part of, were a "drum-and-bass/funk/reggae mash-up" band, while Curse ov Dialect were an "oddball experimental hip hop group with a penchant for throwing meat at the audience."According to Joelistics, the group's name is taken from the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu, which was suggested by Lee Hartney of the Smith Street Band. Styled as TZU and originally pronounced "Tzu", the pronunciation of the band's name was changed to "Tee Zed You" early on in their career to add an "element of mystery." Their debut six-track extended play, Um... Just A Liddlbidova Mic Check, was recorded in a portable studio in the back of a truck parked near Hobart, and released in 2001. Local Noises Tony Mitchell described it as "tentative." After the EP's release, they signed to Liberation Music.
TZU released their debut album, Position Correction, on 19 February 2004. The album was co-produced by Seed and Yeroc and peaked just outside the ARIA Charts Top 100 in March. Greg Lawrence of WHAMMO described how the quartet are "a bunch of true technicians who successfully transmit their love for beats and lyrics. The double-pronged vocal attack is more exact than the scalpel of a master surgeon, the subterranean bass growls and snappy beats are premium." Tony Mitchell felt " covers a wide range of moods, styles and tempos, and represents another new direction in Australian hip-hop coming from an idiosyncratic Melbourne push which is making an important impact on local indigenisations of the genre."
2005–2009: ''Smiling at Strangers'' and ''Computer Love''
In 2005, keyboard player Dustin McLean was added to the group's line-up. TZU issued their second studio album, Smiling at Strangers, which was produced by Magoo. It reached the ARIA Albums Chart top 100 in late September. Mitchell noticed, " can successfully combine rock and hip hop... through a desire to experiment with and stretch the often restrictive parameters of MCing and Djing." Simon Jones of Soulshine compared it to their debut album, " have taken a more instrument-based approach in the studio, leaving behind the beats and samples of their debut Position Correction and replacing them with guitars, piano, drums and the occasional horn line." In February 2006 the album was short-listed for the inaugural Australian Music Prize for releases in 2005.In February–March 2006, they won Yahoo! Music's "Who's Next" monthly music public-voted poll. In November of that year they re-released Smiling at Strangers as a limited edition 2×CD, Snarling at Strangers, which, along with the original album's fourteen tracks, included a second five-track disc, Snarl, and three music videos. The additional, previously unreleased tracks were described by Tristan of There Is no Roseability as, "a harsh critique of current politics/society. It's not as militaristic or angry as The Herd's material, but it's harsh nonetheless. It still has the genius wit and timelessness of Australian hip-hop."
On June 28, 2008, the band released their third studio album, Computer Love. Rolling Stone Australia said "Melbourne group TZU just can't stop upping the ante... They meld classic eighties electro with the more traditional funk keeping the emphasis on authenticity and class throughout." Inpress said "Computer Love is full of old school synth's, masterful sampling and live instrumentation - a maverick in its field and release that will set a new standard for the Australian music landscape."
Richard Kingsmill, Musical Director of Australian radio station Triple J, stated in regard to the band's 2008 J Award nomination for Computer Love, "They open their album saying "TZU still feelin' awesome". I couldn't agree more. They keep growing as an act and expanding on their influences. This album has so much life and they're doing all this themselves. No mentors, producers or anyone getting in the way. Pure talent." The band performed a cover of You Am I's "Heavy Heart" for Triple J's Like A Version that same year.
A remix album, titled Cover Up Motel, was released the following year in 2009, which featured every song from Computer Love remixed by a different producer. The title of the album is an anagram of Computer Love.
2010–2013: ''Millions of Moments'' and disbandment,
In 2011, Joelistics signed to independent Sydney-based hip-hop label Elefant Traks as a solo artist, prior to the release of his debut album, Voyager.In 2012, after a period of inactivity, TZU released their fourth and final album Millions of Moments. The album is a concept album about a woman named Persephone who test-trials a mind-altering drug called Chronos which takes her through the minds of various people in different points in time. The concept stemmed from Joelistics' travels in Asia, as he explains in an interview with Beat:
Sonically, the album takes a detour from hip-hop to opt for a darker, more experimential electronic pop sound. In the same interview with Beat, Joelistics also delves into the reasoning behind this:
To promote the album, they went on tour. The following year, the group disbanded without explanation
2014-present: Post-TZU endeavours
Following the group's disbandment, Joelistics and Count Bounce continued their solo careers, writing and producing for other artists, with Joel also continuing his solo career alongside. In 2017, Joel revealed on Facebook post that the Madonna song "Veni Vidi Vici" started out as a demo him and Dustin McLean wrote a few years ago that ended up in the hands of fellow Australian producer M-Phazes. M-Phazes did some work on the demo before passing it on to an unnamed colleague in America who would give it to Madonna to use for her new album, Rebel Heart. She would include the song on the album's deluxe edition, but did not give the two songwriting credits upon the album's release in March 2015. They would eventually be credited in September 2017, receiving 1.5% in royalties.In 2024, all four members of TZU were briefly reunited for one of the Elefant Traks 25th Anniversary concerts. The following year, Joelistics released "Terrific", a single featuring vocals from Count Bounce and turntablism from Paso Bionic, marking the first time the three have appeared on a song together since TZU's disbandment. Yeroc was absent from this collaboration as he is no longer an active musician.
Members
Credits:- Joel Ma Joelistics – vocals, guitar, bass guitar
- Corey McGregor Yeroc – drums, samplers
- Phillip Norman Seed MC or Countbounce – vocals, guitar, bass guitar
- Shehab Tariq Paso Bionic – turntables
- Dustin Duzy What – keyboards
Discography