Melbourne "heat beat" icons NO ZU regroup after the passing of vocalist Daphne Camf, to release their first new original music since 2016.
NO ZU have stormed stages from Barcelona's Primavera Festival to Meredith's Golden Plains. Led by the magnetic, tireless Nicolaas Oogjes, NO ZU's multi-limbed, mutant punk-funk has evolved over the last decade to make them one of Australia's most distinctive and debauched groups.
Daphne’s passing in 2021 left a huge hole in Melbourne music, and the band fell into a long silence. Now they return with an EP featuring her final recordings with the group.
Heat Beat, named after the band’s own trademarked genre, is classic NO ZU. Dark and playful, layered with cryptic allusions and implausibly danceable, the EP shows NO ZU at their restless, exploratory best.
2016 second album Afterlife took NO ZU to Europe for Primavera and a huge concert in Rennes broadcast live on French Television. 2017 remix EP BODY2BODY2BODY saw Afterlife
tracks reworked by the band's 80s idols A Certain Ratio and Jonny Sender of Konk.
In 2020 they released a double A-side single covering Hunters & Collectors’ Talking To A Stranger and Bryan Ferry’s Sensation, and played their last live show in Feb 2020. Nic Oogjes subsequently unveiled his gangster-conman alter ego Cong Josie and released debut solo album Cong! via It Records.
Now NO ZU return to perform at Chapter’s 30th birthday show in November, and release a joyful, celebratory EP of their final recordings with beloved vocalist Daphne Camf.
“Like a post-punk band discovering the joys of dub, disco, and Afrobeat” – Pitchfork
“Melbourne’s freakiest multi-limbed ensemble are masters of percussive lunacy and wild x-rated boogie” – The Vinyl Factory
This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body.
"Automatic" couldn't be a better sequel if you tried - it delivers on what made "Phase" great, but also expands on that psych-funk-jazz fusion to give a couple new hints of flavour.
The title track has a great synth beat with those vocoded vocals, 'Downstream' is perfect for a poolside lounge, but 'Memory Palace' is hands down my favourite here - that 90s house-style piano man, it's so upbeat, righteous and makes for a perfect rhythm for the lads to jam over.
Flawless album, cover to cover. Xtra Happy