1200 Techniques are an Australian hip hop group formed in 1997 in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

, Australia, consisting of DJ Peril (Jason Foretti) as producer, percussionist, DJ; N'fa Forster-Jones as lead vocalist (under the name Nfamas) and Kemstar (DJ Peril's brother, Simon Foretti) as lead guitarist. Whilst primarily being in the genre of hip hip, they drew influences from other genres including rock,

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the mi ...

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest att ...

, electro,

drum and bass Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub- ...

, electro jazz and

breakbeat Breakbeat is a broad type of electronic music that tends to use drum breaks sampled from early recordings of funk, jazz, and R&B. Breakbeats have been used in styles such as hip hop, jungle, drum and bass, big beat, breakbeat hardcore, and U ...

. They released their debut studio album, ''

Choose One ''Choose One'' is the debut studio album from Australian hip hop group 1200 Techniques, released in June 2002. Produced entirely by band's founder, DJ Peril, the album features a mix of contemporary hip-hop, rock and electro. It peaked at No. ...

'', in March 2002.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

's Jody Macgregor wrote, "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." The group disbanded in 2005 and reformed in 2014.

History

Brothers DJ Peril (Jason Foretti) and Kemstar (Simon Foretti) were involved in

Australian hip hop Australian hip hop traces its origins to the early 1980s and is largely inspired by hip hop and other urban musical genres from the United States. As the form matured, Australian hip hop has become a commercially viable style of music which i ...

, since the early 1980s as pre-teens. DJ Peril started with the Island Boys, one of Melbourne's first ever hip hop crews and he was the DJ in a number of different bands: Big Pacific, Rollercoaster, Dub and Reggae, and Blow Sound Unit. Peril formed 1200 Techniques in 1997, as producer, percussionist and DJ, with the English-born brothers Nfamas ( N'fa) on lead vocals and Kabba Foster-Jones on vocals. The Foster-Jones brothers had moved from London to Perth in 1983, they were both in a hip-hop crew, Deadly Fresh, during the mid-1990s before relocating to Melbourne. When DJ Peril saw the duo working with another band, he approached them, "I thought they were wasting their talent." The group's name references, "the Technics 1200 turntable the name also represents the multi-direction attitude of the group's music." Kemstar joined soon after, Kabba then returned to London in 1999. Kabba's vocals can still, however, be heard on some of the group's early tracks, "Don't Stop". 1200 Techniques continued with the three remaining core members, recruiting a drummer for live shows. In 2001, 1200 Techniques were signed to an independent label called Rubber Records and they released their debut Extended Play titled ''Infinite Style''. The lead single from the EP "Hard as Hell" was released and had a low budget video clip which saw the song receive national recognition on

Triple J Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greater emphasis on broad ...

. In April 2002, the band released the single "

Karma Karma (; sa, कर्म}, ; pi, kamma, italic=yes) in Sanskrit means an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptively ...

", the lead single from their debut studio album ''Choose One''. "Karma" became a crossover success. ''Choose One'' was released in June and peaked at number 20 on the

ARIA Charts The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

. At the

ARIA Music Awards of 2002 The 16th Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (generally known as ARIA Music Awards or simply The ARIAs) were held on 15 October 2002 at the Sydney SuperDome. Awards ARIA Awards ''Winners highlighted in bold with nomi ...

, the group were nominated for five awards, with "

" winning

ARIA Award for Best Independent Release The ARIA Music Award for Best Independent Release, is an award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards, which recognises "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", since 1987. It is handed out by the Australian Recording ...

and

ARIA Award for Best Video The ARIA Award for Best Video, is presented at the annual ARIA Awards, which recognise "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", since 1987. It is handed out by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), an o ...

. Also in 2002, the band won Best Debut Artist" and Best Hip Hop Act at the

Dance Music Awards ''3D World'' was an Australian street press publication for the dance music community. After being founded in Sydney in 1989, ownership of the publication changed hands several times before publication shut down in 2011. It was superseded by ...

. The group supported

Linkin Park Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. The band's current lineup comprises vocalist/rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Mike Shinoda, lead guitarist Brad Delson, bassist Dave Farrell, DJ/turntablist Joe Hahn and drumm ...

on their 2002 Australian tour that year and headlined their own tour with support by American rapper

Princess Superstar Concetta Kirschner (born February 25, 1971), better known as Princess Superstar, is an American rapper and DJ. She has had two chart hits in the UK, "Bad Babysitter", which reached number 11 on the UK Singles Chart in 2002, and "Perfect (Exceed ...

. Their second album ''

Consistency Theory ''Consistency Theory'' is the second and final studio album by Australian hip-hop group 1200 Techniques. Released on 9 January 2004, it sees the group moving away from the diverse influences of their first album, to a more straightforward, argua ...

'' was released in January 2004, and peaked at No. 38 on the ARIA album chart. Three singles were released from the album and all appeared on the ARIA singles chart. Following the album's release, the group appeared at the

Big Day Out The Big Day Out (BDO) was an annual music festival that was held in five Australian cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast, Adelaide, and Perth, as well as Auckland, New Zealand. The festival was held during summer, typically in January of eac ...

festival in early 2004. At the

ARIA Music Awards of 2004 The 18th Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (generally known as ARIA Music Awards or simply the ARIAs) were held on 17 October 2004 at the Sydney Superdome within the Sydney Olympic Complex. The ceremony, hosted by Ro ...

, the lead single "Eye of the Storm" was nominated for two awards. The group went on hiatus in 2005 to allow the individual members to pursue solo work. In October 2014, the group broke nearly a decade of silence by announcing the release of a new extended play. After a successful fundraising campaign on

PledgeMusic PledgeMusic was an online direct-to-fan music platform, launched in August 2009. It was started to facilitate musicians looking to pre-sell, market, and distribute projects; such as recordings and concerts. It bore similarities to other artist p ...

, the band released ''Time Has Come'' in January 2015.

Band members

* DJ Peril: Founder, producer,

turntablist Turntablism is the art of manipulating sounds and creating new music, sound effects, mixes and other creative sounds and beats, typically by using two or more turntables and a cross fader-equipped DJ mixer. The mixer is plugged into a PA sys ...

percussionist A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

* Nfamas (N'Fa Forster-Jones) :

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

* Kemstar:

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

Solo careers

DJ Peril released a solo album, ''King of the Beats'' in 2006, which includes the singles "It's About to Blow" and "Rock Ya Baby". the latter featuring singer

Rahsaan Patterson Rahsaan Patterson (born January 11, 1974) is an American singer and actor, best known for portraying "The Kid" on the 1980s television show '' Kids Incorporated.'' Career 1984: ''Kids Incorporated'' After appearing in a school talent show in 19 ...

. Nfamas released a solo album, as N'fa, called '' Cause An Effect'' in 2006. Both of the album's video clips were directed by his friend, actor

Heath Ledger Heath Andrew Ledger (4 April 1979 – 22 January 2008) was an Australian actor and music video director. After playing roles in several Australian television and film productions during the 1990s, Ledger moved to the United States in 1998 to ...

. 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 You Am I are an Australian alternative rock band, fronted by its lead singer-songwriter and guitarist, Tim Rogers. They formed in December 1989 and are the first Australian band to have released three successive albums that have each debuted ...

, Grinspoon,

The Living End The Living End are an Australian punk rockabilly band from Melbourne, formed in 1994. Since 2002, the line-up consists of Chris Cheney (vocals, guitar), Scott Owen (double bass, vocals), and Andy Strachan (drums). The band rose to fame in 199 ...

Spiderbait Spiderbait is an Australian alternative rock band from Finley, New South Wales, formed in 1991 by bass guitarist and singer Janet English, drummer and singer Kram, and guitarist Damian Whitty. In 2004 the group's cover version of the 1930s Lead ...

, 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) "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)" is a song by Australian hard rock band AC/DC. It is the first track of the group's second album '' T.N.T.'', released only in Australia and New Zealand on 8 December 1975, and was writte ...

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

Extended plays

Singles

Awards

ARIA Music Awards

The

ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of

Australian music The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions ...

. 1200 Techniques have won two awards from eight nominations. , - , rowspan="5",

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, ''

'' , Breakthrough Artist - Album , , - , rowspan="3", "Karma" , Breakthrough Artist - Single , , - , Best Dance Release , , - , Best Independent Release , , - , Michael Gracey and Babyfoot Productions for "Karma" , Best Video , , - , rowspan="2",

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A ...

, rowspan="2", "Eye of the Storm" , Best Dance Release , , - , Best Independent Release , , - ,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...

, ''Consistency Theory'' , Best Urban Album , , -

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1200 Techniques Australian hip hop groups ARIA Award winners