In early 2013, Gilles Peterson named them the Breakthrough Artists of the Year at his Worldwide Music Awards in London, and shortly thereafter they were introduced to Salaam Remi who had just started working as an A&R executive at Sony Music. It was noticed by numerous musicians including Animal Collective and Dirty Projectors, and the band later received public endorsements from Erykah Badu, Questlove, and Prince, who urged their social media followers to explore the band's music. The band released their debut album Tawk Tomahawk independently in April 2012. McFerrin was so impressed with them that he introduced their music to influential broadcaster and record label owner DJ Gilles Peterson. In February 2012, the band opened for Taylor McFerrin in Melbourne. Hiatus Kaiyote played their first gig at the 2011 Bohemian Masquerade Ball among sword swallowers, fire twirlers, and gypsy death core bands.
Mavin was then a member of The Bamboos but left that band to focus on Hiatus Kaiyote. After working as a duo for a short time, they recruited Perrin Moss and Simon Mavin in 2011 and formed Hiatus Kaiyote. After the show, Bender approached Palm and suggested a collaboration. In 2010, Nai Palm (born Naomi Saalfield) performed a solo show in Melbourne that was witnessed by Paul Bender. History 2011–2013: Formation and Tawk Tomahawk 1.3 2017-2021: Side projects and Mood Valiant.1.1 2011–2013: Formation and Tawk Tomahawk.Folks in the States hearing their shows right about now will surely agree – and peeps in the U.K, Europe, Japan, Russia and Australia can find out or remind themselves as the band continue touring Choose Your Weapon over coming months. I promise it’s even more delightful than studio-style. And relish your Hiatus Kaiyote whipping.Ĭatch the live Hiatus Kaiyote experience where you cantoo. If you love this music like I do, you know already that buying Choose Your Weapon on vinyl and/or at least cd to hear it as it should be heard, is what’s needed yeah? Hold the album in your hands, read the lyrics, credits and thankyous, and admire the artwork. …featuring strings by collaborator-with-so-so-many-artists of the world including Flying Lotus and Quantic – Miguel Atwood Ferguson. X ‘The Lung’ – Hiatus Kaiyote – Choose Your Weapon (2015) ‘Shaolin Monk Motherfunk’ – Hiatus Kaiyote – Choose Your Weapon (2015) Listen here to two of the album’s 18 tracks in dirty mp3-style.
That all things being equal, listening to this album will make you feel something (mostly ‘good’ I suspect, but the full emotional spectrum is available) – and experience the endless realms of your imagination.Īnd finally, that you might find yourself getting a good whipping during a few of the Choose Your Weapon tracks. Go on and tell you simply that Hiatus Kaiyote and other contributing artists to Choose Your Weapon have created 69.27 minutes of soulful, jazzy, swinging, grooving, sonic magnificence that fits into no musical box except the one called ‘Hiatus Kaiyote’.
If I must use words I’ll start with the short and sweet ones Hiatus Kaiyote themselves (Australians Nai Palm, Paul Bender, Perrin Moss and Paul Mavin) use to describe their music: ‘multi-dimensional, polyrhythmic gangster shit’. Listening, hearing and experiencing this one-of-a-kind music is what needs to happen instead. And I say that with the greatest of respect for Hiatus Kaiyote, their music and their artistry. The less words said about Haitus Kaiyote’s new album Choose Your Weapon, the better really.