1200 Techniques: I’m The Tam.

1200 Techniques play the Big Day Out at the Gold Coast Parklands on January 19.

Melbourne based hip-hop phenomenon’s 1200 Techniques have really blown up from nowhere. DJ Peril, the outfits turntablist extraodinaire has certainly paid his dues, working in and around Melbourne for a good eight years in the hiphop scene. MC Nfamas certainly is infamous now, and not just for his starring role as a genie in that Tim Tams ad, but as a downright seasoned and energetic on stage performer. Add to the mix Perils bro Kemstar on the guitar and you’ve got a trio of musicians not willing to tie themselves just to one genre. I had a bit of a chat with DJ Peril and MC Nfamas to see how 1200 Techniques came about.

“I was sick of being everyone’s scratchy-boy, everyone would say to me ‘ Come in to our band and do some scratching, it’ll look cool!’ No one really cared, I was cool for hire, which really pushed me to make a decision. I’ve been around too long now, I know what I want, I know how to do it, and that’s how 1200 Techniques really came into play.”

So why try and embody so many styles in one band? It’s hard enough to be good at one genre, and you boys are trying to excel across the board.

“We don’t really have a basic ingredient for our songs, it’ just whatever fits at the time. Every song can be completely different, and are really a sound unto it’s own. That’s what I’m most proud about the album, it’s all there but it’s all over the show. You can’t put a finger on exactly what it is, but in every song it’s always about the groove.”

It’s a musical ethic as good as this that sees bands like 1200 Techniques get nominated for ARIAs so early in their career. MC Nfamas puts in his two cents about sudden fame.

“We were all very stoked, and we’d really spent most of the night eating and drinking an living it up, because we really didn’t expect to be up for an award. But then our name was called out and it was just like, wow, and I couldn’t move for a little time, and then I thought, shit, I’ve got to say something now.”

“But we’re all really proud of winning that award, and more so the recognition it brings to a style of music that Australia has ignored for years. It’s a great genre, hip-hop, and really is aimed at all people, and as such it was fantastic to see it finally recognised by awards like the ARIAs.”