Who's Who In No Zu?

No Zu frontman Nicolaas Oogjes seems very self-aware. It's not that he considers his answers carefully before he says them, but rather he takes notice of the way his words come across as they're emitted from his mouth and clarifies things as he goes along. The honest, conscious way Oogjes expresses himself translates into the way he creates his music.

No Zu's debut album, Life, aims to be a universal dance record, incorporating styles of dance music from all around the world. Oogjes prides No Zu on being a band that are unpretentious and non-elitist, a band that don't target niche audiences. “I just really wanted to make it – it sounds really idealistic – music for everyone,” he fails to hold back his laughter as he says those last few words. “I can't even say it without laughing, but that's pretty much what it was.”

The idea of 'music for everyone' was also informed by Oogjes's observation of the crowds at No Zu's live shows, which are often filled with people of all backgrounds and ages. “I thought that was really fun and more than anything I loved the idea of communicating or having a conversation with the audience, especially through dance or through the body,” he says, before rushing on a little sheepishly, “it's not really meant to come out that earnestly but that's what's up in the back of the brain, you know?”

He acknowledges that while his intention is to make music everyone can enjoy, some of it can justifiably be described as 'weird'. “It's a contradiction because some of it's like – I don't know how people will get me making weird vocal sounds, without saying words in some bits.”

Thankfully, Life, which was produced and recorded by Nao Anzai (Rat Vs Possum, City City City, TTT), has not been shunted as 'too weird,' with Triple R naming it Album Of The Week. “It's been really surprising – without being too self-deprecating – that people are getting into it, because you just have no idea.”

As musicians try to contribute something new to the saturated sonic sphere, fusing together genres and styles, it gets harder to describe and categorise bands. This results in some often-ridiculous labels that are slapped onto artists just so they fit somewhere. Oogjes has turned it around, tongue-in-cheek, and coined a term himself for their sound: heat beat. “I find the idea of genre – although it's sometimes helpful – often amusing or distracting, so I just thought I'd create my own and try to make that the sound. I like to just call it heat beat because it's not one thing, definitely; it's got lots of different influences in there. Often when people are trying to play the influence game, it can kind of get a bit elitist, you know, when reviewers think they know your influences and stuff? But it's definitely fun when people get creative with it, for sure.”

Starting out in 2007 as an outlet for Oogjes to experiment with ideas he couldn't use in TTT (of which he was a member at the time), No Zu has evolved into something that is part-band, part-collaboration. Oogjes likes that he can maintain the freedom of being able to make the decisions (“without sounding selfish, but it kind of is”) while being able to look forward to rehearsing with friends every week. “Something in the back of my head that's always wanted the big, percussive nightclub band kind of thing came out and there ended up [being] seven members, sometimes eight.” A couple of the busier members can't make it to every show, such as Tom Gould and John Parkinson from World's End Press, so the number varies. At No Zu's upcoming album launch shows, Oogjes will be able to indulge in his obsession with the idea of the dated nightclub band: “I've kind of billed it as a nightclub show,” he says. “I don't really know what that entails... but it's gonna be a real party!”

No Zu will be playing the following shows:

Friday 14 September - Liberty Social, Melbourne VIC
Saturday 29 September - GoodGod, Sydney NSW
Saturday 6 October - Format Festival, Adelaide SA
Saturday 13 October - Alhambra Lounge, Brisbane QLD