Sep
29

Solid Territory

A great friend of mine once said that he’ll listen to any music as long as it’s conscious. And I don’t reckon there’s any conscious music more real and true to spirit than the music of indigenous and grassroots resistance. All over the world there is music that unites the people and this part of our great earth is no exception.

Now is such an important time for the resistance to neo-colonial imperialism to be heard and heard loud. So I am so stoked to be supporting this tour about to shake the solid red earth in solidarity with the people of the Northern Territory. All of the bands who are performing on this tour are not only exceptional musicians but also have no fear in mixing the snares with the slogans.

So all of you in Austrayalia, see you at Solid Territory.

SOLID TERRITORY jams express solidarity for the Aboriginal peoples of the Northern Territory (NT)- in the spirit of Indigenous Self Determination and unity. It brings together conscious and creative crews to express solidarity given the recent military driven – land grabbing attack on Indigenous Self Determination.

Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander, Maori and other hip hop reggae crews join forces to express outrage at the recent ‘Trojan horse’ tactics of the Federal Government in Australia. Local crews join forces with hip hop legends Upper Hutt Posse, Revolution MC’s and Miss bMe coming all the way from Aotearoa/NZ!

Local mob include The Last Kinnection, Street Warriors, Wire MC, Nadeena Dixon, Honesty, Djaypun Inc, MC Liquid, The Whitehouse with interstate guests Zennith (Qld) One Blood Hidden Image (TSI) and Dizzy D (Qld). It promises to fire up some seriously solid hip hop and reggae flavours – true south pacific songs of solidarity.

BAND BIOS

Upper Hutt Posse.
The Posse’s in your face Maori activist lyrics are a breath of fresh air in a hiphop jungle obsessed with the blingbling, the Posse evoke heros of resistance from Malcom X to Maori revolutionaries who fought for indigenous self-determination against colonisation. No stranger to controvery head Mc Te Kupu tells it like it is …. Upper Hutt Posse have created their own sound.” Te Kupu is also a filmmaker, having traveled the ghettoes of the world to produce the rapumentary ‘Ngaatahi – Know the Links’ (Official Selection at Sundance Film Festival 2004), a six part music-documentary connecting the musical cultures and struggles of oppressed people worldwide

Revolution MCs
The REVOLUTION MCs are an Aotearoa hip-hop crew that fluidly mix superconscious flows with killa machine gun raps and the phattest beats, on a prophesised mission to take hip-hop and the native revolution to the next level.

The Last Kinnection
“I’m not gonna wait for the ok, I’m gonna do it even though they got too much to say, when it all falls down, tell me who’s still standing?”….. Introducing The Last Kinection. Take a look, have a listen, and you’ll agree, without a doubt, that TLK is the voice that’s going to keep you connected, with the next era of Australian urban music. Bridging mainstream and Indigenous, music and culture. Blending contemporary and traditional, they empower their listeners with respect for culture, truth and freedom of speech. Delivered with a clarity, originality and passion that’s undeniable, making their talents hard to surpass. Lyrically mind blowing with beats to match. A TLK performance will have you nodding your head, shaking your butt, throwing your hands up in the air, screaming ‘oh yeah’. Their latest recorded achievement can be heard on ‘Cannot Buy My Soul’, a tribute album to the legendary Kev Carmody, through EMI. Where their remix of ‘The Young dancer is Dead’, appears alongside the likes of Bernard Fanning, John Butler Trio, The Herd, Troy Casser-Daley, Missy Higgins and Archie Roach to name a few.

Street Warriors
Having performed both nationally and internationally in their previous group Local Knowledge, these brothers have rocked crowds in excess of 10,000 people. Street Warriors come straight out of the steel city of Newcastle with a rugged style, a deadly look and carry a second to none attitude wherever they go.

Combat Wombat
OZHIPHOP.COM: “[Unsound $ystem is] an ‘auralmentary’, recorded on the frontline in a heated battle between ignorant conservatives and the voiceless unknowns…the music acts as a slingshot for their verbal bullets is uncompromisingly creative, frequently brilliant and wonderfully broadens the current Aussie Scene. Verdict: 4/5″ – CYCLIC DEFROST: “DIY resourcefulness, independence and imagination. Indeed, while their political direction is indelibly strong, the crew’s message isn’t one of negativity or pessimism – it’s about being proactive and creative and their dub-infused hiphop excursions lend some weight to this…while plenty of MCs are willing to posit the ills of the world, not many are willing to get their hands dirty working on a solution.” – THE AGE: “What makes Combat Wombat special is that the band members not only talk the talk, they’re full-time political activists and squatters.”

Sandridge Band
Sandridge formed in 1995 playing for the first Lidjakarda Festival at Wandangnula Outstation near Borroloola. Their songs are a fusion of reggae, rock and metal sounds about land, culture, people and contemporary life in communities. They have more recently undertaken study at the Charles Darwin Contemporary Music Course and in performed at Tenant Creek Battle of the Bands Youth Week 2004 and 2005, 2004 Katherine at Music Without Humbug supporting Neil Murray, 2004 Borroloola Rodeo Battle of the Bands, 2005 Katherine Flying Fox Festival supporting Naberlak Band, Youth Week in Borroloola, supported Nomadics Band at gig at Youth Centre, Borroloola Rodeo Battle of the Bands. They are also committed to community gigs and have played many times at Borroloola Hotel and Sandridge Outstation. In 2006 they performed at Merripen Arts Festival, Festival Darwin and are winners of Barkly Bands comp and Barunga Festival Song Writing comp in 2007.

Nadeena Dixon
A vocalist, songwriter and performer, Nadeena’s musical style includes elements of Hip Hop, Soul, Reggae, Jazz, Indigenous grooves, Funk & Dance. Nadeena has a style and dedication that only comes from many years of artistic development. Nadeena’s powerful and beautiful voice take her audience on an emotional, spiritual and even political journey across the reality of Aboriginal existence Nadeena often performs with her mother to produce a beautiful Indigenous folk & contemporary music show for all occasions. Singing of identity, the land, the life and the dreaming of the Aboriginal people of Australia, the didgeridoo rhythms are used to drive the story telling.

Zennith
Australian ‘roots’ has finally matured, with the deepest reggae splash and funkiest urban swing that is Zennith. From the deep scrub of Bulwai country in Kuranda, Far North Queensland, emerges a sound that fuses skankin’ rainforest reggae with funky hip-hop. Zennith have been rippin’ up venues and festivals in the Tropical North with their roots/ska/urban combo. The group have just blown away audiences in Palm Island, the Laura Festival and Kuranda Roots Festival, and have just dropped their debut EP “We Got It”. The guys have supported Boney M and Ash Grunwald, and are working towards their first Music Video for “We Got It” and an East Coast tour in October. Zennith are the new future of roots and indigenous music from down-under, kickin’ stereo types and rockin’ dance floors.

Miss bMe
……..You see we all representing our own blood… solid foundations… droppin a beat to the nation… connecting back through our roots whakapapa inspiration… influencing thoughts waves… our musical infatuation… cos if ya here representin your own blood… dig ya hands in the dirt… remind your memories of birth…take a deep breath…. and know the seeds that you posess mean you are truly blessed……….

Wire MC

One Blood Hidden Image

Dizzy D

Djaypun Inc

Honesty

The Whitehouse

MC Liquid