1200 Techniques

Melbourne's 1200 Techniques prefer to call themselves alternative hip hop, since their influences come from a wide variety of music styles; 70's rock, funk, electro, drum and bass, as well as hip hop. Brothers DJ Peril and Kemstar's involvement in the hip hop scene right back to their pre-teens in the early 1980's. A founding member of one of Melbourne's first ever hip hop crews The Island Boys, Peril also DJ'd in bands such as Big Pacific, Rollercoaster, Dub And Reggae and Blow Sound Unit and then joined Rollercoaster. It was with Big Pacific in the early 90's he became fascinated by production.

Nfamas was born in London and moved to Australia when he was four. Growing up in Perth he listened to LL Cool J, Public Enemy and Ice T. He began rhyming at the age of ten, recording tracks with his older brother, Kabba, who introduced him to hip hop. Six years older than Nfa, Kabba had more of a personal memory of the black music that surrounded them in London, and of its impact on other kids. Kabba sought out those records and the brothers poured over them. Black skinned like the people on the cover of these record covers it seemed a natural course to pursue. Nfamas ended joining Kabba's crew Deadly Fresh, and then in 1997 again followed his brother, to Melbourne.

1200 Techniques was formed when Peril saw Nfamas and brother Kabba doing freestyle rapping with another band at a local Melbourne hotel. After the band had finished its set, Peril approached the pair because "I thought they were wasting their talent''. The three jammed together and decided to form a group. Inspired by the Technics 1200 turntable the name also represents the multi-direction attitude of the group's music.

About a year later Peril's brother Kemstar joined the lineup, but the group returned to its original number when Kabba moved to England in 1999. Kabba appears on some of the group's early tracks but it was the line-up without him which was heard on 1200 Technique's first single, 'Hard As Hell'.

DJ Peril produced the 19 tracks on the group's debut album 'Choose One', a chronicle of the group's career together so far. The album includes 'The Hoedown', the first track they worked on after Peril approached Nfamas and Kabba, as recorded at the time. Former member Kemster is heard on 'Can't Stop', as well as 'Can't Stop'.