Kidzen

Kidzen – ‘Um, Ah!’

I think the best description of the music of Kidzen I’ve read is “future jazz”, because it encapsulates the musical sensibility of the project so succinctly.  It’s steeped in jazz sounds and themes, but structurally it’s re-imagined, re-invented and re-thought to form a new jazz mold; one that is unafraid of embracing electronica, progressive and freeform ideas.

Kidzen’s self-titled debut album was one of the most diverse records I heard in 2006, running the gamut of musical genres: from the more jazz-based like the wickedly awesome ‘Um, Ah!’ to the more electronic/dub sounds of ‘Supersticious’.  World music rears its head on ‘Superpeople’ and tracks like ‘Burn’ (which features the unique husky voice of Inga Liljestrom) and ‘Calm’ demonstrate the band’s more electronic elements.

Kidzen is the brainchild of Sydney bass player extraordinaire Cameron Undy, who has leant his talents to bands such as Inga Liljestrom, Bugz In The Atttic, Jamie Lloyd and Numerology, as well as being a founding member of Jazzgroove, an organisation set up to benefit the Australian jazz scene.  The album also comes with a cool remix disc, with tracks from the album being given a once-over by a bunch of artists including Jamie Lloyd, Deepchild, Rephrase and Jimi Polar.  Kidzen was released by the record label Future Classic, known more for its electronica/dance releases, so kudos to the label for releasing such a challenging and leftfield record. 

It was basically impossible to pick a track that adequetly summarises the album, so I went with my favourite track off the record: opening song ‘Um, Ah!’

http://www.kidzen.com.au/
http://www.futureclassic.com.au