Taking a break from the daily grind of New York City last year, beatmaker David Last (The Agriculture, Goosehound, Unfoundsound) found himself living for a few weeks near a beach in Sydney, Australia. Having spent two years making club music almost exclusively, he was ready to lay back into the influence of dancehall reggae's slower tempos. Vocals were a natural choice. For several years now, MC Zulu's unique dancehall vocals have been gracing tracks by the likes of Kool Keith, DJ C and Ghislain Poirier. A referral from grime-bounce mashup king Jake "DJ C" Trussell led to an email exchange between Dominique Rowland aka MC Zulu in Chicago, and David in Sydney. In 14 hours, David and Zulu had completed their first track via email. The track was good enough that there was only one thing to do - make a whole album. The Staubgold label, having hired David to remix the Kammerflimmer Kollektief two years previously, listened to the new project, and within 24 hours it was moving forward at full speed between Chicago, Sydney and Berlin. Like its birth, the sound is also distinctly international. Funk without borders. It is influenced by both electronica and by reggae music, but it is officially neither. It feels like pop, but it blazes new ground in its rhythms and arrangements. Zulu and David continued to work between Chicago and New York. By the time the record was finished, it was clear that it was a pretty heavy collaboration between the two artists and the label who encouraged them to make their experimental pop monster. "Musically Massive" is the first of two vinyl eps. The second vinyl with remixes and a full-length cd will follow this winter.
"MC Zulu is one of the most talented ragga vocalists out there today, in the U.S. or anywhere." (Jake "DJ C" Trussell)
"David Last's sense of rhythm is as developed as any rap, dancehall, broken beat, or dubstep scientist's you'd care to throw up. Whereas most post-downtempo electronic music shifts the burden of interest to the melodic/harmonic, Last's swinging beats and liquid metal bass throw all the weight on the rhythm section." (pitchfork.com)
"A booming baritone voice that almost knocks you over. Whether he's spitting his signature line 'Spread the word!' or chatting political lyrics, Zulu's vocal presence is unmistakable." (xlr8r.com)
