Dynamic Disciples
Satan / Sharing

Zretro are a Naarm (Melbourne) based duo made up of vocalist Zima and producer 2nd Thought. Their self-titled debut LP blends 90s R&B vocals with golden era hiphop production and elements of Kwaito and Afrobeats. Zima’s voice is honey sweet, 2nd Thought beats sound fresh out of an MPC and their album is tied together by the elastic bass guitar contributions of jazzy house don Horatio Luna. Raw, simple production lets the beats and vocals dominate with only minimal instrumental accompaniment.Zima aka Mzimazizi Mpofu was born in Buluwayo, Zimbabwe and raised in Melbourne and Canberra. He grew up on TLC, Tupac, MJ and Oliver Mtukudzi and has been singing for at least 20 of his 26 years graduating from church and family events to clubs and studios around Australia. 2nd Thought aka William Stephanus was born in Australia but grew up in Namibia and returned to Melbourne in his late teens where he started making beats and rapping in Melbourne’s underground hiphop scene with crews like Pang Productions and his own outfit JXN. Zima and Willy met on a construction site and then put their heads together in the studio with immediate results but the record was put on ice due to Covid 19. Pandemic delays done with, the duo is ready to take on the world.Unsurprisingly, given Retro is right there in the name, there’s a huge 1990s influence throughout Zretro’s music. There’s slick RnB and West Coast flavour of equal parts SWV, Boyz 2 Men and Death Row in a lot of the vocal delivery, tempos and melodies. There’s also a decidedly grimy East Coast boom bap tinge to the boxy MPC drums and that brings to mind Hi-Tek, Alchemist and Pete Rock productions. The other thread, less obvious but woven throughout the album is the influence of early 2000s Southern African music. There’s musical and lyrical nods to Afrobeats, Kwaito and SA House and inspiration from pop stars like Brenda Fassie, to underground icons like Mzekezeke.

Originally recorded in 1971 by Fela Kuti’s band, Africa 70, with the addition of former Cream drummer Ginger Baker, this album contains 4 songs plus a bonus track 16-minute drum duet between Baker and Africa 70’s drummer Tony Allen recorded at the 1978 Berlin Jazz Festival.Label: Knitting Factory Records – KFR2003-3Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Limited Edition, Reissue, Stereo, Red Vinyl, LP, Single Sided, Album, Etched, Limited Edition, Reissue, Stereo, Red

Left reeling at the turn of the decade, Close Counters 'explosion onto the live electronic scene in Melbourne was abruptly halted, leaving them in a uncertain and constant state of flow. After a move across the Tasman Sea a few short years ago from Hobart, the duo had expanded and enlisted a full 7 piece setup with live percussion, woodwind and stringed instruments joining the tour de force on stage which features dancers from their greater collective. Their most recent East Coast headline tour of Australia saw the team continue to sell out shows with an impressive 1,100 tickets across two shows at Melbourne’s infamous The Night Cat after gracing the Meredith Music Festival stage at midnight ahead of Liam Gallagher on the billing to which the amphitheater was left heaving and punters enthralled.Their new aptly titled ‘Flux’ EP, conceived originally in a Coburg studio, was moved due to a government enforced 112 day lockdown in Victoria. Studio space was traded in for online streamed sessions withAllysha Joy (30/70) Paul Bender (Hiatus Kaiyote) and JAYDEAN. A host of friends along the way also joined in various forms across the 5 tracker and the sense of community with their peers helped them overcome the challenging time, that has seen Close Counters create their most well rounded piece of artistry, that further showcases their diverse soundscape at the crossroads of house, neo-soul, hip-hop and disco.Their new wave of live dance music has been featured multiple times on Indie Shuffle and their original works have been widely supported by tastemakers Giles Peterson, NME, Pilerats, EARMILK, The Sound You Need, Stoney Roads and radio crews at BBC Radio 6, triple j, Worldwide FM, KEXP Seattle, NTS and Balamii.