Underground Rave Caves, Sex Dreams And Conga Lines

With two albums and a swag of EPs and mixtapes down since the 2007 noodlings of Nicolaas Oogjes on Windows Sound Recorder evolved into a 16-legged collective, NO ZU is a genre-bending project that is difficult to find words for. Rather than wait to see what term they'd be get lumped with, Oogjes cleverly came up with his own —  heat beat: "a nocturnal sex dream bringing together no wave, funk, house, techno and global percussion". 

There's even a range of heat beat leisurewear (aka merchandise), created by a sportswear designer and incorporating sweat-wicking fabric, to accompany the listening experience. That's just the kind of band that NO ZU is.

"I think we're quite weird and quite alien to a lot of things that happen, and it's deliberate as well."

"It's easy to just call it heat beat and I guess it's kind of fun and funny — there's a beat in there and we do get pretty hot and sweaty that's for sure," starts the energetic Oogjes. "Kieran [O'Shea] our synth player said the other day that if he doesn't get drenched from a set then it just feels like it was all wrong and we didn't work hard enough. Basically we approach it like a work out, some kind of gym session... The other thing is it's a dumb term and I know that, but it kind of reflects what we're doing — a lot of people get freaked out by NO ZU 'cause there's a lot going on, but all we're doing is, it's just a groove and maybe a few noises over the top, but it's pretty simple."

Despite possessing what appear to be adept marketing skills, Oogjes doesn't go much for the tick list of achievements that many artists rush to complete in the name of career momentum. He admits that it's almost a cliche to simply aspire to playing great shows filled with energy and a natural connection to their audience. Though it's the truth of NO ZU.

"Everything has just been a cherry on top ever since our first ever live show," he says with sincerity. "Our first ever show I was like, ok we've made it — in my head — already. The first show was actually to about 20 people at a cafe, a closed café that would do DIY gigs in Thornbury; it was like this cafe people took over, it was an old Spanish jewellery store before that was called El Joyero. And because these weird recordings had been around on MySpace or something like that, someone from the more experimental type of crowd in Melbourne who I kind of — not worshipped but who I held up in high regard — asked us to play on this bill that featured Lost Animal and Free Choice Duo, who includes one of the members of this group Fabulous Diamonds. I looked up to this crew that I never felt like I could get in with ever, and that was our first ever show and I remember just being so nervous, and it kind of went pretty well I think. It was the first time I felt truly a part — even though we're quite different — but a part of Melbourne culture in a way.

"There's a lot of body music happening in there so you can get lost in that as well. Hopefully you can feel it and not have to intellectualise it too much."

"I've never felt a part of any [scene], but also not distant," he continues, not unlike legendary late '70s New York no wave figure James Chance, who NO ZU have shared the stage with in Australia and the States. "I think we've got one foot within the world obviously, just from friendships and labels we've worked with and a lot of the bands that influence us as well... I think we're quite weird and quite alien to a lot of things that happen, and it's deliberate as well — I don't think we've ever wanted to be a part of any scene and for me and the rest of the band to be able to keep a strong focus on that complete NO ZU world we need to be quite self-referential I think."

With little interest in the business of music either, Oogjes' energy is spent on the admirable pursuit of creativity for creativity's sake. "I always pictured an underground rave cave full of smoke and the heat beat goin' crazy, and just a communal collective experience," he says with a distant chuckle, explaining the enviable zone NO ZU often find themselves in on stage.

"It's probably the only time that I truly am completely mindful of what's happening musically and the energy from the crowd and on stage, and not thinking about anything else. At any other time in your day-to-day life — like most people I'm sure — they've got different things floating around in their heads, but on stage your mind is silenced in a lot of ways. That's a really serious answer," he laughs, "but it's totally the case and I think that's why it's so addictive... It's kind of like a drug. We've just had so many good times, so many great shows where we've got to that state. It doesn't happen with every show, but I think we're all optimists and we always hope and feel like the next show could be the best show that we've ever done no matter where we are. Just that sense of getting overwhelmed with one thing is incredibly special, and if we can share that with whoever's in the room — the crowd and us as band performers — I mean, that's just incredible.

"There is a bunch of absurd, eccentric things that often tend to happen too — there's conga lines, and a lot of clothing does tend to come off. I often get told about the crazier things afterwards from people because I let myself get completely lost in it and it's just a hazy bunch of images burned on my memory afterwards. We played Golden Plains at 10.30pm and that was just wild, but I can't remember any of it though I've seen some photographic proof that it happened!"

Affirming their position as merrymaking groove masters upon the February release of Afterlife, NO ZU is not simply a one-trick party machine; across the largely instrumental record, there are themes of mortality, spirituality and gender roles to dissect too. Even if Oogjes' claims that his only real musical skill lies in bringing together more talented people than himself are true, his ability to dream up and kick off the one-band heat beat "scene" is a skill to behold.

"There's some deeper themes on the record about colonial invasion and things like that which are not the quickest thing to grasp when we're a euphoric dance band or whatever you want to call it. That said, then there's a lot of body music happening in there so you can get lost in that as well. Hopefully you can feel it and not have to intellectualise it too much. But you can definitely sift for gold, for those little nuggets of deeper material that are there, because we're humans and we feel a part of society and we have these thoughts. It's definitely not a superficial record at all, but I also just want people to be able to lose themselves in it."