We’re a British hip hop duo from Brighton, our music is inspired by the daisy age era of hip hop, bands like De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest etc. We released our debut album Stereo Typical in the UK in October 2011 and our biggest hit Mama Do the Hump was produced by Fatboy Slim. We’re a DIY band and co-direct a lot of our own videos, we first got attention by making videos for free with a friend of ours that we put up on our Youtube: (youtube.com/rizzlekicks.) We have a mini European tour coming up followed by a 26 date tour in the UK. We are currently recording our second album, due out next year.
You’re coming to Australia to play Parklife, is there any band on the line-up that you’re excited to see?
J: Plan B is a brilliant performer. We don’t know many Australian bands so it will be good to check some out.
What can fans expect from a Rizzle Kicks festival set?
H: There will be a lot of high energy and fun including various dance moves and some trumpet playing.
Do you prefer hang back stage at a festival or get amongst the crowd?
H: We definitely prefer getting in amongst the crowd. We played a festival in the UK recently called Bestival and they had a Wild life theme so everyone was dressed up as animals. We got our animal onesies on and got our face painted so we were in disguise and got to enjoy the entire weekend in the crowd, it was amazing.
Is there anything touristy you want to do while in Australia?
J: We’d like to see some Koalas and Kangaroos and lots of other animals…
You’ve already been able to collaborate with some amazing artists, which artist would you next like to work with?
H: We’d love to work with Damon Albarn, we’ve spent a lot of time with him recently on a project we did called the Africa Express where we collaborated on stage and it would be great to do something in the studio.
J: I’d love to wok with Beck or Prince, they are my idols, that would be unbelievable
How do you feel about reportedly being the second most pirated act for the first half of 2012?
J: We’re happy that our music is popular and that so many people are engaging with it. A lot of the fans who are getting our music for free will spread the word and spend money elsewhere and buy tickets to see us live or buy a t-shirt. We try not to focus on it too much, we’re just happy to make music and play shows.
Do you have any particular ritual before you go on stage, or even a lucky charm you take with you?
H: Not really
J: There’s a pet tiger I bring on stage sometimes called Cassiopeia
What’s on heavy rotation on your iPod right now?
J: Lianne La Havas’ album Is Your Love Big Enough
H: There’s a rapper from New York called Joey Bada$$ who’s really good and we’ve been listening to his mixtape 1999
If you could curate your own festival, where would it be, who would be on the bill, how many people would you let in and what features would it have (attractions/food/bars etc)?
J: It would be in Brazil and there would be free booze and the line up would be: Kanye West, Jay Z, Prince, Blur, The Strokes, Outkast, The Libertines, Beck, Jurassic 5…
H: That would be awesome! Fatboy Slim would DJ after into the early hours
What is your band’s music the best soundtrack for?
Both: Summer
What’s next for Rizzle Kicks?
H: Loads of touring, more recording for album two.
J: We’re also writing a comedy sitcom that we’re acting in… we’ll start filming that next year.
