Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
"First glances of the cover art for Sydney outfit bluejuice's second EP suggest some potentially crazy Communist-style marching music sampled under some Oztrayan flavoured beats and rhymes. Alas, all you get here is some damn solid Aussie hip-hop. Returning after 2003's highly Triple J rotated debut Zebraaazz EP, the quintet's newbie kicks off aggressively with Mad Squabbles before moving into the killer chorus/beat combination of Bounce Back that is, at the very least, a sure-fire radio rocker and live crowd pleaser. The Madness signals its punchy arrival with a deeper beat, a touch of organ wickedness, topped off by some clever rhyming, while new single Unemployed well and truly funks it up with hip-hop-style harmonies, typically Oztrayan rhyming, and a touch o scratching. Final track Strivin' makes heavy use of keys underneath Stav and Jake Stone's lyrical gymnastics, and the absence of Red Army marching mixes is forgivable... just this once".
Jack Langridge - Rave Magazine 12/4/05
"With EP launches usually being about looking back, bluejuice redefined the idea with a short and tight set showcasing almost all new material, including (shock horror) a rock song, proving they really can impress at any venue. Antics wise, we had a meat raffle, homeboy Jake swinging from the ceiling, and a police hat but thankfully no arrests this time. Bassist Jamie and drummer Ned remain a solid groove rhythm machine, even if keyboardist Jerry Craib was too low in the mix (or the crowd too crazy) for me to hear his Booker-T-on-crack soloing. Jake and Stav's mismatched psychotic odd-couple rock-star like ability to draw the whole crowd into their own private party planet ('Bounce Back' jump ups anyone?) was proven in near-dangerously packed circumstances, and in a sign of stardom, a phone was risen to the air so a presumably unemployed friend could her 'Unemployed'. bluejuice's ability to remain musically focussed and looking forward, but not take the hip-hop mantra seriously is exactly what makes them a stand out on the competitive Sydney live scene, even if commercial radio prefers tough-boy Kiwis to crazy comedians with instrumental ability. Pork dinner anyone?"
Dylan Behan - The Brag 18/04/05
"bluejuice have excellent presence. From the moment they came on to a slow funk strut with a raga-breakdown the audience was right there with them. Two rappers, in crazy cop straight cop stylee, front the band, weaving around each other with tight vocal interplay. Crayzee cop is Jake Stone. He’s got the shouty flow of Ad Rock and the deranged-rock stage-lurch of Julian Casablancas. Hurling himself backwards from the top of the bass drum to the floor below seems to be a favourite pastime – all to the cheers of the expectant crowd! They rolled out their set of old and newies. From the new EP they played Strivin and their Hymn To The Unemployed. Venom Boogie – Jake’s rock song - was an unexpected pleasure! There can be no doubt at all that Bluejuice are earning their bacon with new EP The Good Luck Pig. At the gig the message was clear: this is a group on the rise. From the merchandising table at the back to their slick performance, the ‘juice seem determined to be taken as a serious musical force. This is in total juxtapostion to their general attitude, which is one of gleeful irreverence. I hope they maintain this humorous side in their meteoric rise to fame, because it’s that which gives them their spark".
Freddy Weaver - 3D World 18/5/05
"I thought I'd never hear a commercially viable slice of hip hop confectionary coming out of the land of Oz but this blunt is dripping with chart-savvy celeries. Fat, jazzy, hands-in-the-air choruses combine with slick rhymes that sound Australian without the cringe factor: no Kappa tracksuits in sight and no need to hide your wallet. Bluejuice master the art of Australian irony through crisp and precise lyrical stylings that swing from comical phonetic genius (Stav) to manic percussive rants (Jake) and as for the slick instrumental bed of jazzed-up sounds: Jerry, Ned and Jamie...take a bow; you've got me all rubber-necked and loose-hipped. That hasn't happened since that snowboard accident in '93. Fat-cat A&R wankers should take note: Zebraaazz is a debut EP and you'll notice I haven't used the word 'potential' once- it's all there, ready, primed and poised to blow your mediocre rosters off the music map. Prepare to be 'juiced'."
Glenn Mitchell - www.whammo.com.au
"There's this whole "Easter Sunday" thing going on in Australian Hop-Hop right now. It had a brief, glorious infancy and looked like it was going to go somewhere, then it all fell apart. J-Wess happened, and so everyone decided that to distance themselves from that, they decided never to rap about anything except BBQ's and VB ever again, and to make it as mono-tone and devoid of flow as they could. Now it's rising from the dead with a new wave of bands who can play instruments, rock a groove and spill rhymes all at the same time, and who understand that you can spit melodically without sounding like Jay-Z.
Bluejuice kind of sound like a cross between Bliss & Eso and Still Thinking; fast, dynamic flows over hard grooves and tight arrangements to make excellent party anthems. Stand out tracks are the JJJ friendly Unemployed and Bounce Back, which is a straight up Australian bounce track that doesn't sound like it came from a group of stoned and self-conscious footy nerds. This is their second EP, and a killer recording. I can't wait for these dudes to come down and see if they are as good as this CD promises".
Liam Pieper - Beat Magazine 20/5/05
Discography
'Zebraaazz' (EP) 2003
'The Good Luck Pig' (EP) 2005
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
In the past, the wiggling snake that is bluejuice has prided itself on being one of the few Australian hip hop acts to totally ignore our obvious social and political problems, both at home and abroad, and concentrate on being stupid, really stupid.
While it would be appropriate to say the band have few ambitions beyond their varied short and long-term lusts, in the past few months they have agreed that John Howard and George Bush are dirty cunts.
In response, bluejuice have decided to use their powers for good and bring down our conservative political daddies, both at home and in the USA, by being stupid, really stupid.
Yeah, stupid like a goddamn fox, stupid like an octopus. Stupid like one of those educated science chimpanzees what wears glasses. Look here ...
bluejuice is for anyone whose ever bitten into a rotten apple and just kept on eating, for anyone who invested their hard work and dreams in an isolated farming community, only to be attacked by wave after wave of zombies. The cure for what ails ya is the bluejuice.
Most importantly, bluejuice is for anyone who has ever been to a live gig and thought "This is fucked, why are those haircuts staring at their sneakers?". bluejuice is for anyone who thought it might be fun to get smashed on tequila and pretend to be James Brown for one golden hour while your peers grind themselves to dust around you.
Since forming, bluejuice have gigged for 3 years solid, imploding venues like the Metro, the basement and even the Entertainment Centre in Sydney, as well as Revolver (Melb), Esplanade (Melb), The Alley (Bris) and Great Northern (Byron Bay). They've played with local acts including 1200 Techniques, The Herd, Good Buddha, Hermitude, Butterfingers, Baggsmen, The Beautiful Girls, and Kid Confucius. And they had the honour of supporting DIZZEE RASCAL when he toured Australia in 2004 for Splendour In The Grass.
The debut EP was produced by Tony Buchen (producer and bass for Baggsmen) and Jacob Cook (producer for Vassy). Triple J played four out of the five songs and eventually lodged "Here We Go Now" on high rotation. In June 2004 they won first prize in the Brag Live! Competition (hip hop). They were also named MusicOz Artist of The Year in 2003, immediately gobbling the Sony-sponsored recording cookies in order to produce , their second EP. Expect to hear more songs than you expected to hear on radio.
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