NIZLOPI

The reason why the pre-Christmas success of the adventuring ‘JCB Song’, by the human beatbox of John Parker and Luke Conannon, who form Nizlopi, was so compelling is because you knew that they were a serious and searching outfit displaying their fun side. This point is well and truly substantiated in this spring strolling ode to beauty and emotion. Pitched beautifully between the searching sounds of Van Morrison and The Counting Crows, ‘Girls’ is a burning pop song to float away to.

Concannan’s vocals take on a soulfully pleading touch to draw out the deftly spindling acoustic accompaniment in stand out B-side ‘Yesterday’. The simplicity of companionship is extolled with virtue and sincerity. Nizlopi are continuing to build their repertoire with the power of…. well a JCB, seems an apt analogy. - David Adair

News

Warner/Chappell back on the signing road
04 October 2004 - 12:20:52


Publisher Warner/Chappell has broken its self-imposed signings freeze by inking a deal with emerging singer/songwriter duo Nizlopi.
 
The deal marks the start of a new era at the publisher, which has this year undergone cutbacks and restructuring following the acquisition of the Warner Music Group in March by a consortium led by Edgar Bronfman Jr.
 
Warner/Chappell managing director Richard Manners says his company is once again in the business of signing new artists and writers. “We are back in action and this is the first signing as a result of a new round of investment,” says Manners.
 
Nizpoli have been slowly building a name for themselves on the live circuit in support of their independently issued album Half These Songs Are About You, via FDM Records, distributed by Nova/Pinnacle. The band are currently attracting interest from a number of labels who are interested in licensing the album following a strong performance at last month’s In The City conference in Manchester. “Nizlopi perform in a folk meets punk kind of way which is fantastically compelling,” says Manners, who suggests the deal is representative of the level of acts his team are aiming to do deals with in the future.
 
“We won’t be chasing market share with chequebook signings, which is no bad thing,” he says. “It’s about signing quality at a reasonable price.”
 

- Music Week

Van Morrison's Producer and Nizlopi.

Mick Glossop (who has produced numerous alums for Van the Man and many others too numerous to mention) saw the boys play London and Brighton recently. As a consequence he came into the studio for two days to work on a couple of songs with the boys with a view to doing the second album with them. The tracks sound great and we will keep you posted! - Nizlopi Update

Nicky Birch, producer of the British Council radio show 'The Selector' says, 'Our listners voted for Nizlopi in our 'Best of 2003' poll. They loved the JCB song as much as we all do here. The band came into the studio for a live session as well and blew everyone away...fantastic."
The show has a world wide listnership of 30 million. - Somethin' Else

'The most exciting hip hop, acoustic, double bass, JCB shit going down.' - Tom Bryant

'From 'Call it Up' to the encore 'Worry', the two showed why they are such a breath of fresh air to the music industry - original, talented, and great showmen.
For a sound that combines acoustic, folk, R 'n' B and even hip -hop, the reslult is unbelievably smooth - music to make you smile all over.

Luke Concannon has one of the best voices you will hear anywhere and John Parker's instinctive bass playing must be seen to be believed - and that's not even taking into account his astounding human beat-box.' - Claire Hughes

Joe Mott's Award Winning 'HOT':
Everyone digs Net’s new ground breaking song.

"NIZLOPI'S JCB Song is the latest feelgood phenomenon sweeping the Internet.

And, out in December, it could just challenge Robbie Williams, 31, and Westlife for the Christmas No.1.

With lines like “I’m Luke, I’m five and my dad’s Bruce Lee, he drives me round in his JCB”, the song evokes memories of playground rows over whose dad is hardest.
It’s a charming childhood tale of a kid being rescued by his dad for a day out on the heavy plant. If your one of the three people who hasn’t had the link arrive in your inbox, its sort of The Streets meets folk in a hip-hop club.

I’m told “The buzz around the song is immense and it’s all been driven by the Internet. The band have already turned down big money deals from SonyBMG and Warners and Volkswagen are desperate to use the song on an advert.
“They’ve said no to all three and stayed with their own, independent label so they can do exactly what they want.”
Luke Concannon and John Parker, both 27, are the pair behind the track and have been in the band for years.

A pal of Luke told me: “He was bullied at school for being dyslexic and his dad used to take him to work on his JCB for a treat sometimes. That’s the inspiration”.
They’ve played the festivals and even done a series of gigs in people’s houses up and down the country.

But just as Arctic Monkeys have been THE band of the moment thanks to word of mouse – on the Internet – the JCB song looks set to do the same.
Already at 33-1 with the bookies for the Crimble top spot, the video is amazing.
Created by Monkeehub – the team behind Radiohead’s Creep Promo – it features Transformers Optimus Prime, The A-Team van and Zoids.

To see it check out www.jcbsong.co.uk/jcbvideo.asp - it really is thet good." - Joe Mott

I had never thought of my home as a venue for a pop concert. It is not large, and has been made much smaller by an infill of several hundred paintings, sculptures, bibelots, and inessential items of furniture, mostly fragile.

The guests trickle in. They are the youngest I could muster, including two university students, but are still, I expect, a good deal older than the boys' usual audiences. When Luke encourages them to dance if they feel like it, and "shake the thing your mother gave you," the non-students look as if they are trying to remember what that was.One listener, however, takes him at his word. As the guitar and the double bass begin to vibrate,

The home concert is turning out to be much more enjoyable than I had dared hope. Luke's lyrics - sometimes drowned by the music on the record - are perfectly clear and give the listeners much to chew on. You can tell that boy is Irish," says my friend Sullivan. "He can really sing."

I had worried that the closeness might be embarrassing - that guests only a couple of feet from Luke and John might feel constrained to wear looks of rapt appreciation, but these seem to be occurring naturally. My own favourite is "Love Rage On", a bouncy number with a Latin sound and exuberant lyrics ("It's so original! Not in your pigeonhole!")

By the time we get to the fourth of their 10 numbers, everyone is deeply into Nizlopi, even if the predominantly English reserve gets in the way of participation.

The poignant new release, "Girls" ("some days sweet like honey, some days tart like Marmite"), with a backing that recalls a gently flowing stream, gets a warm response. Luke describes it as "a love letter written on the back of an envelope".

For the last number, Luke urges his listeners to stand and dance. They shyly do the first, but no more. This may have something to do with my being unable to stop myself adding, "Carefully." There is no restraint, however, in the applause that signals everyone's sincere appreciation of this homespun hip-hop. The comments could have been scripted by the musicians themselves: "Engaging" and "refreshing" are heard a lot, and one guest says, "This is a wonderful alternative to the blandness of the commercial culture." My Polish friend says, "This reminds me of - who do I mean? It's a name like Charlie Chaplin." We finally arrive at "Janis Joplin." An enthusiastic old person says, "They're a bit like Van Morrison - but I like them better." One guest, enchanted by the pugs' reaction, announces her intention of smuggling her own small dog into concerts - "but she's rather old now, so I think I'll start with Bach."

- Rhoda Koenig

Nizlopi, Underbelly Edinburgh Festival 25.08.04

Review posted on the BBCi web site on 25.08.04

the Edinburgh festival is renowned for intimate locales, obscure gigs, places of happening that are often off the map: the underbelly in the heart of the cowgate is one such dwelling, but never has its affectionate and confidential nature been cradled with such alacrity as last night. so it was part of the great surprise that the men who are 'Nizlopi' were newcomers to the city: they laid siege but it felt like a homecoming.

One double-bass and a vocal beat-box, one guitar and a celestial voice: it's raw music in a clearing of togetherness, a gathering of musical animism in a spirit of freedom and joy. i'd like to call it a curry of folk-hip-hop-anti-folk-double-de-caf-house music, but it's not until you open your heart with your ears that you really dig what they're up to. example: there was a moment, mid-gig, when the guys stepped into the crowd and played so pure an acoustic juncture that they were being lead by the people's breathing and finger-clicking. breaking down the barriers is just one of the many ideas behind this act's government. it was a post-modern-snap-crackle-pop-annunciation-scene, no it wasn't, it was a spark of electricity that brokered a unique connection between act and environment... perhaps, but it manifested into a communion with the assembly to the point that after the word got around the crowd doubled in size: we were fifty strong for the opening ballad - for the last dance songs more than a century of folk made up what could only be called the luminary rejoicings.

when were you in a gig last where the people smiled so broad that the reflection from their teeth contributed to the acoustics? in fact each plastic cup, every last element of dust shining in the candle-light, and every soul and fibre of being contributed to this amazing gig: it was as if you and everyone around you were part of the act. this is the democracy of nizlopi.

normally you like to keep quiet about something special, contain the secret, perhaps only whisper it to yourself in fear of altering that which is delicate... but these boys have a robust edge to their elegance and subtlety, they can withstand any assemblage of phrases from your personal lexis: grab some air and shout about it, pass the word. all those that care about music, who feel pain and understand joy, come together, climb the mountain, swim those seas, butter your toast with love and offer friendship to your neighbour, switch channel, now: raise your arms, give it up, join the people's republic of nizlopi!

tommy b



- Tommy B

I thought Nizlopi were MY discovery untill they played live in the studio and their fans sent my phone lines into meltdown. I owe them a fortune in royalties as I play a clip of them as my ident...maybe ten times a night!
- Joanne Good.