Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
New EP brings classy retro rock outfit out of Brisbane.
Their latest single, Coolite, aims for the skinny-tie JFK-cool vibe and comes up trumps, even with an Enya cover among the B-sides. From strident guitar and Hammond organ to Beach Boys-style choral curtain-closer, Coolite finds Tonjip reaching new heights, a class act on a par with Melbourne's Even and Scotland's Teenage Fanclub. It's hit the spot with Triple J and MTV for starters, whetting appetites for album number two.
- City Search Melbourne
Tonjip have come up with a world-class doozy of a tune in Coolite. It's a lively, expertly produced rocker that pushes all the right pop buttons: a simple, tenaciously hooky melody, pristine backing harmonies, chunky guitars and handclaps. Moth & Rust is even better – with its playful falsetto do-do-dos, banana-fingers piano and zippy fuzz bass, it's a track Supergrass might have written if they moved to Brisbane and were made relaxed and hazy by the sunshine. Then there's the group's audacious recasting of Enya's ethereal Only Time as a lost Beach Boys classic, filled with blissful harmonies, while the closing instrumental Life In Transit makes Tonjip's Brian Wilson fixation plain – all woozy organ chords and more of those angelic voices. Very sweet.
- Rave Magazine
Brisbane band Tonjip have a wonderful sense of melody likely to be otherwise found only in the now drug-addled minds of former early-70s pop stars and maybe a few mid-western farmers. Going all-out on this second single off their upcoming sophomore album, Tonjip work tirelessly to make their grinding hooks seem flippant and jettisoned and it’s this aural contradiction that makes ‘Coolite’ a more-than-rewarding listen. (AC) - Timeoff
Brisbane’s fine Toupee label gives us another quality release in this new Tonjip single. Missile Crisis is a finely crafted guitar pop song, with gently catchy melodies shot through with serrated guitar shards. Phil Usher’s undulating vocal delivery sits strikingly within the moody guitar cocoon the band have constructed, and the soaring harmonies in the chorus tug at your synapses. Tonjip have buckets of pop nous and solid instrumental skills which hint at considerable untapped potential. Keep an eye on them. - Rave Magazine
By the time they hit the vocal harmonies and lead guitar in the chorus, Tonjip have you eating out of their hands, and the short, sweet B-side, “Dow Jones’ Locker”, is just the icing on the cake! - Time Off
Electromatic
Gloriously ecstatic and stomping piece of slacker rock. Like the shy daggy kid in class, fed up to his back teeth, and suddenly stomping his feet in a triumphant fight back, this thing is wild and hairy in the outer space guitar sounds, emphatic and motivated in the rhythm, and effortlessly understated in the vocal melody. Unlike the tantrum chucking nerd however, this song knows how to exit gracefully, a horn and string arrangement bidding us farewell. Keep your eyes out for these Brissy bred lads, they have talent I tells ya.
- InPress
Discography
Tun-jip (LP 2000)
Electromatic (Single 2002)
Missile Crisis (Single 2003)
Coolite (Single 2004)
Nice Guys? (EP 2004)
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
2004 was a big year for TONJIP.
June released single “Coolite” was on Triple J rotation for more than 20 weeks, with the song reaching as high as number 3 on the net 50 in August. The band were interviewed by Caroline Tran on Triple J for Richard Kingsmill’s 2004 show, as well as Home and Hosed with Robbie Buck. They were also interviewed on Planet Rock for the Austereo network and were selected as the Launch Pad artist on Triple M in June. Their great run has included generous National airplay for their song “Coolite,” several southern tours and solid support for the single’s accompanying video from Rage, Channel V and MTV. “Coolite” was a top 5 nomination in the Rock category of the 2005 MUSICOZ awards and was also on the short-list for Triple J’s Hottest 100 of 2004. Add to all this tour supports with Spiderbait, Rhubarb and Thirsty Merc in late 2004, and it seems the band has their work cut out for them if they are to improve on this success in 2005.
November 2004 also saw the release of new single “Nice Guys?” which takes the catchy melodies and rock and roll swagger of “Coolite,” and launches their nostalgic guitar pop into unchartered solar systems. The EP features two brand new B-sides plus the smash single and video for previous release “Coolite.”
This next chapter in the TONJIP story again sees the band steering well clear of current musical trends, choosing instead to continue the unrelenting search for that sound which defines them as a collective. Instead, TONJIP have their sights firmly focused on personal obsessions such as longevity, quality songwriting and fastidious hygiene. The band has made the DIY ethos into an art form, with recording, producing, engineering and graphic design all kept within the confines of the group. This tight reigned approach has afforded them the luxury of greater creative control, clearly focused vision and uninterrupted beer consumption.
It also sees the beginning of a new relationship with management and independent label representation, under the banner of Brisbane’s T-MAS records and artist management. Director Mr Virgil Tracy commented on the proposition of working with the hard labouring band. “We are impressed with what TONJIP has achieved in the past year through self-promotion and management, and we aim to be able to focus that vision to expand and capitalize on future opportunities for the band in 2005 and beyond,” Mr Tracy said.
Since late 2002 TONJIP have been working tirelessly to further their cause and hone their sound. The group formed a few years earlier after some child-hood friends combined musical forces after they inadvertently found themselves without a vehicle for their musical expression. Traveling everywhere from Darwin to Tarwin Lower in VIC and everywhere in between, the band have earned their fair share of stripes and scars over the years. They toured for Triple J with Rhubarb and Diana Anaid in 2002; their single “electromatic” being featured on high rotation in the latter part of that year. It was also nominated on the short list for the hottest 100 of 2002, in addition to being chosen as a finalist in the ROCK category of the MusicOZ awards for 2003.
As well as playing select shows in and around Brisbane and a brief trip to Melbourne to perform at an invitation only showcase for Australian Music Week, 2005 has afforded TONJIP the opportunity to spend many waking hours in the studio recording their long-awaited second LP, at drummer Scott Mullane’s studio. The “Nice Guys?” EP makes a superb diversion for the band as they put the finishing touches on their second major work.
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