Kuzco – I Vibes, She Vibes EP

CoOp Presents is very pleased to bring you their first release of 2023, welcoming aboard a brand new artist, Kuzco, with her debut EP, ‘I Vibe, She Vibes‘.

This follows neatly on from their last release, ‘They’re Energised‘; a compilation of antipodean bruk curated by Allysha Joy (30/70 | First Word Records), which also included the debut track from Kuzco, one called ‘Immunity‘.

Kuzco , is an Australian / Maori vocalist, keyboardist & producer living and creating in Naarm (Melbourne), after growing up in the sunshine state of Meanjin (Brisbane).

A heavyweight session keyboardist, Kuzco is a deeply revered figure on the Naarm and Meanjin scene, and is now ready to bring her own creations to the world.

Slowly forging her own sound, Kuzco’s musical background spans countless genres and songs, embodying and reflecting on her musical heritage. In her own words “the intention is to write music that activates the sensuality of feeling music in the body, and reigniting the self with fluid movement.”

Kuzco’s debut EP ‘I Vibe, She Vibes‘ is a body of work born out of deprivation. It’s no exaggeration to say that Kuzco was entering a point in her life that felt like “a drought“. In search of joy & vitality, she saw music to be the only avenue that could hold the weight of what she was feeling. Bottled-up tension led to experiences that directly informed the music.

Her formula to getting music done in the studio is “dropping into the body and pinpointing where exactly I want to feel the music“. Of course there is an emotional element, but for Kuzco, it’s a sensual and physical exploration, which of course led to many studio sessions where the only work actually achieved was dancing.

This EP is Kuzco’s first attempt at capitalising on a new-found confidence to produce a project with her own drum programming and synth bass. Having acquired various synths throughout lockdown, she was able to fully encapsulate a soundscape that was completely otherworldly.

The story curation is a four-part story that explores themes that she hasn’t really been able to communicate in an IRL situation. Making this record brought with it the confidence to communicate messages that were previously locked away. Her inspirations behind the song writing elements include Charlotte Adigery, Paula Tape & Peggy Gou, just to name a few.

‘I Vibe, She Vibe‘ is a four-track set of four-minute songs. ‘Drooling‘ sets off the EP with a triumphant “woop!“. Spacious synths and bass glide across a delectable broken percussive rhythm, with Kuzco’s sweet vocal tackling the subject of the wrong type of infatuation. ‘Mouth That Opens‘ keeps it broken, but has an almost jackin’ Detroit flavour married with an Amapiano-esque log drum b-line, rhode pads and 80’s electro keys in the mix, for a “fearlessly” smooth concoction. ‘Mothertongue‘ drops in on a 4/4 kick with more squelchy synth bass and warping arpeggiated keys, this one focusing on the importance of listening to your inner voice and empowering yourself to be truthful. ‘I Vibe, She Vibes‘ closes out with ‘Shake It‘, dropping the tempo to a cool 100bpm bounce, but again with the prevalence of the ARP 2600 synth remaining strong and Kuzco vocalising the importance of the internal rhythm.

Finally in Kuzco’s words “I want to share my love and gratitude for longtime friend, Sam Stosuur. My main source of inspiration and fellow collaborator on this record. Without his ear, and passion, I would not have been able to build the confidence to share this music with the world“.

An enthralling and vibrant debut, expect strong support in the worlds of bruk and beyond, and much more to come from this exciting, talented new artist in the future. This is the first release for 2023 from the CoOp Presents label, which this year celebrates five years since its first release.