Usually the best stuff comes out when youвЂ™re just kinda winging it.вЂќ Indeed, Hiatus Kaiyote isnвЂ™t merely a soul/funk/jazz collective вЂ“ itвЂ™s a boldly unconventional paradigm, with Nai a singer/songwriter, and Bender, Simon and Moss all instinctive musicians and bedroom producers. вЂњI still bring in songs,вЂќ she says, вЂњbut we can come up with shit from scratch together вЂ“ and thatвЂ™s way more rewarding. Hiatus Kaiyote jammed on their now Grammy-nominated song вЂNakamarraвЂ™ вЂ“ which Nai had just penned about a friend devoting herself to working outback with Indigenous Australians. вЂњOnce we were all in the same room playing, it was just like, This is what itвЂ™s supposed to be like!,вЂќ Nai enthuses.

It needed emotional connection to the music вЂ“ but with creativity.вЂќ She retreated into her beloved desertвЂ¦ Hiatus Kaiyote eventually crystallized after the quiet Pez joined, along with his curious roomie Simon. Says Nai, вЂњI was ready to give up on the whole band idea, because the musicians were amazing вЂ“ like, really gifted musicians вЂ“ but it needed more than that. Bender, whoвЂ™d made it his вЂњmissionвЂќ to seek out complementary players, found that challenging. In fact, the fantastically named Hiatus Kaiyote came together over time, its members encountering one another fatefully in various bands, cafГ©s, and share houses. Straight away I was like, Oh, man, I gotta do a band with this girl.вЂќ He business-carded her post-gig but Nai, having no formal musical background, was initially unsure about collaborating, worried her songs were вЂњa bit weirdвЂќ. IвЂ™d never really heard that combination of elements before. She just started playing and singing and I was like, Whoa, what is this? This is crazy! I was instantly blown away by the voice and the complexity of the tunes. It was like this childвЂ™s pink shit little nylon guitar. вЂњShe started the set explaining that her guitar was locked in someoneвЂ™s house and she couldnвЂ™t get it, so she had to borrow this one. вЂњI didnвЂ™t know what she was gonna do because she was there with this really whack pink guitar,вЂќ Bender remembers drolly. Bender, as everybody calls him, was hanging out at GertrudeвЂ™s Brown Couch in MelbourneвЂ™s groovy inner-suburb of Fitzroy when the striking Nai performed solo. Hiatus KaiyoteвЂ™s story begins with a girl toting a novelty guitar. In a short time, this quartet has embarked on an odyssey that began in bohemian Melbourne and has taken them to the Grammy Awards and beyond. The members of Australian future soul band Hiatus Kaiyote have unveiled Choose Your Weapon (Flying Buddha/Sony Music Masterworks), their most opulent, expansive and ambitious project yet.

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