30/70: art make love
Francisco Espregueira
Hailing from Melbourne, the 30/70 Collective is one of the most influential acts in the underground and contemporary jazz/neo soul scene, inspired heavily by broken beat complexity, translating dance music into live textures and showcasing truly unique collaborative songwriting. After the release of their eponymous album nine years ago, the group went on to record three more albums on labels like Moontown Records and Rhythm Section, while its members (frequently featured here) multiplied musical pleasures by jumping into different projects, cities, influences. Over these nine years 30/70 has become something of a supergroup, with Allysha Joy, Ziggy Zeitgeist, Josh Kelly, Finn Rees and Matthew Hayes all soaring as solo artists, band leaders and producers in their own right. Each member of the band commands their sound and musicality effortlessly - a concept that is unique in 30/70 too - there is no one leader, they make space for each member to go deep on whatever it is they’re bringing to the table, creating space for the music and one another.
Dropping today via Energy Exchange Records, ART MAKE LOVE is their fifth album, expanding far beyond the previous markers of nu-soul and jazz and making a statement about the very life giving, love fuelling, interconnected nature of creativity; a reclamation of art in a digital time. Over 11 tracks they capture captures a visceral sense of light and dark, exploring the very edges of life, death, truth and fear, the depth of spirit and emotion. An incredibly intimate record made in tandem with personal illness and overcoming; the power of practice, process and collective expression enough to pull them forward. True to the spirit of this brilliant collective of artists, ART MAKE LOVE was created with each member taking full control of the recording and producing of their own instrument only to culminate in a unified sound, their synergy palpable as a singular force. Always returning to these core values that we much appreciate, 30/70 present a passionate and touching record, full of life and high levels of musicianship. Available on vinyl, via Energy Exchange Records
Lead vocalist Allysha Joy speaks on behalf of the group around ART MAKE LOVE:
“We wanted this record to embody the concept of art giving life, and life giving art, while serving as a vessel to bring joy, compassion and energy. Particularly in a time when things feel more than ever about a destination or validation and less about a message, we want to exemplify the experience in sharing something that brings us closer together. 30/70 began in a deeply DIY, grass-roots nature, with an ongoing desire to explore and express and collaborate without bounds. This record nods to that time, bringing it back into the present in the hope that it reminds others why they create, to go out and do something they love, bring joy, and give back to this world in some way”ALLYSHA JOY - VOCAL
JOSHUA KELLY - WINDS
MATTHEW HAYES - BASS
ZIGGY ZEITGEIST - DRUMS
FINN REES - KEYBOARDS
LUCKY PEREIRA - JAZZ DRUMS (excerpt 1)
BELLE BANGARD - BACKING VOCALS
JAYDEAN MIRANDA - BACKING VOCALS