Brethren (Australian group)
Encyclopedia
Brethren are one of the longest-serving hip hop crews in Australia, celebrating 20 years in 2009. The group comprises Matthew Peet aka “Mistery” and Claude Rodriguez aka Wizdm.
Brethren featured on the first full length Australian hip hop album, starred in the first Australian hip hop documentary, and produced the first ever Australian hip hop concept album. They were also one of the first commercially signed hip hop crews in Australia. Brethren appeared in Rolling Stone Magazine
, the SBS
Compass documentary The Mistery of Hip Hop, and on TV shows – Recovery, Channel V
’s Soup Kitchen, Room 208, and SBS's Alchemy.
Brethren have supported acts such as Ice-T
, Run DMC, Blackalicious
, DJ Kool Herc
, Playdough, Vex Da Vortex and performed at festivals including The Big Day Out, Livid and Blackstump Music Festival.
Apart from their own releases, they have contributed tracks to numerous collaborative albums such as MY MY, Home Brews 2, Basic Equipment, Hip-hop A Place Of Peace, 4 Elements and Culture of Kings 2.
Brethren got their first big break in the hip hop scene courtesy of Sereck from the Australian hip hop group Def Wish Cast
. Sereck secured a spot for Brethren at a Kinselas Jams gig, organized by Scott Wolf and Code Blue from (then) Sound Unlimited
From then on they started performing at underground gigs on a regular basis and also started running workshops at youth centres and community events throughout Sydney.
In 1992, they appeared on the debut album Knights of the Underground Table
by Def Wish Cast. This album was the first full length Australian hip hop
album.
Brethren recorded their first four song demo on cassette
in 1992. The recording was very popular and circulated quickly throughout the grassroots industry.
The demo came to the attention of TV show Simon Townsend's Wonder World
who offered to make a video clip for their song "Crusin". The clip went on to be played on TV shows - rage
, Channel 3 and Channel 31 (Australia). It was also a crucial part of a locally produced production Spooky Tricks that sold internationally.
The demo also came to the attention of a subsidiary of Mushroom Records
called MDS who backed Brethren so that they could release their first CD; the Big Brother EP in 1996. This resulted in Brethren becoming one of the first commercially signed hip hop groups in Australia.
In August 1996, Brethren performed tracks from their Big Brother album at Bomb Australia's B-Boy Kingdom 2 - a hip hop jam in Brisbane, alongside Warcry (Gold Coast).
In 1996, while Mistery was touring overseas, Wizdm recorded and produced his first solo album Words of Wizdm.
In 1997 Brethren released the single "Slingshot" which received airplay on Triple J
and featured on the compilation Homebrews 2.
In 1998 they appeared in the first Australian hip hop documentary Basic Equipment which was broadcast on ABC TV during the government supported youth culture themed Loud Festival. The film was made by Paul Fenech
(creator of SBS
' Pizza series
) and narrated by Sereck from Def Wish Cast
. The film featured a range of prominent artists in the Sydney hip hop
scene.
In 2000 Brethren joined the label Mustard Records and launched a compilation project In Da Midst, which featured 18 tracks from emerging artists from Australia and New Zealand. The project coincided with a national tour that saw Brethren team up with acclaimed U.S. hip-hop artist, Vex Da Vortex, from the group BoogieMonsters
.
In 2004 Brethren released their first full length album Beyond Underground. The album was produced by Wizdm, and included guest appearances by some Australian hip-hop artists; Morganics
, Sereck, Sleeping Monk, Hoodsta, Mass Mc and DJs Nic Toth, Diggz, Flagrant and Nino Brown.
The album was the first ever Australian hip-hop concept album
and took 3 years to complete. Each track on the album depicted a part of an original sci-fi
story written by Brethren, with inspiration drawn from films such as Journey to the Center of the Earth
, War of the Worlds, and Mad Max
. The album was released with a limited edition full size comic book, with illustrations by Mistery, which depicted the story line from each track.
Since the group’s formation, Mistery and Wizdm have been heavily involved in promoting MCing, Graff
and Breaking to teenagers and up and coming artists in the hip hop scene. Maya Jupiter
, another Australian hip hop artist and ex-radio broadcaster has publicly acknowledged the support of Mistery in her early career.
Since 2006 Mistery has led a Christian hip hop movement Krosswerdz known colloquially as the “hip-hop church”. Krosswerdz runs creative arts programs for young people, collaboration projects for artists in the gospel music and hip hop scene, as well as monthly faith-based services. Wizdm continues to work as a beat-producer and mentor for many Australian emcees.
For the past few years both Wizdm and Mistery have been working on individual solo albums, Unrelenting, and Way of the Warrior as well as a 20 year Brethren anniversary album Bastion. All three LPs are expected to be released in 2009 through Krosswerdz Recordings.
Brethren featured on the first full length Australian hip hop album, starred in the first Australian hip hop documentary, and produced the first ever Australian hip hop concept album. They were also one of the first commercially signed hip hop crews in Australia. Brethren appeared in Rolling Stone Magazine
Rolling Stone Australia
Rolling Stone Australia is an Australian-based magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture that is published monthly, it is the Australian edition of the United States' Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone was initially released in Melbourne in May 1970 as a supplement in Revolution, an...
, the SBS
Special Broadcasting Service
The Special Broadcasting Service is a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect...
Compass documentary The Mistery of Hip Hop, and on TV shows – Recovery, Channel V
Channel V
Channel [V] is the brand name for multiple international music television networks owned by STAR TV and Fox International Channels, fully owned subsidiaries of News Corporation.-Channel [V] International:...
’s Soup Kitchen, Room 208, and SBS's Alchemy.
Brethren have supported acts such as Ice-T
ICE-T
* Ice-T, an American rapper and actor* ICE T , a tilting model of the German InterCityExpress series of high-speed trains...
, Run DMC, Blackalicious
Blackalicious
Blackalicious is an American hip hop duo from Sacramento, California made up of rapper Gift of Gab and DJ/producer Chief Xcel . They are noted for Gift of Gab's often "tongue-twisting", multisyllabic, complex rhymes and Chief Xcel's "classic" beats...
, DJ Kool Herc
DJ Kool Herc
Clive Campbell , also known as Kool Herc, DJ Kool Herc and Kool DJ Herc, is a Jamaican-born DJ who is credited with originating hip hop music, in The Bronx, New York City...
, Playdough, Vex Da Vortex and performed at festivals including The Big Day Out, Livid and Blackstump Music Festival.
Apart from their own releases, they have contributed tracks to numerous collaborative albums such as MY MY, Home Brews 2, Basic Equipment, Hip-hop A Place Of Peace, 4 Elements and Culture of Kings 2.
Background
Mistery and Wizdm first met in 1989 at the Heavenly Taste Pizza shop in Sydney, where Mistery was working at the time. They realised they had mutual interests in Hip-Hop, B-Boying and spirituality and decided to form Brethren.Brethren got their first big break in the hip hop scene courtesy of Sereck from the Australian hip hop group Def Wish Cast
Def Wish Cast
Def Wish Cast are an Australian hip hop group originally from around Penrith, Sydney. Currently they reside in a few areas around the City of Sydney.-Biography:...
. Sereck secured a spot for Brethren at a Kinselas Jams gig, organized by Scott Wolf and Code Blue from (then) Sound Unlimited
Sound Unlimited
Sound Unlimited, formerly known as Sound Unlimited Posse and Westside Posse, was an Australian hip hop group from Sydney, New South Wales and the first Australian hip hop act signed to a major label during the 1990s...
From then on they started performing at underground gigs on a regular basis and also started running workshops at youth centres and community events throughout Sydney.
In 1992, they appeared on the debut album Knights of the Underground Table
Knights of the Underground Table
Knights of the Underground Table is the debut album by the Australian hip hop group Def Wish Cast. It was released in 1993 on CD and cassette by Random Records. The album was recorded in St Clair in Western Sydney. Group members Def Wish and Sereck designed the Def Wish Cast logo that appears on...
by Def Wish Cast. This album was the first full length Australian hip hop
Australian hip hop
Australian hip hop music began in the early 1980s; originally it was primarily influenced by hip hop music and culture imported via radio and television from the United States of America. However, since the 1990s, a distinctive local style has developed. Australian hip hop is an underground music...
album.
Brethren recorded their first four song demo on cassette
Compact Cassette
The Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel...
in 1992. The recording was very popular and circulated quickly throughout the grassroots industry.
The demo came to the attention of TV show Simon Townsend's Wonder World
Simon Townsend's Wonder World
Simon Townsend's Wonder World! was a multi-award–winning Australian children's television show that aired on the Ten Network from 1979 until 1986...
who offered to make a video clip for their song "Crusin". The clip went on to be played on TV shows - rage
Rage (TV program)
Rage is a popular all-night Australian music video program broadcast on ABC1 on Friday nights, Saturday mornings and Saturday nights. It was first screened on the weekend of Friday, 17 April 1987. With Soul Train no longer being produced, it is the oldest music television program currently still...
, Channel 3 and Channel 31 (Australia). It was also a crucial part of a locally produced production Spooky Tricks that sold internationally.
The demo also came to the attention of a subsidiary of Mushroom Records
Mushroom Records
Mushroom Records is an Australian recoJrd company formed by Michael Gudinski and Ray Evans in Melbourne in 1972. After its sale in 1998, it merged into Festival Mushroom Records. From 2005 to 2009, it is one of the record labels operated by Warner Bros...
called MDS who backed Brethren so that they could release their first CD; the Big Brother EP in 1996. This resulted in Brethren becoming one of the first commercially signed hip hop groups in Australia.
In August 1996, Brethren performed tracks from their Big Brother album at Bomb Australia's B-Boy Kingdom 2 - a hip hop jam in Brisbane, alongside Warcry (Gold Coast).
In 1996, while Mistery was touring overseas, Wizdm recorded and produced his first solo album Words of Wizdm.
In 1997 Brethren released the single "Slingshot" which received airplay on Triple J
Triple J
triple j is a nationally networked Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners between the ages of 18 and 30. The government-funded station is a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
and featured on the compilation Homebrews 2.
In 1998 they appeared in the first Australian hip hop documentary Basic Equipment which was broadcast on ABC TV during the government supported youth culture themed Loud Festival. The film was made by Paul Fenech
Paul Fenech
Paul Fenech is a film maker, television and film actor and writer from Sydney, Australia, best known for his role in Pizza and Swift and Shift Couriers .-Career:...
(creator of SBS
Special Broadcasting Service
The Special Broadcasting Service is a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect...
' Pizza series
Pizza (TV series)
Pizza is an Australian black comedy television series on the Australian television network, SBS. It has also spun off a feature length movie in 2003, and in 2004 released a highlights video/DVD which also included previously unshown footage and a schoolies exposé theatre show entitled "Fat Pizza"...
) and narrated by Sereck from Def Wish Cast
Def Wish Cast
Def Wish Cast are an Australian hip hop group originally from around Penrith, Sydney. Currently they reside in a few areas around the City of Sydney.-Biography:...
. The film featured a range of prominent artists in the Sydney hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
scene.
In 2000 Brethren joined the label Mustard Records and launched a compilation project In Da Midst, which featured 18 tracks from emerging artists from Australia and New Zealand. The project coincided with a national tour that saw Brethren team up with acclaimed U.S. hip-hop artist, Vex Da Vortex, from the group BoogieMonsters
Boogiemonsters
Boogiemonsters were an American rap group composed of Bronx, New York born rapper Mondo McCann, Alaskan native Vex Da Vortex and Jamaican-born brothers Myntric and Yodared . Vex, Myntric and Yodared met in high school in Virginia where their families had relocated from New York City...
.
In 2004 Brethren released their first full length album Beyond Underground. The album was produced by Wizdm, and included guest appearances by some Australian hip-hop artists; Morganics
Morganics
Morgan Lewis, known as Morganics, is a Sydney based Hip Hop performer.Morganics started performing in Sydney in 1984 and was a member of Metabass'n'Breath who toured in Australia and America....
, Sereck, Sleeping Monk, Hoodsta, Mass Mc and DJs Nic Toth, Diggz, Flagrant and Nino Brown.
The album was the first ever Australian hip-hop concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
and took 3 years to complete. Each track on the album depicted a part of an original sci-fi
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
story written by Brethren, with inspiration drawn from films such as Journey to the Center of the Earth
Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959 film)
Journey to the Center of the Earth is a 1959 adventure film adapted by Charles Brackett from the novel by Jules Verne. It stars Pat Boone, James Mason, Arlene Dahl, Peter Ronson, Diane Baker, Thayer David and Alan Napier...
, War of the Worlds, and Mad Max
Mad Max
Mad Max is a 1979 Australian dystopian action film directed by George Miller and revised by Miller and Byron Kennedy over the original script by James McCausland. The film stars Mel Gibson, who was unknown at the time. Its narrative based around the traditional western genre, Mad Max tells a story...
. The album was released with a limited edition full size comic book, with illustrations by Mistery, which depicted the story line from each track.
Since the group’s formation, Mistery and Wizdm have been heavily involved in promoting MCing, Graff
Graff
Graff is the surname of:* Anton Graff , German painter* Gerald Graff, American professor* Hyrum Graff, character in Orson Scott Card's Ender books* Ilene Graff , American actress* Kasimir Graff , German astronomer...
and Breaking to teenagers and up and coming artists in the hip hop scene. Maya Jupiter
Maya Jupiter
Maya Jupiter is an Australian Rapper & Radio Personality-Biography:Maya was born in La Paz, Mexico. She is of mixed Mexican and Turkish origin...
, another Australian hip hop artist and ex-radio broadcaster has publicly acknowledged the support of Mistery in her early career.
Current projects
Brethren continue to support a range of community organisations through workshops and mentoring programs, and act as ambassadors for programs such as Musicians Making A Difference. According to Wizdm "We feel that giving something positive back to the community is very important to us because when we were young there was nothing like what we have now, youth centres and under age shows etc... we want to show young people what they are capable of."Since 2006 Mistery has led a Christian hip hop movement Krosswerdz known colloquially as the “hip-hop church”. Krosswerdz runs creative arts programs for young people, collaboration projects for artists in the gospel music and hip hop scene, as well as monthly faith-based services. Wizdm continues to work as a beat-producer and mentor for many Australian emcees.
For the past few years both Wizdm and Mistery have been working on individual solo albums, Unrelenting, and Way of the Warrior as well as a 20 year Brethren anniversary album Bastion. All three LPs are expected to be released in 2009 through Krosswerdz Recordings.
Albums
- Beyond Underground - Mustard Records (2004)
- Bastion - Krosswerdz Recordings (20 November 2009)
EPs
- Brethren (1992) CassetteCompact CassetteThe Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel...
- Big Brother - MDS (1994)
Compilation albums
- MY MY (1994) (songs: "Checkin the neck", "Brotherhood")
- Homebrews 2 (1998) (song:"Slingshot")
- Basic Equipment (1998) (song: "Flow") Vinyl record
- The Aussie Hip Hop Army (1999) (song: "Overflow")
- The Four Elements Effect (1999) (song: "Sydney represents")
- In Da Midst (2000) (songs:"In Da Midst", "Rhyme Travellers", "The late 80s")
- In Da Midst Headcleaner Vol 1 (2000) (song:"On a mission")
- Hip Hop A Place of Peace (2001) (song: "The Vision")
- Culture of Kings V2 (2002) (song: "Versustyle")
- Battle of the year (2003) (commentary about BBoying)
- Scratching Dreams (2004) (song: "On a Mission")
- 1994–2004 – Creative Vibes (2004)(song: "Intercepta")
- In Da Midst Headcleaner Vol 2 (2005)
- Hip Hop Show (2005) (song: "Man Machine")
- Australian Hip Hop (2005) (songs: "Deep Within", "Intercepta", "Bear Witness")
Guest appearances
- Knights of the Underground TableKnights of the Underground TableKnights of the Underground Table is the debut album by the Australian hip hop group Def Wish Cast. It was released in 1993 on CD and cassette by Random Records. The album was recorded in St Clair in Western Sydney. Group members Def Wish and Sereck designed the Def Wish Cast logo that appears on...
- Def Wish CastDef Wish CastDef Wish Cast are an Australian hip hop group originally from around Penrith, Sydney. Currently they reside in a few areas around the City of Sydney.-Biography:...
(song: "Saga Iron Fest") - Soulkeepers – Infiltration (2000) (song: "Time Crisis")
- Storm Troop - The Invasion (2005) (songs: "Combinations", "Unorthodox")
- Fonke Knomaads – Cleopatra's Bath Milk (2008) (song: "How did we get here")
Production credits (Wizdm)
- Evicted from the Projects (community project)
- The sun will still come out tomorrow - Jobi One (includes Wizdm guest vocals) (2000) Album
- It is what it is - Oakbridge (2009) Album