The Couch Brothers give you ‘All U Need’ – a catchy, bossa-based hip hop hit!

The Couch Brothers are our latest hot hip hop discovery. Japanese beatsmith Kazu and Dutch MC Maikal X from Curaçao are the creative forces behind this persuasive project, that seems like a incandescent shining star in the darkest hour of hip hop. We interviewed them to find out what this dynamic duo is about.

They met in the Netherlands in 2006, when their mutual friend Naba Napalm asked both to join his musical project. At that time Osaka-native Kazu, an indefatigable globetrotter and producer, was making a living as DJ and producer in Paris, while Haarlem-based Maikal had just left the influential Dutch hip hop formation ‘Postmen’ which he joined under his former pseudonyms ‘Rollarocka/Shyrock’. Thus, they were both open for new projects when they met for the first time. Following the session, Kazu made Maikal listen to his sun-drenched bossa nova-inspired beats and Maikal got excited.

Soon after they started making music, sitting on a ‘Yellow Couch’ with nothing more than Kazu’s laptop and Maikal’s microphone it clicked immediately: Kazu ‘fell in love with Maikal’s voice and flow’ and Maikal got hooked on Kazu’s beats. Since they both lived in different parts of the world one would think the easiest way to collaborate was a ‘cybercollabo’ through the internet; however they never felt tempted by this modern but impersonal way of working. Thus Kazu would always visit Maikal when he was travelling and they ‘locked-in the studio for a whole week or month to sit down on said couch and make music’ – hence their name ‘Couch Brothers’.

Our favourite track of the Couch Brothers is ‘All U Need’, a buoyant and joyful, vibrating, bossa-tinged hip hop beast that will set tongues wagging among real hip hop lovers. You simply have to love the way Kazu flips the piano sample and beats with his Akai MPC 3000, Maikal rides the rhythm with his flow – and the soulful hookline is the icing on the cake. According to Maikal X, the tune’s ‘about people always looking past what they got. People always want more because of ego and greed when it’s all right in front of them.’ Kazu on the other hand says that he was ‘heavily influenced by jazz and Brazilian music’ when he produced that beat, ‘especially samba rock’.

We’ve had enough of words! You should now listen to this utterly uplifting, essentially beautiful hip hop jam in the vein of the Dilla-produced golden age classic ‘Runnin’ by The Pharcyde. Listen to the dopeness galore via the www.soundcloud.com player below:

All u Need by CouchBrothers

The Couch Brothers finished their album recently and plan to release it independantly in 2012. Nevertheless they’re open for offers from labels.

Artist info:
http://www.couchbrothers.com