Bliss N Eso – Flying Colors

I recently discovered a rather stunning hip hop trio from Australia known as Bliss N Eso. Based out of Sydney, Bliss N Eso is probably one of my favourite acts right now. The membership includes, MC Bliss, an American born MC, MC Eso and the Morroccan DJ Izm, a combination that induces politically and socially aware music lyrically reminsicent of M.I.A. Their sound, however, maintains a very old school feel similar to that of the Beastie Boys, but is much edgier. Their message is also very old school – it focusses more on establishing oneself as a musician and having your voice heard than being a pimp, hustler or a gangster in general. The partying is still there, but it is not the core of the music.

Their latest album, Flying Colors, is absolutely stunning. The intro is sampled from an unidentifiablw movie that questions why anyone would want to see anything that they have already seen before (why paint a flower if you can see one outside?), which leads one to expect a completely different sound. And I can assure you that these boys deliver. Their openning track is absurdly dancey and intelligent. Politically active lyrics ripe with allusions and sincerely lacking in bitches and ho’s make for a righteously awesome song. One song inparticular, “Bullet and a Target” is incredibly powerful, with strong antiwar lyrics which speak out against government corruption and violence in third world countries, and features the Zulu Connection choir. Very rarely has a hip hop, or even pop, song had the potential to move me to tears, and this one got close. Maybe I just have too much sentimentality for citizens of third world countries, but this song is amazing. The other songs are all socially aware as well, ignoring the tendency of many artists to discuss gangsterism  and instead dealing with social issues and questioning why humanity is so destructive. Despite this heaviness, the album is distinctly dancey. It has an old school feel, without the over-produced, overdone sound of most of the mainstream hip hop we hear today. Their lyrics are incredibly smart (allusions to Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels), and talk about women with respect, both incredibly unheard of in the vast majority of mainstream hip hop songs.

I am absolutely enamoured with Bliss N Eso, and will likely go to their Vancouver show on the tenth of this month. This is the sort of music I would love to play at a house party. As soon as I get home I am going to shove these dudes down the throats of my friends. They could very well be the next Beastie Boys.