Nai: We’re not massive on genre to be honest. Quite a few of those artists you mentioned are credited for pioneering what became known as ‘neo-soul’. James Poyser works really closely with Erykah Badu, so she picked it up… There were a few seed points and it just sprung up from there. Nai Palm : Animal Collective heard on the air in LA, and they showed Angel from The Dirty Projectors, who showed ?uestlove, who then showed all The Roots. We supported him at The Espy and I think he caught like the last three songs of our set and was really into it. Who first broke you guys internationally?

Maybe that’s part of the reason we like them so much. Yet when we interview the band, we find them keeping things laid back in a suburban backyard in Coburg. Headed by enigmatic frontwoman, Nai Palm, Hiatus Kaiyote’s debut album ‘Tawk Tomahawk’ received universal critical acclaim. Add to that a co-sign from both ?uestlove and Erykah Badu, and it’s not surprising that people are starting to pay serious attention to the future-soul outfit. Earlier this year the superstar posted a link to Hiatus Kaiyote’s track ‘Nakamarra’ with the simple instruction: ‘DON’T WORRY… JUST CLICK’. But particularly if you’re an emerging band from Melbourne’s North. You can check out Tawk Tomahawk on Bandcamp.Being tweeted about by Prince is kind of a big deal. They've already sold out 400+ shows in their home town, so surely their star will continue to rise. This is a seriously talented group, one that will hopefully keep producing fantastic music well into the future. You can tell from listening that this is a band completely in control of their creativity and style, with the other members possessing some impressive resumes.

It's a perfect balance between soulful relaxation and experimental confrontation, with singer/songwriter Nai Palm's drifting yet powerful vocals heavily exaggerated. The track 'Malika' immediately caught my attention. Their debut album, Tawk Tomahawk, came out in April, and has already started burning a hole in my headphones since I recently came across it. Since forming last year, they've performed at the Woodford Folk Festival and the Melbourne International Jazz Festival. Melbourne's Hiatus Kaiyote make music from the future, but luckily we can listen to it right now! The four-piece have become experts at combining elements of neo-soul, hip hop and beats to create adventurous soundscapes that have received accolades within Australia and abroad.

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