Biography
The Australian emphasis on live gigs, whether in intimate pubs or expansive arenas, prompted certain domestic hip-hop acts to incorporate actual funk players rather than loop vintage 1970s recordings, yielding a hybrid closer in spirit to the later work of Lyrics Born—who commands a substantial audience Down Under and even captured a live album there—than to classic boom-bap. Good Buddha exemplify this approach.
Alex Young, performing as MC Xela, and Andrew Lane, known as AND, attended the same high school in Sydney’s western suburbs and bonded over a shared passion for rap and funk. Young handled bass duties while Lane played guitar, and both delivered rhymes. They enlisted drummer Mick Downing from a neighboring rock outfit, formed Good Buddha, and began performing at house parties. Downing soon departed, succeeded by Matt Johnston, whose musical preferences aligned more closely with the duo’s; after catching one of their sets he immediately volunteered his services. Producers Pete Brennan and Sandro completed the early lineup.
Lacking funds for proper studio time, the group slipped into the facilities Brennan could access during his sound-engineering studies and clandestinely tracked their debut, Skillathon, released in 2001. The surreptitious sessions prevented them from documenting the band’s live energy, compelling them to employ sampled drums they would otherwise have avoided. MGM subsequently handled distribution; lead single “Ultrasound” gained radio traction and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Candy.
After Brennan and Sandro exited simultaneously, Good Buddha recorded their follow-up without either producer. They sequestered themselves in a bedroom to craft 2004’s Futurhistrix, financing the project through relentless live work. Young passed a finished copy to club DJ Mark Walton and invited him to join; impressed, Walton agreed. Another DJ, Jack Prest, came aboard after dazzling the members at a house party, followed by keyboardist Lachlan Doley and percussionist Nui Moon. This expanded configuration finally realized the integrated funk-and-hip-hop sound they had long pursued. In 2007 they booked a Byron Bay studio for a week to lay down instrumentals, then toured further to secure additional resources before returning to cut vocals. The resulting third album, Hit the Sky Running, at last achieved the sonic vision they had chased from the outset.
Alex Young, performing as MC Xela, and Andrew Lane, known as AND, attended the same high school in Sydney’s western suburbs and bonded over a shared passion for rap and funk. Young handled bass duties while Lane played guitar, and both delivered rhymes. They enlisted drummer Mick Downing from a neighboring rock outfit, formed Good Buddha, and began performing at house parties. Downing soon departed, succeeded by Matt Johnston, whose musical preferences aligned more closely with the duo’s; after catching one of their sets he immediately volunteered his services. Producers Pete Brennan and Sandro completed the early lineup.
Lacking funds for proper studio time, the group slipped into the facilities Brennan could access during his sound-engineering studies and clandestinely tracked their debut, Skillathon, released in 2001. The surreptitious sessions prevented them from documenting the band’s live energy, compelling them to employ sampled drums they would otherwise have avoided. MGM subsequently handled distribution; lead single “Ultrasound” gained radio traction and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Candy.
After Brennan and Sandro exited simultaneously, Good Buddha recorded their follow-up without either producer. They sequestered themselves in a bedroom to craft 2004’s Futurhistrix, financing the project through relentless live work. Young passed a finished copy to club DJ Mark Walton and invited him to join; impressed, Walton agreed. Another DJ, Jack Prest, came aboard after dazzling the members at a house party, followed by keyboardist Lachlan Doley and percussionist Nui Moon. This expanded configuration finally realized the integrated funk-and-hip-hop sound they had long pursued. In 2007 they booked a Byron Bay studio for a week to lay down instrumentals, then toured further to secure additional resources before returning to cut vocals. The resulting third album, Hit the Sky Running, at last achieved the sonic vision they had chased from the outset.