MSH Sessions presents
Tuesday March 27th 2012 at Fortune Sound Club
BLISS N ESO (Live / Australia)
w/ Guests
Bliss N Eso Bio:
From an early stage in their career, Bliss N Eso primarilybuilt their fan base from their compelling and energetic live performances. Anexhilarating blend of fluid rhymes and banging beats teamed with beat boxing,impromptu freestyling and seamless turntablism make their live shows a brand intheir own right, and has seen the group hailed as one of the best live acts inthe country. After four years of touring with consistently powerfulperformances, Bliss N Eso settled down in 2004 to record their first fulllength album, Flowers In The Pavement. A virtual brainstorm on record, theemerging artists compiled track after track of wild expression through vibrantlyrics and production. The debut album met an overwhelming response fromaudiences and critics Australia wide.
In late 2006, Bliss N Eso’s second album, Day of the Dog, was released andbecame the first Australian hip-hop release to debut in ARIA’s top 50. It alsoearned Bliss N Eso an ARIA nomination for Best Urban Release in 2006 with salesexceeding all benchmarks for a local hip-hop release. In 2007 Bliss N Esotravelled to North America, playing sold out shows in the North-West of the USand Canada including a stand out performance at the Whistler 2007 Telus WorldSki and Snowboard Festival. Upon their return, the lads embarked on theunforgettable Make Poverty History Zero Seven road trip tour and ventured on anepic journey in June 2007 with MTV and the Oaktree Foundation to some of thepoorest regions in South Africa to complete the track and shoot the video clipfor their next album’s first single, Bullet and a Target. 2008 saw Bliss N Esotake things to a whole new level with the release of their third LP, FlyingColours.
The album, which received near perfect reviews in countless media, broke allkinds of records for an Australian hip-hop act thanks to five monster singlesin the form of Bullet and a Target, Woodstock 2008,The Sea is Rising, Eye ofthe Storm and Field of Dreams. After a top 10 ARIA debut, the album became thehighest selling local hip-hop album of the year and with their third nominationin as many years, Bliss N Eso took out the ARIA Award for 2008’s Best UrbanRelease. The official album tour sold out every one of its 24 legs including anunforgettable homecoming show at Sydney’s Enmore Theatre in front of 2,500lucky ticket holders. The upcoming months saw the group rock some of thecountry’s most prestigious music events and they were now seen headliningfestivals like the Quiksilver Pro and Come Together.
In March, in a fundraising effort for the Victorian bushfires, Melbourne hostedthe biggest paid concert in Australian history in front of 92,000 punters atthe MCG. Bliss N Eso were selected as the sole hip-hop act on a bill whichincluded some of the biggest acts in Australian music history, and by allaccounts, they held their own in “what many are stating was the performance ofthe day” (Beat Magazine).
In mid ‘09, the group released the Flying Colours Live deluxe edition (whichfeatured a full-length DVD and brand new single, On Tour) and to celebrate, thegroup undertook one final national tour for the album which became the highestselling local hip-hop tour of all time. This included performing to over 10,000punters in Melbourne during back-to-back sold-out shows at the city’s iconicFestival Hall, a feat only possible for a select few Australian acts.
In late ’09, amongst the insatiable public hype, the trio headed to anundisclosed location in the Victorian bush, to begin writing and recordingtheir fourth studio album – Running on Air. They took a break from this processonly to embark on a 20 date sold-out American tour – another first for anAustralian hip-hop act – and to headline Solar, MS Fest and Origin festivals.The highly anticipated first single from the album, Down by the River, wasreleased in May 2010 and sparked pandemonium amongst the hordes of zealousBliss N Eso fans. Their fourth studio album, Running on Air, was released onJuly 30th and debuted at #1 on the ARIA Album Chart, making them only thefourth Australian act to reach that position in 2010 and ending Eminem’s sixweek run in top spot. The album garnered near perfect reviews across the board,with some even stating that ‘it may be the genre’s finest release’ (Time Off).Shortly afterwards, while they had two songs sitting inside the ARIA SinglesChart, Bliss N Eso embarked on another sold-out Australian tour. The threeknockabout lads from Sydney are now exploring unchartered territory, which isexactly where they like to be.