Brought together by a love of early ‘90s hip hop and a desire to make spiritually minded music, The Procussions are straight out of the rocky mountains of Colorado, and now living in Los Angeles. From the name, an idle observer might wonder if they’re into obscene language. But the group’s producer and MC, Stro the 89th Key or DJ Stro for short, cracks up laughing at the suggestion. “The name is actually a combination of two words. ‘Pro’ meaning positive and ‘cussions’ from percussions, percussion of course being the foundation of our music. We want to be professional positive interpreters of rhythm, so that’s the name, Procussions.” Not only that, the band, which also features rappers Mr Jay and Resonants, are all Christians. “We think you should write about your own experiences and things that you hold dear to your heart. Each of us has a close relationship with God, so we can only look at things from that perspective, and when we write it just sort of happens that way.” They got together in the late ‘90s, on the tail end of a hip hop buzz in Colorado. The timing was good for the band, who hooked up with one of the best promoters in town and ended up opening up for most acts coming through. Snap to the present and last year’s debut album, ’...As Iron Sharpens Iron’, has begun to win them a much larger fanbase. The album travels from warm hip hop grooves to bouncing bossa nova beats and DJ cut up tracks. If you like your hip hop with ultra positive vibes and good time party beats, then you might have found a replacement for your worn out Jurassic Five and Ugly Duckling records. “Since we’ve been in LA, we haven’t really been there,” says Stro, “because we’ve been on the road so much, which is a testament to the connections and work we’ve been able to get done there.” They finished the album in LA and got a lot of national radio coverage due to the number of ‘record pools’ based in the city, which service DJs around the country. “It’s been crazy, things have started to happen.” The album, which was released on their own Basementalism records, has now sold more than 20000 copies. Not huge for a mainstream release, but impressive for an independent – putting them in a similar league to Australian groups like the Hilltop Hoods. They’ve spent the past few months on the road promoting the album. Six weeks touring through Europe saw them play shows with artists like Ty and Dizzee Rascal in England, Germany, Switzerland, France and the Netherlands. The last 30 days has seen 23 shows from East to West coasts of the US. They had a week off and now they’re ready for an Australian tour. “Most of our success has come from doing shows, and having people tell other people that they enjoyed the show.” A band that owes its success to a great live show – that’s the kind of band that is worth checking out live. The Procussions headline the Amnesty Freedom Festival around the country in September. All the artists, crew and organisers have donated their time and proceeds to Amnesty International. If you like what you hear be sure to checkout The Procussions’ album ‘As Iron Sharpens Iron’, distributed locally by Stomp.
