Mr. Brew

Bully Ball

Maria También

Immy Owusu's new track Curly Hair captures the rebellious energy of being the ‘weird, troublesome neighbour’ in an otherwise quiet Australian suburb. The song channels the frustration of being misunderstood and judged, and in this case is a direct response to years of nosy neighbors who viewed the artist’s lifestyle and music with suspicion - skewed by sensationalized portrayals of African youth in Australian media. Musically, juxtaposing the message are vibrant highlife melodies and crunchy flavoured rhythmic production by Sensible J (Sampa The Great, Cool Out Sun). Curly Hair is released on Thursday 20th February.

The title is a playful nod to a comment one of Immy’s neighbors made, referring to him as “the curly-haired one”, even though his caucasian housemate had far curlier hair. The song references the neighbor’s complaints about band practices and music, which they described as a fusion of 'Bob Marley, Hip-hop, and heavy metal’, being taken as disruptive to the delicate balance of suburban life. Meanwhile, these same neighbors were perfectly fine revving chainsaws at the crack of dawn on a Sunday.
Immy also recounts various strange moments from his young life, such as the local pastor accusing him of stealing items from the church for 'black magic' or people snooping around his backyard for illicit substances. Ultimately, Curly Hair serves as a kind of break up song, signaling the artist’s departure from his coastal hometown, where the weird and the unconventional felt unwelcome. It’s a call for freedom and self-expression, and a reminder that sometimes leaving is the only way forward.

Immy aka Immanuel Kwabena Dreessens-Owusu grew up in two worlds: the sea bleached lifestyle of the Australian Surf Coast with its rock n roll soundtrack, and the musical heritage of his Ghanaian / Dutch family. Immy’s father Kojo Noah Owusu is one of Australia’s best regarded West African musicians and his grandfather Koo Nimo is a legend of Ghanaian Highlife and Palm Wine music active since the 1960s. From them Immy learned Ashanti music and its instruments, added a fuzz pedal and began to experiment, coining the sound ‘Afrodelik’ or ‘Lo-Fi Highlife'. 

The accompanying music video was created by Swedish animator Freddy Wallin and features Ghanaian rollerblader Samuel Tuffour @arrest_them rollerblading through Immy's family hometown Kumasi.

Immy Owusu - Curly Hair

The Olympians

Mercury's Odyssey

The Crossing

Late Nights & Heartbreak

Dazed and Confused

Sounding Out the City

Hung Up On My Baby

Yeti Season

Unathi

The Beast / Road Song

Road Song

Didn't I

Didn't I (Florent F Rework)

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Hopestreet Recordings is an artist-run record label based in Brunswick since 2009. From the humblest of DIY beginnings, this community of musicians, producers and writers has carved out a global niche for their old-school inspired crusty analogue creations. Hopestreet represents the diversity, quality of musicianship and originality of Melbourne’s inner Northern music community, and keeps developing their distinct sound, production approach year to year, and audiences all over are responding.

Immy Owusu - Curly Hair

Hopestreet Recordings

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