Named after the Chinese philospher Lao Tzu, TZU (pronounced “Tee Zed Yoo”) were an Australian hip-hop group from Melbourne, Victoria, known for their eclectic approach to the genre and involving the crowd in their live shows.

The group was formed in the late 1990s as a side project by Joelistics (Joel Ma), Seed MC (Phillip “Pip” Norman) and Yeroc (Corey McGregor) of the funk-rap group Pan and Paso Bionic (Shehab Tariq) of the alternative hip-hop group Curse ov Dialect. After debuting as TZU at The Empress Hotel in Melbourne and playing a series of similarly relaxed gigs, the four hitchhiked down to Lady Bay, Tasmania to record their debut 2001 EP Um… Just a Liddlbidova Mic Check in a portable studio in the back of a friend’s truck. Following the release of the EP, TZU were signed to Liberation Records, and released their debut album, Position Correction, on Feburary 19 2004, which peaked just outside the ARIA Charts Top 100. The following year, TZU experimented with different genres on their second album, Smiling At Strangers, which was produced by Magoo (Lachlan Goold) and released on September 19 2005, peaking at 71 on the ARIA charts, thanks to catchy singles “In Front Of Me” and “She Gets Up”. To promote their newfound success, they went on tour with rap-rock band Butterfingers and released Snarling at Strangers, which included a second disc with five previously unreleased songs that were taken off Smiling at Strangers as they didn’t fit in with the “upbeat” vibe of the album, along with music videos for “Dam Busters” and “Wild Stylee” and a recording of their live performance of “She Gets Up” for Yahoo!7’s “Who’s Next” sessions.

After a brief hiatus, TZU returned on June 28 2008 with Computer Love, this time utilising synthesisers and other electronic elements to give the album a futuristic sound. The album’s eponymous lead single helped it chart much better than their previous records, as it peaked at 21 on the ARIA Charts and was also nominated for “Australian Album of the Year” at the J Awards 2008. Towards the end of the year, the band performed a cover of You Am I’s “Heavy Heart” for Triple J’s “like a version”, and in 2009, they released a remix album, Cover Up Motel.

In 2011, Joelistics signed to independent Sydney-based label Elefant Traks as a solo artist, ahead of the release of his debut album Voyager. TZU returned the following year to deliever their fourth and final album, Millions of Moments, on September 21 2012. Musically, the album completely abandons hip-hop for a dark synth-wave / electronic pop sound instead, and is loosely a concept album, taking place in an indeterminate future where the protagonist, a young woman by the name of Persephone, test-trials a consciousness-altering drug called Chronos, which propels her through the time-space continuum and into the minds and bodies of various people throughout history. The concept was inspired by Joel’s travels through Asia, and how everywhere he went he was “facing a screen of some kind.” The band toured the album into 2013, and then quietly disbanded shortly after, focusing on solo projects and collaborating with other artists.