About
Born and Raised in Christchurch, New Zealand. NZEN originally drew inspiration from the music of his childhood. The sounds of Reggae, Dub, Soul and Psychedelic Rock were in the air. At School, Hip Hop and R&B Music is what was booming from the stereo systems. He first started getting into Hip Hop Culture via MC’ing. It wasn’t long before he turned his attention to Instrumental Music.
Now armed with a Turntable and a Drum Machine, he was to learn the fabled art of Sampling and Beat Making. Digging in dusty old crates of Vinyl exposed NZEN to a plethora of Sounds from around the world. Jazz and Soul music was of particular importance during this time, but it was always through the lens of Hip Hop. He started playing the guitar as a means to further his knowledge in Song Writing, Music Theory and for Live Music.
Musically his biggest influences are Bob Marley, J Dilla, Madlib, Fat Freddy’s Drop and many more. Outside of Music, NZEN draws inspiration from philosophical and spiritual paths with the intention to incorporate such rich ideas into original music that will inspire you and most importantly, Music that makes you want to move. NZEN’s sound is the love child of Reggae, Dub, Funk, Hip Hop, Jazz and Jesus. Music that needs to heard with your third ear. From here on out to be known as “Monk Funk”.