Nizlopi is Luke Concannon and John Parker, two friends from Leamington Spa who’ve been writing and playing music together since their early teens. Luke handles the heartfelt lyrics, the soulful vocals, and his beloved guitar, whilst JP sets jaws-dropping with his masterful double-bass playing, his breathtaking human beat-boxing, and a little extra guitar playing of his own. With a background in the celtic folk tradition and a love of jazz and hip-hop, together these two young men have created a sound of their own with a huge national and international following. Starting out with only their passion and talent and no idea of how they would be received, the exhilarating originality of Nizlopi led to clamours for more and more. John and Luke decided not to wait to be signed, but to get their music out there straight away. And with the help of fans, family and friends who love the music, this is what they’ve done. A publishing deal with the young, brilliant and maverick Joe Taylor at Nuxx lent massive support as John and Luke turned down recording contracts with Sony, Chrysalis and EMI, preferring to take the independent route. At the end of 2005 they achieved astonishing chart success with their JCB Song, which leapt up from the underground unforeseen to go straight to number one, making history. Luke and John were introduced to the mad worlds of Top Of The Pops, and Richard and Judy, disarming all with their energy and musicality (the only ones on TOTPs not to mime. Both times!). But chart victory didn’t happen overnight. Since the release of their debut album ‘Half These Songs Are About You’, recorded at the bottom of the garden, Nizlopi have earned a reputation as one of the hardest working bands in the country. This extraordinary duo have been playing a never-ending run of live shows in venues ranging from fans’ living rooms, to sold out appearances at London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire, to festivals as prestigious as Glastonbury, The Big Chill, Bestival, and Wireless. Nizlopi’s aim is always to break down the barriers between performers and audiences. Putting music at the centre, their gigs are a welcome return to the electrifying experience of live music. Playing in the heart of the crowd acoustically to open the show, writing new songs there and then, getting guest MCs up from the audience, improvising and turning the whole crowd into a harmonised gospel choir, a thrilling, uplifting and seriously funky evening can be expected, along with hard-hitting songs from a band who play every show like it’s their last. Nizlopi gigs are energetic, personal, anthemic, and overwhelmingly positive affairs. Their ability to transcend musical genres goes unrivalled by many of their contemporaries and, as a result, Nizlopi have established an unquestionable live reputation. September 2006 saw the release of Nizlopi’s brand new limited edition ‘ExtraOrdinary”, along with 3 weeks of bringing their unique live sound to thousands around the UK on their 12 date UK tour. They then took themselves across the channel playing to fifty thousand fans throughout November whilst on tour with hipster Jamie Cullum. The day they returned overland to the UK they took up the surreal invitation to rock prestigious Wembley Arena for two sold out nights with Christina Aguilera. Class. In December they joined folk-hero Billy Bragg onstage to perform together at the famous Hackney Empire. 2007 has been spent recording the new album, hitching to Senegal to play with musicians there, and playing 17 British summer festivals. John has also moved house to an old pub, and is playing a brand new extremely old bass. They won a prestigious Impala award for outstanding records sales by an independent artist. In October the pair explode back on the road with their up rise tour, playing the kinds of venues that most excite them, and ripping it up with songs from the new album Make It Happen, released in Spring 2008.