Album Notes

Featuring tight precision, the performances on the album use straight singing as well as rapping. On songs like "Root Anger" and "Crazay", the rap is what drives the song, while the somber rock ballad, "I Tried", is an example where the song is rock 'n' roll sung through and through. In keeping with his roots, Julz A gives a nod to the power trio Led Zeppelin with his cover arrangement of "Out On The Tiles". The song was picked because the chorus has a popping bounce that lends itself easily to a hip-hop flavor; there's even room for a little Jimi Hendrix-style accordion solo at the end of the song. Known around New York City as accordionist, vocalist, percussionist and composer, Julz A (aka Julian Hintz) enjoys performing in a wide range of musical styles. He takes music in a new direction with the release of his new solo EP, Squeeze Rock, produced by J Why for Lost Penny Music. A and Why have also collaborated on the 2004 release of the experimental hip-hop/electronica (illbient) album "Urban Shocker" on the Head Fulla Brains label. Notable Julz A performances include appearances at Celebrate Brooklyn 2005, The Rock Accordion Summit of Providence 2005, The CalArts West Goes East Festival 2005 at The Kitchen, The Rock Accordion Summit of Philadelphia 2004, and The CMJ Music Marathon in 2002. He is a member of Terry Dame's Electric Junkyard Gamelan, which received recognition as part of the HERE Artist in Residency Program (HARP) in 2004. Julz A also performed along with his hip-hop jam band ¿Threat? for "The Sonic Self" Audio-Visual immersions in 2003, curated by Jolanta Gora-Wita for the Chelsea Art Museum. Originally from San Diego, Julz A graduated from the California Institute of the Arts in 2000 with a BFA in music composition and performance, following that up with studies in the fall of 2001 at STEIM in Amsterdam, Holland.