Combat Wombat are an activist based hip hop and funky breaks collective bent on relaying the truth to the masses. The media has a tendency to lie and distort. There is only so long one can crawl to their mercy to get the different issues voiced to the rest of the population. Things so important to our survival such as the fate of our forests, potential contamination of our environment by Mines, waste dumps, emissions from industry, human rights violations etc (the list is long). These are often misconstrued by the media or more often ignored due to financial interests and basic prejudice.This became more and more apparent with our increased involvement in different campaigns. So in response to this Combat Wombat was born. With Combat Wombat we want to bring the party scene back to its roots as a revolutionary force of beats and breaks . . . bleeps and squeaks in the face of authority that is destroying our environment and the people that depend on it for their survival.
From the desert blockades at Roxby Downs Uranium Mine to Aboriginal Communities in the Tanami Desert to the old growth forest blockades of East Gippsland, Combat Wombat have been spreading their message and slowly helping to funkify the revolution. No bulldozer or chainsaw can stop the truth held in the rhymes relayed by MC Izzy, MC Anna, Miranda Mutanda and the ultimate lyrical trickery of the Elf Transporter.
Combat Wombat have followed the Labrats Sola Powerd Sound Systm through their many adventures across the vast Australian landscape. With us the alternatives are their….writing all our music on DJ Monkey Marc's solar powered sampler and transporting our solar and wind powered sound system around in our vegetable oil powered van. By using these sustainable alternatives we can decentralise the power proving our independence in an environmentally friendly way.
Music is a powerful metaphor when used for political change a road can be blocked . . . a piece of land can be reclaimed . . . a place of oppression can become an autonomous zone to the sound of music. Dancing can change the world and the sun can provide the sounds . . .
Quote MC IZZY "this is our musical metaphor about the things were for and against getting the message in ya head a musical metamorphisisation breeding the freedom of information its about tunin the teckno-logy fittin it to the ecology and its working we're working together getting clever with this community minded unity".

What issues brought the members of Combat Wombat together?
Our very fist jam was the on the day we met with just an 808 and 303. I was looking for a dj to play at a party at the Jabiluka protest camp and monkey already had a similar thing in mind. So it was a common desire to bring music to people on the front line that brought us together.
We also wanted to bring the truth of what we had seen from our many travels across Australia. The truth of what we had seen out in the desert against aboriginal people who oppose uranium mines on their homelands. The truth about communities that oppose the logging of our old growth forest only to be ignored by dodgy politicians and corrupt logging companies. And the truth of the extreme police brutality we had witnessed and personally experienced many times against peaceful protesters who walk hand in hand with aboriginal elders to stop the destruction of our country. We wanted to tell the real story. A story that was continually either manipulated or disregarded by the mainstream media. Music naturally seemed the best way to get our stories out there.

Where did the name come from?
Well….the van we are running around in looks like a Diprotodon ie. A pre-historic giant wombat with a sound system mounted in the back. After we painted it in urban cammo colours it became the Dis-Army diporotodon, ready to take on any environmental vandal. One day my mate Rufus came in the van after we'd just written a crazy speed bass track and called us a bunch of combat wombats….and it stuck.

What are your musical backgrounds?
DJ Monkey Marc: beats and soundscapes and musical bits N pieces
MC Izzy: rhymes and the world's only human tekno beatbox
Elf Transporter: rhymes, beatbox and human record scratcher & dj duck
MC Anna: rhymes

Why did you choose hip hop as medium to express your activist and political views?
Essentially we were getting bored of the same old boring chants at protests and thought it was time to bring on some of our own new funkified versions that related more to our generation. Also MC Izzy can't sing…so Hip Hop seemed to be the perfect medium. We have lots of stories to tell so what better way to express what you believe in than with music...hip hop as always been a medium of musical communication especially of our generation. There's nothing like a good funky beat with a strong message. Old classics like Public Enemy's Fight the Power are the perfect example of that. I remember when I first heard that song it felt like our generation was invincible and capable of anything. All I could think of was .. why do they keep calling our generation, generation X when actually we're generation Y. Y you ask. Why ? Because we're the ones asking the questions.
The protest society we belong to, like black America is also part of a vocal minority. So we found it natural to bring the message of our struggles to the streets through hip hop music.

Why do you think hip hop in particular often takes on a political slant?
Early hip hop came out of the ghettos. Most hip hop comes out of areas in some sort of struggling situation whether it be social political or racial. So in a lot of cases there's a strong message of despair and disbelief in the system. The system that oppresses. So you get that message coming through in the music. But with hip hop due to MC visionaries we get offered a solution to the situation. A new vision that offers advice free of charge, and free to anyone that cares to listen. People like Gil Scott Heron, The Last Poets saw the need to tell of the oppression of their generations to the world by means of rhyme. They saw the power in this and the hope it gave to communities. So it became the new voice.
When people run off a rap they rap because something in their life has inspired them to rap. That inspiration usually comes from something or situation or some struggle for understanding. When something's hit you strong you can't just stand there and hold it all in, you have to speak out. I guess that's why it often takes on a political slant.

How successful do you think music is in expressing and getting certain political views across?
Very successful, because when people listen to music often they are at there most receptive time. This in my experience is when they're most open to new ideas and are ready to be inspired.

In a party scene that generally sees the harder edge doof acts supply the beats how does a hip hop group go down?
It's a nice brake. Hmmm no pun intended. People are up for it now. They're into that interactive thing that sometimes tekno lacks. We're not stricly hip hop so we can merge out of a techno set and into a drum n bass set ...I think diversity is appreciated at parties so a change from 4 to the floor usually goes down ok.
Quite often we get strangers coming up from the crowd wanting to lay down one of their own raps over our beats. So it usually lightens things up a bit. The crowd like to be entertained. There's all sort of funny things going on out there with tekno bands like Non Bosse Posse getting rappers to rap over them and act like Ozzie Battla rapping over drum and bass bands like Dase Team 5000. So the party scene definitely seems up for it, even if sometimes we are a bit slow. And if people don't like it well then go and have a chat or something or buy yourself a beer.

How would you describe your music. Is it traditional hip hop or does it incorporate different genres of electronica?
It's not simply traditional hip hop. We feel that would be limiting ourselves a bit. We're up for a bit of experimentation. The hip hop we do is simple has some fat bass lines with simple but funky beats with political samples on top. MC Izzy and MC Anna bring in some classic all girl political aussie rhymes and Elf tends to weave his way through the mix like a lizard through the sand. We also do some funky brakes and drum and bass with political samples interwoven through. We've also got some chilled mini documentary style tracks with samples of people talking about issue like the Maralinga Tests or Chernobyl.

Your bio states "the media has an uncanny tendency to lie and distort". How does Combat Wombat and the groups it is involved with hope to change this situation?
Combat Wombat simply tells the truth, as we have seen and witnessed first hand. We also have good relations with amazing people who are involved with community organizations such as Ska TV's Access News and Indy Media. These groups like ourselves are dedicated to bringing people the real uncut uncensored versions of stories that we feel people don't normally get access to. So through these avenues with our music, rhymes and our Wind Powered Cinema we can relay these common stories of struggle and simply bypass the mainstream media. So even if the media still twist our messages people will have the option of reading and hearing the alternative. Hopefully then people can then make their own choices, and work it out for themselves.

What protests have the group been involved with to date?
Old Growth Forest Blockades at East Gippsland (Vic), Otways (Vic), Badja (NSW) and WA Forest blockades. Anti-Uranium Blockades at Roxby Downs Uranium Mine(Kokatha/Arabunna)(SA), Beverly Uranium Mine (Adnyamuthanha)(SA), HoneyMoon Uranium Mine and Jabiluka (Mirra)(NT). Unkle Kevin Buzzacott's Arabunna Going Home Camp on the shores of Lake Eyre (SA) opposing WMC's use of 42 million litres of water a day from the sacred great artesian basin to process Uranium. Coober Pedy Kungka Tjuta Old ladies and their fight against the Radioactive Waste Dump. Humps Not Dumps Anti Nuclear 1000km Camel Treck through the South Australian Desert. Reclaim Pine Gap, Reclaim the Streets Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide. Free the refugees at Womera (SA). Earthdream, S11, J18, Gothenburg, Bonne and multiple street protests that we received many a parking fine for.

What are the advantages of running off solar and vegetable oil powered equipment?
There's loads. For a start the way we see it, it's all about practising what you preach and proving that not only are the alternatives here… they actually work. Solar and wind have many advantages because they are a renewable energy. Vege oil, which we use to power our vehicle and a generator is a perfect replacement for diesel and has upto 80% less emissions than a normal diesel car. It too is a renewable fuel. The stuff we get is the waste from old chip shops that often gets pored down the drain. So by using that we can stop people polluting our waterways.
The benefits of having a mobile solar/wind rig is that you can put on a party or jam anywhere anytime. It's like running an invisible extension cord and plugging it into the sky and never having to worry about it running out. It's also an empowering feeling not having to rely on petrochemical companies and coal powered power stations. There's a sense of liberty and freedom in that independence. A sense that if everyone just used these alternatives now instead of waiting around for the whole system to change then we'd be on our way to creating a better planet. That's what it's all about…taking responsibility for your own actions and have the initiative and saying….fuck them…..they're not listening…so I'm doing things my own way. There's a sense of autonomy in that…doing what you feel's right, and knowing that at the end of the day you can sleep at night knowing that you have done your little bit for the planet.
The other advantage is that people get to see alternative energy working in a funky way. We show people a working example and then do workshops to educate people to de-program them from the hydrocarbon nightmare our forefathers left us.

Do you think the party scene has strayed from its roots as a revolutionary force? In what way?
Like any movement, the commercial market is quick to consume any thing even vaguely marketable : take it package it in plastic and sell it back at absorbent prises. Though there is hope as more underground sound systems on the free party vibe like oms not bombs, labrats and systems corrupt are keeping the squat party protest thing alive.
There is still a large underground movement within the free party scene that has it's roots in community ideals and ethics. This is still alive and well as has been demonstrated with recent actions like Reclaim the Streets and May Day is well and truly still a revolutionary force. Lots of these free parties raise donations for worthwhile causes like blockades.

Which do you think is more effective way of getting the message across, One off parties or recorded material? Any plans for Combat Wombat recordings?
They're both pretty effective. Recorded material does tend to have the edge because it gets a wider audience through radio. In that sense more people get to hear your message.
As for Combat Wombat recordings, we are releasing a double album of hip hop, breaks and some drum and bass this week. Almost all of it was produced on solar and wind. It should be in local Sydney independent record stores and through our web site http://lab-rats.tripod.com.

What does the future hold for Combat Wombat?
The future will see us mutate, infiltrate, pilferate and subliminate…..

And remember …. The revolution is being televised……..