Hazel Brown

(say otto-ootoe)



Assembling inventive pop music inspired by pioneering experimental pop artists like Laurie Anderson, Arthur Russell, Young Marble Giants and Bjork, Otouto are a Melbourne three-piece made up of Hazel Brown, Martha Brown and Kishore Ryan. With nods to mainstream pop icons like Beyonce and Madonna, Otouto would like to consider themselves as a variety of hip hop. They know they can’t really get away with this label, so for the meantime they are forging a name for themselves by melding mainstream pop and experimental reference points into a palatable and accessible pop music dialogue.
With the recent release of their debut album "Pip", Otouto has received generous support from independent and mainstream media, and are very grateful to have been named feature album on Melbourne’s 3RRR, Sydney’s 2SER and Perth’s RTR.
The trio has been lucky enough to support fine Australian talent such as Laura Jean, Kid Sam, The Audreys, Sarah Blasko, and international greats Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, Micachu and the Shapes and folk/country legend Jim White.
This wonderfully styled pop music is written with depth and skill that belies the age of the band members. Their three-track single “Sushi” (November 2009) and the debut album “Pip” (March 2010) are out now through Two Bright Lakes/Remote Control/Intertia.



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"I don’t need to hype these guys too much because everyone else is doing it already. This gig is only one in a long string of coveted support slots, and they have been steadily building a dedicated following around Melbourne. When their album hits in the coming months I don’t think they’ll be a support act for much longer."
- Faster Louder
"Otouto’s strength lies in their arrangements, with drums that sound like rain falling and simple keyboards underneath the layered vocal harmonies. Their brand of stripped down art-pop is both refreshing and exciting."
- The Dwarf



"This release is - as it's title track describes - less straightforward than it may seem. Like an extremely minimal take on Battles and with a hint of Cat Power's huskiness, the group's forthcoming album is a curious prospect worthy of anticipation."
- Babette Gladney (Mess+Noise)



“It's really innovative and [Hazel] has one of those magical voices (think Norah Jones) that just cut you to the quick. [They] opened for me and John Doe when we were there and we both just sat there with our mouths hanging open as [Hazel] played this low-strung Danelectro and sang these unique melodies.”
– Jim White, musician.
"From minimal furniture
-two-part harmonies,junkshop
percussion, organ and a baritone guitar
that supplies the bottom end - Otouto
creates shape-shifting songs that prove
pop can be more instantly gratifying
when it doesn't go from A to B.
- Darren Levin, The Age (A2)
"No other band sounds quite like Otouto, and this pitch-perfect set was over far too soon." - Doug Wallen (The Vine)