Starting the year off with my first album listening. Andy Hamilton, who kills me on music knowledge, pointed me in the direction of party band Red Baraat. This group exists in a vein of music I didn't even know existed before. It's 1 part brass band, 1 part dance band, 1 part asian wedding group, 1 part funk machine. The album, Shruggy Ji, is almost non-stop from beginning to end. It starts off loud and energetic and maintains that sound throughout. I tended to enjoy the funkier works (like the albums title track, Sailkot, and Private Dancers).
There's something about the group that exudes a bizarre energy. I think it derives from the level of intensity coming out of acoustic instruments. With the prevalence of dance music in today's world being created by computers (not a problem, please don't think I look down on the likes of Sonny John Moore aka Skrillex) but hearing this sort of ruthless dance music coming from trumpets, sousaphone, baritone, trombones, and the like is awesome. The soprano saxophone in the mix sounds distinctly foreign which is strange since I associate the sound of soprano saxophone with American Jazz. It's an interesting timbre which adds something interesting.
Overall an awesome way to start of the year. Seriously different and new and cool. I'd recommend the group. Check out the Tiny Desk Concert from NPR for a taste of the musical style.
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