The New Mastersounds
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The New Mastersounds are a four-piece band based in Leeds, England, whose modern take on vintage soul-jazz, funk and rock draws influences from Jimmies McGriff, Smith, and Hendrix, as well as their most closely-associated mentors, The Meters. Try to imagine Grant Green and Lou Donaldson having a fight in a Hammond Organ shop while James Brown holds the coats, and you have some idea of what to expect from this band. Their first single, One Note Brown, was released on Blow It Hard Records in 2000 and was passionately championed by acclaimed Northern Soul and funk DJ Keb Darge. To date, the band has released four studio records: 102%, This Is What We Do, Be Yourself, Keb Darge Presents… as well as The New Mastersounds Re::Mixed, and Live At La Cova. Also of note: their single, “Your Love Is Mine” featuring Corinne Bailey Rae, was used in the 2007 Warner Brothers movie Feast of Love.
Having toured throughout Europe, Japan and the USA, the NMS have earned global recognition as a key band in the ‘New Funk’ scene. But purists beware: their unique blend of funk, rock, soul and dance music is hard to sum up and doesn’t fit neatly into any one genre. Headed soon to a city near you, The New Mastersounds deliver gritty grooves and deep rhythms in clubs, theater venues and festivals alike. Their live shows will get you up dancing and hold you there intoxicated by the funk until last call- when you’ll stagger home, sweaty and exhausted, on a wave of euphoria.
Led by guitarist and producer Eddie Roberts, The New Mastersounds feature Joe Tatton on Hammond, Pete Shand on bass and Simon Allen on drums. |
 Acoustic Syndicate
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Known for its high-energy, positive sound, Acoustic Syndicate delivers
a genre-defying performance, masterfully blending its eclectic
influences with trademark finesse that only 17 years of cohesive
teamwork can bring.
Acoustic Syndicate is the product of Cleveland County's McMurry clan
Guitarist Steve “Big Daddy” McMurry is joined by his cousins, Bryon
McMurry on banjo and Fitz McMurry on drums. The three McMurrys also
bring a trademark vocal trio that only a lifetime of singing together
can deliver.
Joining the McMurrys in 1998 on bass, Jay Sanders has become part of
the family. A long time resident of Asheville, NC, his seamless
blending of musical genres and driving style brought a completion to
the band's sound that continues to characterize and define. When not
with Acoustic Syndicate, Jay can now be seen playing with Donna The
Buffalo or his own group, The E.Normus Trio.
Formed in 1992, Acoustic Syndicate has had a long and storied career.
They spent well over a dozen years on the road, playing at the
original Bonnaroo, MerleFest, the Telluride Bluegrass Festival,
Memphis in May and many many other clubs, festivals and events.
The band had the distinct honor of being invited to perform as a part
of FarmAid in 2001, a significant occasion in respect to their
family's agrarian history. The McMurry family are farmers, and
continue to cultivate the same land their family has for generations. |
The Afromotive
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Based in Asheville, NC, Afromotive is helping to start a new wave of uptempo afrobeat music- fusing West African rhythms, song forms, and instrumentation with funk, improvisation, and straight-ahead dance beats.
Adding to the experience is thirty-third generation djembe player Adama Dembele from Cote d‘Ivoire. He has toured several continents, performing with various major acts such Oumou Sangare, Salif Keita, Affou Keita, Sogona Djata and many others. These traditional West African rhythms combined with a mentality that moves beyond pure traditionalism and into new realms of musical possibilities is what Afromotive brings to its audiences. It's a sound that crosses musical and ethnic boundaries.
On their debut album "Scare Tactics," The Afromotive takes the raw energy of their live performance into the studio. This album is an elaboration on the language of afrobeat music, yielding a truly unique sound that is rooted in tradition.
"It's all about the beat...The pulsating rhythms of afrobeat have crossed cultures and continents to carve out a groove that has touched the backbone of generations of funk lovers... The sounds of West Africa now resonate through the mountains of North Carolina courtesy of Asheville's Afromotive." -Grant Britt, Creative Loafing. |
