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Jazz/hip-hop/funk group Galactic reflects new generation of New Orleans music Date published: 2/4/2010
BY RYAN BROSMER FOR THE FREE LANCE-STAR Though most of its members do not come from the Big Easy, Galactic is a band that loves New Orleans and the city's unique musical culture. The jazz/funk/hip-hop group's latest album, "Ya-Ka-May," out on Anti Records next Tuesday, is nostalgia wrapped up in a novel approach--and before you can get the album you can see Galactic live at the 9:30 Club this Saturday. The group's sound is something more traditionally linked to MCs rapping over a DJ scratching records, and triggering loops and samples. But make no mistake--this a full band. Galactic consists of Richard Vogel on keyboards, Stanton Moore on drums, Robert Mercurio on bass, Ben Ellman on saxophone and harmonica, and Jeff Raines on guitar. There's been a recent trend in the hip-hop world to meld live bands into the mix, but Galactic has been doing it the whole time. "Hip-hop is a studio art," Vogel said in a recent phone interview. "But when it comes to performing live there's really no substitute for what a band can bring." After 12 years and five previous albums Galactic had finally developed a solid, defining sound, he said. So they decided to enlist some special help to make the new album something different. "We kind of had a wish list," Vogel said. That is, a list of fellow New Orleans performers with whom they wanted to collaborate. "We knew that we wanted to make [a] record that, this time, was all New Orleans--at least Louisiana--artists." Band members took the list and started calling people they thought might actually call back. The result is an all-star cast of New Orleans past and present. This includes legends like Irma Thomas and Allen Toussaint alongside up-and-coming hip-hop MCs like Katey Red and Sissy Nobby. "This is the kind of record that we wanted to make for a long time," Vogel said. "But it takes being around for a while before you feel like you can call Allen Toussaint and maybe he'll call us back. So, we just started doing that, and we lucked out."
Date published: 2/4/2010
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