Organized By Chicago Afrobeat Project
S Western Ave, Chicago, IL 60608 (41.836900, -87.684400)
With 10 years under their belt, Chicago Afrobeat Project is set to release "Nyash UP!" its first album in four years. A long list of very special friends will celebrate at the Double Door on Saturday, 12/15: Get ready to get down with: - Chicago Afrobeat Project - The Occidental Brothers Dance Band International - Fatbook - Bloco Maximo ABOUT "NYASH UP!" Afrobeat gets a new voice on "Nyash UP!" as Chicago Afrobeat Project reinterprets the music of Radiohead, Fela Kuti, Fugazi, Ceu, System of a Down, Marvin Gaye, Led Zeppelin, 808 State, Talking Heads, and the Vandermark 5. Layers of rhythms and melodies interlock on each musical piece, swirling the group's signature sound into an even deeper, funky afrobeat stew. Hip-hop, jazz and near symphonic influences are prominent on "Nyash Up!" but the album's afrobeat sentiment is center stage. Nearly half the tracks feature vocals -- an addition from previous studio releases. From commentary about the war on the middle class to an exploration into the meaning of freedom, the album's vibe twists and turns as much as a Fela Kuti horn solo. ABOUT OCCIDENTAL BROTHERS DANCE BAND INTERNATIONAL The Occidental Brothers’ blend of high-energy soukous, rootsy Ghananian Highlife and African Jazz conjures sounds of the golden age of the African guitar band and has made them favorites of music critics and devotees of the style, but it’s a sound that has also seduced an audience of listeners as diverse as the members of this multi-ethnic band. Founded and based in Chicago, by American-born musicians the group has included former members of the Ghanaian band Western Diamonds, Congolese legend Samba Mapangala, and many other Africans living in the States. The current lead singer is Zambian Matthew Tembo who sought out the group after seeing them perform at Pittsburgh’s Warhol Museum. Tembo had spent many years touring in Africa and Europe as a reggae artist but has relocated to Chicago to join the Occidental Brothers, bringing his deep knowledge of traditional music and skill as a singer to the group’s already prodigious musicianship. ABOUT FATBOOK While melding funk, reggae, r&b, rock, and Brazilian and West-African music, Fatbook weaves the sounds of people and places into a groove that you can’t help but move to. Fatbook began as Harjinder Bedi called together 7 musicians studying at Lawrence University in Appleton, WI (Evan Jacobson, Ted Toussaint, Jake Crowe, Dario Lapoma, Bruce Anderson, and Kyle Traska). They worked with Marc Golde at Rock Garden Studios (a gem of the Wisconsin music community) blending their varied personalities and influences for their first set of recordings- 2009’s No Time To Lose. These recordings earned national recognition from the jazz world’s renowned DownBeat Magazine, winning best band in the national student music awards of 2009, and again in 2010. ABOUT BLOCO MAXIMO Bloco Maximo (formed in july 2011) is a new Chicago based percussion group that brings the awesome sound of Brazilian batucada from the Pelourinho and the Sambodromo – combining the traditional sounds of timbal, repique, surdo, caixa & tamborim in a funky, energetic dose of wall-to-wall rhythm. Bloco Maximo rehearses every week simply because we want to see each other more often. The group is dedicated dedicate to their teacher dane maxim richeson.