Lowdown Brass Band News
Chicago's LowDown Brass Band deftly synthesizes the gritty sounds of Chicago with the high energy second-line street beat of the Crescent City. When it's all said and done, it'll almost be the same amount of time for LowDown Breaks, but the start-to-finish production urban on this one was significantly more extensive. Since forming in 2003, the Lowdown Brass Band has recorded a full-length album and an EP, both self-produced and self-released.
Though recognized for their fluency in Afrobeat and funk music, the band is known to collaborate with diverse groups and artists, from Angélique Kidjo to Jovanotti to Medeski Martin & Wood to Public Enemy, and served as the house band at Carnegie Hall in 2014 (Music of Paul Simon), 2015 (Music of David Byrne & Talking Heads) and this year's 2017 Music of Aretha Franklin.
While the weather might be getting colder and colder, Lowdown Breaks is sure to heat up any room you in which you spin it. We spoke via email with David Levine, LowDown Brass Band's baritone sax player, about the new LP. On Thursday, July 28, the Lowdown Brass Band will perform at Tres Hombres.
The brass band is perhaps one of New Orleans' most recognizable cultural imports, and in something on an ironic twist the Chicago based Lowdown Brass Band reimagined the brass and drum band for the hip hop era. The LDB will have a new album, Ghost Town, out in January, and to get ready, they're in the midst of a short tour that will see them at Barbes in Brooklyn tonight, November 2.
Fresh off their appearance at The 2017 Chicago Jazz Festival, Lowdown Brass Band joins fellow Windy City outfit The Dread for a true Chicago collaboration," with interpolation originally from a song created by 80s ska group The Specials in the new single Ghost Town." With an original arrangement and lyrics by Billa Camp, Ghost Town" is a spirited ode to gritty cities with the perfect blend of influences.
We also put a 45 out in July of this year, with New Orleans Bounce legend Ricky B, to kind of prime the pump for this next LP, LowDown Breaks, due out officially Jan. George Webb - Hampton Ave. The band's previous two albums "Exit 54" (2003) and "Brain Candy" (2006) have sold out of physical copies and enjoy continued radio play.
George Webb - National Ave. We're a funk band and we're committed to getting down, but we've got some tricks up our sleeves and you'll hear us weave in and out of many styles. LowDown Brass Band (LDB) deftly synthesizes the gritty sounds of Chicago with the high energy second-line street beat of the Crescent City.
The fusion of MC Billa Camp's poetic rhymes and adaptive storytelling, one of the band's leading vocalists, has helped catapulted LDB's national movement with cruising vocals, ferocious depth and provocative flows that helped audiences to capture the LDB experience.
The Chicago Sun-Times calls the band a must-see act." WBEZ's Vocalo touts them as a kind of soul-pop fusion that is truly captivating." With their second album, 2014's Regular Neurotic, the band gained critical notoriety. Fresh off their appearance at The 2017 Chicago Jazz Festival, LowDown maintains a constant performing and touring schedule throughout North America.
We're from Chicago another melting pot of all kinds of music the strong horn tradition that has been such a big part of the city like the music of Chicago or Earth Wind & Fire, or the great jazz and blues tradition, which we are all heavily influenced by. Billa Camp (our MC) has a love for punk rock, ska, hip-hop and reggae, his writing reflects that.
Although the band started out playing traditional New Orleans brass pieces, they quickly began writing their own music, expanding their repertoire to include elements of more modern music. The music of New Orleans is, by definition, a melting pot, a gumbo if you will of styles and influences.
