A Rickenbacker, a kora, hand drums, headphones. It’s all on Toubab Krewe‘s forthcoming album. Relix has a preview video on its site (placing the Asheville-based world-music indie-rock band alongside names like Disco Biscuits, moe. and Wilco). “Here is a first look at the sessions that yielded the new Toubab Krewe album, TK2, which is set for a September 7 release on Nat Geo Music,” writes the magazine.
(Photo of Toubab Krewe at this year’s bele Chere festival by Jamie Parlier. To view the complete photo gallery, go here.)
“Inspiration is everything,” says guitarist Drew Heller on the preview video, produced by Studio South. “These instruments and these sounds have been lurking for a long time.”
Adds drummer Teal Brown, “We just branched out in terms of our instrumentation and then we branched out in terms of our approach. So we just let it be really wide open.”
Watch the video here.
Here’s some more info form a recent press release: “Toubab Krewe … creates ‘the national music of a country with no name that appears on no map’ (JamBase), so it’s appropriate that their latest studio album TK2, will be released by Nat Geo Music.
“TK2 deepens the Toubab Krewe experience to create an album that is a full-on tripped-out headphones experience as well as a dance party the Village Voice describes as ‘a futuristic, psychedelic, neo-grit frenzy.’
“With alternately fierce, shimmering, surfadelic and slide-home guitar riffs, polyrhythmic percussion from many nations, the sounds of West Africa’s kora and kamel ngoni, a beat that doesn’t stop and the feel of a band completely confident in its groove, you’ll understand why Blurt raved: ‘Toubab Krewe has such a visceral, ear-yanking quality that in the band’s capable hands you just might find your definitions of what is/is not rock ‘n’ roll and worldbeat being completely rewritten. This is the sound of liberation.’”
Toubab Krewe plans to release TK2 in grand style with a special performance at NY’s Brooklyn Bowl on Friday, Sept. 10.
Before you comment
The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.