NYE in Los Angeles with Antibalas

Catch me headlining this free party in downtown LA with Antibalas. Hosted by Novena Carmel of KCRW and lots of good bands and DJs.

25th Anniversary of Antibalas: Two nights at Brooklyn Bowl

Just recovering from two nights of sublime and intense music in my old stomping grounds of Williamsburg Brooklyn at the Brooklyn Bowl. We had DJ Rob Castillo from Caracas via CDMX, Kaethe Hostetter and her magic violin (fri) and Stuart Bogie’s Magic Hands (Sat) for support.

The Band: (both nights)Trumpet: Jordan McLean; Trumpet: Andrew McGovern, Tenor sax: Drew Vandewinckel, Baritone sax/flute/percussion: Martín Perna; shekere/vox: Marcus Farrar. congas: Reinaldo deJesus; drums: Kevin Raczka; guitar: Timothy James; guitar: Bryan Vargas; keys: Jake Pinto.

Guests night 2: trombone: Raymond Mason; tenor sax: Max Kassoy; Tenor sax: Stuart Bogie;

From the Dap Kings: percussion: Bosco Mann, percussion: Elizabeth Pupo-Walker; trumpet: Dave Guy; tenor sax: Cochemea Gastelum; from Skatalites/Frightnrs: Anant Pradhan; From Havana, Cuba on congas Pellito el Afrokan

Thirteen New Songs with Antibalas

Last November we did ten days of writing workshop in New York, played the songs over the past year live at stages across the world, and gathered at Studio G in Brooklyn to record as many of them as were ready.

These recordings will compose the next two Antibalas albums. Expect to hear the first in a few months, around mid-2023.

Antibalas: 2022 Tour Dates

The band is back on the road in 2022 with a new repertoire as well as a few old gems.

New Music: Daptone Soul Revue: Live at the Apollo

This was the culmination of twenty years of work dating back my days in the mid 1990s on the lower east side, with Gabe Roth and pounding the pavement in search of other musicians who wanted to rock like this. The album was recorded over three nights at the Apollo Theater. I’m glad it’s finally out for the world to hear.

Grammy Nomination "Fu Chronicles" 2020 Best Global Music Album

I am pleased to see “Fu Chronicles,” my latest work with Antibalas, nominated for a 2020 Grammy Best Global Music album, along with albums by Burna Boy, Bebel Gilberto, Anoushka Shankar and Tinariwen.

I co-produced, arranged and performed on this album, released in February 2020 on Daptone Records.

The songs on this record were the results of two decades of vision and persistence on the part of Amayo, the composer and frontman, and the scores of musicians who kept the heart of these songs beaten until the moment when they could be recorded, as well as the skill and vision of Daptone Records who enters their third decade of putting out quality music made by real musicians with a reverence for and a connection to our musical elders.

Arranging the album was painstaking— so many good parts of the songs had to be compressed, truncated, even sometimes deleted for this to be something resembling a record. A double or triple album wasn’t an option. In the end we managed to squeeze five songs into about forty minutes, the amount of time you are limited to when making a vinyl LP. (anything more and you drastically reduce sound quality, especially in the bass). In their live incarnations, the songs on Fu Chronicles could/can last anywhere from 12-25 minutes long.

We began 2020 with a lot of momentum, with a run of sold-out shows from Los Angeles to Vancouver to Denver. We went home for a few days before the tour picked up in Boston and had bookings through the end of 2020 on four continents prior to the Covid-19 shutdown. I don’t know when we’ll be able to hit the road again, but hopefully this nomination will put us/keep us on the radar till live music is back up again.

You can sign up on our mailing list or go here to listen to / buy the album.

NPR Weekend Edition Interview →

My bandmate Amayo and I were interviewed by NPR’s Scott Simon of Weekend Edition to discuss our latest Antibalas album “Fu Chronicles.” LISTEN:

New Antibalas Single : Amenawon

From the upcoming album "Fu Chronicles" - out February 7th. Pre-order/stream single now: https://daptone.ffm.to/bwav9ee.oyd