Watch Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band play "P.I.M.P."

Here's the Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band performing their party rockin' version of 50 Cent's "P.I.M.P." 

Bacao Rhythm & Steel vs. El Michels Affair

El Michels Affair has a better video for "Murkit Gem" but the Bacao boys have a plinkin' steel pan edge on the tune. 

Colemine releasing deep funk 'Drift' album by Sebastian Nagel's Winston Brothers

The Winston Brothers is actually another studio project of shadowy Hamburger Sebastian Nagel of Mighty Mocambos notoriety.

Here's the scoop...

Hot on the heels of their "Winston Theme" b/w "Boiling Pot" debut 45 released on Colemine Records, The Winston Brothers follow up with their debut full-length LP on November 18th. Drift is the name of the game, presenting eleven versatile cuts to invite listeners on an all-instrumental trip back to the future of funk.

The Winston Brothers are a modular studio project by Hamburg-based multi-instrumentalist and producer Sebastian Nagel (The Mighty Mocambos, Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band) and drummer / percussionist extraordinaire Lucas Kochbeck (The KBCS, Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band, Hamburg Spinners, Diazpora, Magic Source, Hotel Nineteen). Industry veterans with a penchant for analog music production, the two combine a boom bap state of mind with well-rounded funk acumen and able frequent collaborators to create dynamic arrangements that are both an audible nod to the genre’s past as well as a contemporary blend of like-minded organic styles.

Lacing heavy drums with juicy breaks, head-nodding grooves, scorching riffs and melodic instrumentation, Drift draws on the raw energy inherent to late ‘60s funk and takes it from there. Catchy, repetitive motifs gain musical momentum as they evolve into vibrant and autonomous soundscapes with a distinct drive of their own, ranging from incendiary to more laid-back and almost dreamlike. Strutting an irresistible bounce to their step, The Winston Brothers are poised to light up dance floors, river cruises and backyard BBQs alike.

The Winston Brothers' new album Drift will be available November 18th via Colemine Records. Click here to pre-order a limited edition copy on transparent dunkel brown vinyl in honour of Oktoberfest. 

 

The Winston Brothers – Drift 

1. Winston Theme 

2. Boiling Pot

3. Hang On

4. Drift 

5. Northern Light 

6. Metering

7. One Thing

8. Free Ride

9. High Life

10. Think

11. Brother's Strut

Bacao Rhythm & Steel preview Expansions with "Raise It Up"

Listen to Bacao Rhythm & Steel's version of the Slum Village classic "Raise It Up" off their new Expansions LP. 

Here's the scoop...

Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band, the mysterious steel pan outfit hailing from Hamburg, Germany have amassed a cult following around the globe. With a slew of classic 7”s and two critically acclaimed full length albums, they set a high bar for themselves, one they clearly intend on pushing even higher with this new offering. On their third album, aptly titled Expansions (out July 16), BRSB are back with more of the same, but more of the same with them is inherently different. Covering songs that span genres and range from mega hits to album cuts, they make them their own with their unique approach to the traditional steel pans of Trinidad and Tobago. 

Part of the allure of a new record from Bacao is finding out what covers they chose. However, die hard fans are also waiting to hear the original numbers like the stellar album opener “Tough Victory”. Its airtight rhythm section, brass arrangements, and layers of steel pan melodies make the term “cover band” a shoe that could never fit Bacao. Within the next three songs they go from Jazz (Galt MacDermot), to Hip Hop (Slum Village / J Dilla), to a dance floor classic (Grace Jones) taking them all on with their signature style, expanding on the originals. An easy crowd favorite is their gritty, gully, and neck snapping cover of the Timbaland produced Jay-Z club hit “Dirt Off Your Shoulder”. The infamous crushing Bacao drums start the show and the moment they start playing the top line on the pans, all bets are off. Sure to become a dance floor filler is their bottom heavy, four on the floor version of Sylvester’s classic “I Need Somebody To Love Tonight”. They venture into some gutbucket funk with Ike Turner’s “Getting Nasty” and bring the steel pans to Minnie Riperton’s Jazz classic “Les Fleurs”. Digging deeper in the modern canon and paying tribute to a tribute, they cover Erykah Badu’s homage to the late great J Dilla, “The Healer”. This is the type of thing to make Spice Adams jump on his kitchen counter and scream. From the second the beat drops they give the original Madlib production a run for its money, shaking subwoofers with the eerie tremolo bass while the pans play E. Badu’s vocal melodies. 

By the time the album is through Bacao has taken the listener on a journey that spans a myriad of energies, tempos, and moods while somehow managing to keep it all under one umbrella. For all that, these songs are alive, and they will be taken out of the context of this album and sewn into the fabric of DJ sets around the globe for many years to come. Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band is breathing renewed life into the originals and continuing to push the boundaries of steel pan music, or, as the title suggests, expanding on it. 

You can pre-order a copy of Expansions via Bandcamp right here. Check out "Raise It Up," "My Jamaican Dub" and "Dirt Off Your Shoulder" followed by the track listing.  

Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band - Expansions

1. Tough Victory

2. Space

3. Raise It Up 

4. My Jamaican Dub 

5. I Need Somebody To Love Tonight

6. Dirt Off Your Shoulder 

7. Getting Nasty

8. Blow Your Cover

9. Represent

10. The Healer 02:50

11. Les Fleurs

12. Squaring The Circles

CD bonus tracks: Juicy Fruit, Kaiso Noir, Look Out Baby (Here I Come)

Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band vs. Erykah Badu

Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band have their own take on Erykah Badu's "The Healer" produced by Madlib back in 2007.