Fuck you, playlists of sound-alike bands. Live from the world’s
tastiest melting pot, The Creamery Mixtape 2.O delivers a fresh
installment to their second annual mixtape series on
January 19, 2018.
This 12- song compilation was crafted during a 4-day sprint at the
Creamery Studio in Brooklyn and, like a subway car at rush hour, it
crams together an eclectic group of New Yorkers into harmony. The groups
all share one thing in common: the ability to create great music in
front of a tape machine--and fast. Producers Quinn McCarthy and Jeff
Fettig run the studio year-round but set time aside for the mixtape as a
celebration of the city’s varied music scene and as homage to the live
analogue recording art form.
“My personal library of music comes from all different genres and
from all over the world. One of my favorite ways to listen to music
these days is on shuffle,” says McCarthy. “I enjoy living in the most
mixed up place on earth and the mixtape is our way of capturing that
variety with a common lens, since it’s all been recorded in our space
and mixed with our ears and our vibe.” This year’s acts include:
Antibalas, the Daptone Records Afrobeat band that has cultivated New
York’s Afropop scene for over a decade; Innov Gnawa, a collective that
performed Coachella this year, singing a traditional form of Jewish
spiritual music that originates from Morocco and Breastfist, a
flamboyant funk supergroup composed of some of the Rockwood Music Hall’s
greatest backing players.
While taste-makers keep trying to PUSH bands like brands, the
Creamery Mixtape broadens the scope of what’s possible to fit under one
umbrella. Available exclusively on digital release through SoundCloud
and Spotify. Private link: Password
BANDS ON THE MIXTAPE:
Antibalas – Daptone Records band and kings of Afrobeat in NYC.
M.A.K.U Soundsystem embodies an active quest for identity through
sound and bodies in motion, and puts on a party for everyday people. It
has played Lincoln Center, Music Hall of Williamsburg, GlobalFest, and
more. Although not inherently discernible there are hints of Colombian
Folklore, Psychedelic-rock and Caribbean grooves.
Innov Gnawa has played Red Rocks Amphitheatre as well as NYC’s
Lincoln Center and Coachella. They play North African music known as Gnaoua and are
based in NYC.
OxenFree have earned praise from KCRW, The Wild Honey Pie, and
Consequence of Sound, which praised its “poppy melodies and precise,
hefty guitar work.”
Lauren Balthrop – Alabama-born, New York-dwelling “absolutely
lovely” (Stereogum) songwriter who has also sung with Bob Weird, Kevin
Morby, Bejamin Booker, and Lucius.
Nikhil P. Yerawadekar & Low Mentality - The group merges
elements of Afrobeat, reggae, dancehall, hip-hop, Afrobeat, and rock music to
create deeply funky compositions that balance a compelling new style of
songwriting with propulsive, danceable grooves. They have earned over
700,000 Spotify plays as well as praise from Relix, WFMU, KEXP, WNYC,
Paste Magazine, NPR, and the NY Times.
The Boobies – It’s garage pop with teeth. Picture the color
periwinkle blue, spray-painted by a Ramone, add blistering vocals with
traces of southern soul, and a David Byrne sense of showmanship and you
get The Boobies.
Queens songwriter Matt Sucich has appeared at Bonnaroo Music &
Arts Festival, Electric Lady's Heartbreaker Banquet on Willie Nelson's
Luck, TX ranch, Firefly Music Festival Newport Folk in Newport, RI, and
has supported Levon Helm, Counting Crows, Lucius, Rachael Yamagata, and
The Lone Bellow.
Breastfist is Michael League of Snarky Puppy’s favorite live band.
It’s a bass-and-drum groove-based duo made up on Alan Hampton (bass) and
Bill Campbell (drums).
Magana is haunted alternative-pop influenced by Sharon Van Etten and St. Vincent and based in Brooklyn.
