New album: Big Mean Sound Machine - Runnin' for the Ghost

“BMSM might be one of my favorite bands on the planet. With a horn section to kill for, a drummer that can put me in a beat coma instantly, and a knack for hitting grooves in a pantsless stride, they aren't easy to ignore,” -Joel Frieders, SYFFAL.com

For a band with no lead singer, Big Mean Sound Machine has character in spades. When assembled from a selection of the finest, well-lubricated, musically brilliant components, the resulting machine is the sonic equivalent of a positive feeling. “The embodiment of feeling… delicious,” writes Frieders. People dance when a rhythm moves them, and there’s no defying instinct when Big Mean Sound Machine is on stage. Anyone who has experienced the band in action knows that their performances are the heaviest and sweatiest. “Incorporating Caribbean, African and Latin sounds, and everything in between, these musicians sound as though they’ve been playing together since the sandbox days. They transition effortlessly from a collective... to riveting soloists, and when [they’re] not playing simultaneously, those... stepping aside are jamming out as if they were in the crowd with the rest of us,” writes Mary Mistretta of UpstateLIVE. A polyrhythmic monster with a crisp, constant, unrelenting groove, the band brings together many musical traditions in a unique blend that reinterprets and reanimates live dance music unlike any other band playing today.


THE ALBUM

Their fourth studio album, "Runnin' for the Ghost" captures the essence of the band’s renowned energetic and transcendent live shows into a concise, portable experience wherever it may be desired -- in the car, at home, work, or in the club. After over seven years of rigorous touring and three acclaimed, full-length studio albums, Big Mean Sound Machine is proud to present a rich sonic journey through their freshest material, their self-stated, "best album to date." With this record, the band hopes to continue building on the success of their previous releases and with your contribution, this world-class album can achieve the exposure it truly deserves.

bigmeansoundmachine.com
bigmeansoundmachine.bandcamp.com

The Big Mean Sound Machine - Contraband

There's this bank me and my kids pass every day on the way to school. The few times they've gone with me through the drive-thru, for routine financial actions bros, they've acquired a Dum-Dum of varying flavors bros. But the flavors of high fructose corn syrupsy balls on woven cardboard sticks means nothing here bro, what this bank has that pertains to Big Mean Sound Machine is a row of reflective windows.

These windows are a portal to the funky ass motherFuckin' throwback soundtrack we be rollin' wit on the way to le schoolio brolio.

The first time I noticed the four of us all leaned back lookin' back at us in motherFuckin' funk heaven, it was a brisk 74 degrees fahrenheit at 6:45am bro. (That should tell you it was sum sum summertime bro.) We were pulling up to a red light, all windows were down, the kids were all lookin' forward, as I peeped our pimposition to my right, I blurted out a "yoooo" and threw my head into the direction of our reflection. My kids did something I wasn't expecting, but it sort of tied the whole room together (as far as the funk was concerned), they looked at themselves in reflection, nodded at their pimpflection, and returned to their originally scheduled position of acting loc'd the Fuck out. We were listening to "Whoa Gosh" at the time.

Big Mean Sound Machine sound like you just caught your reflection in the mirror and you're 77% cooler than you originally assumed you were in the first place.

Big Mean Sound Machine are the embodiment of feeling fucking delicious.

What used to feel more like a cross between Budos and/or Daptone scented incense and a case of ice cold Tecate on a hot fucking Sunday afternoon, is now a luxurious cross between Budos and/or Daptone flavored micheladas and crawfish boil where there are muthafuckers in guayaberas and ladies in yoga shorts. It's just fucking intoxicatingly sexy bros.

Seriously, this latest in the saga of sexual ass Big Mean Sound Machine releases is a beautiful blend of their regular horny sass, but in addition to their ever-maturing instrumental conversations, there's a New Orleans pelvic thrust around every meter. It's like these muthafuckers were playing a basement in sub-saharan Los Angeles or some shit, and a Voodoo king happened to be at the In N Out across the alley and heard their aural deliciousness spilling out onto the street while monster sauce dribbles onto his pert chin. Rather than reaching for a napkin to wipe his furious face, he rattles his bones and the assholes in Big Mean Sound Machine all start sweating from the lower back and tasting cayenne pepper with every blot of the brow.

I wouldn't lie to you bros, the latest Big Mean Sound Machine album is a fucking balls ass motherfucking cornucopia of horn-spat delicacies, and rather than merely being hot to the touch, it's fucking warming to the entire loin region and requires many many concentrated and unconcentrated listens as soon as fucking possible.

syffal.com 

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Do not fight, do not rob, but gradually smuggle enough salable commodity, called Afrobeat.

Every now and then you hit the projects, taking in his work threads Africa. One of them is Big Mean Sound Machine. Fortunately, the American group, which consists of thirteen musicians, does not like to stick to rigid divisions. The team from the very beginning came deep in afrobeatową styling and more. Their music is equally revolves around jazz, psychedelia from the 60s and 70s, funk, rock, Latin music and blues. It all appeared on the debut album BMSM - "Ourobors" (2011.). Two years later the band released their second album Fri "Marauders", stylistically similar to the previous production, although it was heard that artists are constantly looking for and experimenting with different sounds.

At this year's album - "Contraband" Americans have shown that they are still faithful to their assumptions. Invariably, the whole spirit hovers somewhere afrobeat Fela Kuti from the area, as well as the New York-based Antibalas ("In the Name of What?", "Angriest Man in the World"). It seems that the recordings Big Mean Sound Machine are more varied in relation to what is proposed Antibals. A good example is the renovation song "The Soothsayer". Composition "Whoa Gosh", in turn, brings to mind the achievements of The Souljazz Orchestra. However, in BMSM is definitely more psychedelic and synth sounds ("Junkies Everywhere").

Undeniable force BMSM is creative ability of turning a simple topic in an extensive and multi-layered musical tale ("Crime of Passion"). For "Contraband" there were also paying tribute to the music of the Arab world ("Sweet Tooth"). Characteristically sounding guitar solos, which can be found within afrobeatowej Convention, appeared in the title "Contraband". The number "Wolfpack" and has much in common with the work of the group Orchestre Poly Rythmo de Cotonou, which will soon perform at the OFF Festival.

I very much hope that the band Big Mean Sound Machine also exist in the European market. With such a repertoire, which presents the American collective, you can enter - and this without any complexes, each directory of a major label (which is about a Strut?). Members of BMSM in a very creative way to reread the afrobeat. I do not treat it as a substitute, and as the core, giving them the power to create niebylejakich ideas.

 bigmeansoundmachine.com

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Angelo Peters may be the hardest working man in the Ithaca music scene right now. Between recently taking over the booking responsibilities at The Dock (formerly Castaways), as well as booking at the Loft, and current recording and production work, his 13 piece band, Big Mean Sound Machine, has managed to release its eighth studio recording, Contraband, through Angry Mom Records.

Peters and company get a little bit spacey on this one, and it works, as extra moog and synthesizer effects that accent the expanding horn sections fit in perfectly. Big Mean Sound Machine, who are known for elaborate percussion and horn sections, has managed to up the ante on Contraband. Where before the horns (Alicia Aubin -Trombone, Bobby Spellman – Trumpet, Jamie Yamen – Tenor Saxaphone, and Remy Kunstler – Baritone Saxaphone) were more of an accent, on this album, they are the centerpieces that drive songs like “Whoa Gosh” and “Sweet Tooth.”

Contraband isn’t as much as departure from 2012’s Marauders as it is a steady transition in the direction of progressive channeling. BMSM manages to throw every past, present and future jazz, afrobeat, and fusion great into the grinder and roll them up in one giant spliff, just to light it up in the front row at the Newport Jazz Festival.

buffablog.com 

Tracklist

01. In the Name of What?
02. Angriest Man in the World
03. The Soothsayer
04. Whoa Gosh
05. Junkies Everywhere
06. Crime of Passion
07. Sweet Tooth
08. Contraband
09. Wolfpack

The Big Mean Sound Machine - Ourubros (download)

Ithaca's The Big Mean Sound Machine is a 10 piece ensemble that fuses elements of afrobeat, garage rock, funk, jazz, and dub rhythms to provide western New York with some of the dirtiest, fattest, grooviest beats ever heard. Seamed together by an amazing rhythm section of Angelo Peters on Bass, Andrew Klein on Drums, Bryan Davis on Percussion, Rob Tate on Organs, and Dan Barker on Guitars, the core of the group commands attention while providing a passionate and constant groove. Combine that with the talents of Bobby Spellman on Trumpet, Emily Pecoraro on Tenor Sax, and Remy Kunstler on Bari Sax, and you have polyrhythmic monster.



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Saturday night, the local funk outfit The Big Mean Sound Machine brought their ten-piece act to Castaways and inspired all in attendance to get undeniably funky. The first thing that struck me about the band is that all of its members were having an absolute blast on stage. Bassist Angelo Peters and guitarist Dan Barker led The Big Mean Sound Machine and behind them were a dancing, smiling ensemble of percussionists, keyboardists and horn players. Frequently, members of the band would play different instruments in different songs, and musicians who were not playing their main instruments during particular songs would always add to the groove with maracas, cowbells, wood blocks and other rhythm instruments. The band acted as a veritable democracy of funk, in which every citizen plays an important role in the production of funky grooves, equitably distribuiting solos and acting as a cohesive unit.

The Big Mean Sound Machine describes themselves as a “Live Experimental and Electronic Afro-Beat, Funk and Dub” band on their MySpace. Despite that description’s unwieldy length, it does a good job at describing their ambitious sound, which got everyone in Castaways bobbing their heads and moving their hips. The music was entirely instrumental, but the spacey and psychedelic jazz that they played did not require lyrics to draw in the listener. Each song would start out with a standard afro-beat groove and then be brought to an extreme tempo or volume as it progressed. Peters’ talent on the bass was showcased during a powerful dub breakdown that occurred towards the middle of the show, during which his uncanny knack for grooving incited even the most dance-averse audience members to shake their stuff. A featured alto saxophonist layered the sound of the band with an ambient-minded, freeform style of play. His incendiary playing meshed with the psychedelic rhythms of the songs in such a way that made the jazzier songs that the band played seem more dangerous, like music from a jazz club on the brink of hell. Dramatic descriptions aside, that raw edginess was what I liked most about The Big Mean Sound Machine because it differentiated the band’s music from your typical jam band fare. The music was still smooth and funky, but the high energy of the band members showed me a raw passion that they had for their music that I normally do not feel at jam band shows, which can often seem aimless and meandering. The different musical styles that were explored throughout each song were all played with the same high level of intensity and kept the show from becoming monotonous by offering something new for the audience’s ears to enjoy on every track.

Castaways proved an adequate environment for The Big Mean Sound Machine. There were enough people at the show to fill up the dance floor but not enough to make it feel crowded. The audience was fun and only made the atmosphere around the show more exciting. There was not a noticeable Cornell presence at the concert, but the audience was nevertheless diverse, ranging from grizzled old barflies to promiscuous high school kids wearing fake mustaches. Everyone was visibly into the music, which provided for an exhilarating evening. One particularly avid fan named Mike provided me with what may have been the most accurate statement of the night when he likened one of the songs’ intros to a snake-charming melody.

If you are a fan of live music and don’t have anything against an instrumental concert, I would highly recommend going to see The Big Mean Sound Machine. The diversity of their music is engaging, yet always danceable and groovy, and they are a local band that has just as much fun as their audience.

cornellsun.com



Tracklist

1. March of the Machine
2. The Egg
3. Dr. Iguana
4. Drunk and Crying
5. Tongue Power
6. Tzar Bomba
7. Nice Vice
8. Jujumanji
9. Spacecakes
10. A Grain of Sand


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The Big Mean Sound Machine- Ourubros