Great To Be Here b/w All 4 Tha Ca$h

By popular demand, Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band is back with another must have of a two sider. Two tracks finding their way to vinyl for the first time that were cut during The Serpents Mouth sessions but only made it to the cd and digital release. A lot of people wrote us asking for it, and here it is, a 7 inch release that lives at the intersection of Funk, Soul, and Hip Hop.
The A side is Bacao’s crushing cover of the Jackson 5’s B-Boy classic “Great To Be Here”. A tune that a lot of people proba- bly thought had steel pans on the original version, a miscon- ception that lead to BRSB choosing it for their inimitable treatment. They open the tune with a chunky open drum break that gives way to the steel pan work banging out the infec- tious and instantly recognizable guitar lines from the J5’s version.
The B side finds Bacao diggin deeper into the hip hop crates again and coming up with a monster of a Gang Starr track to cover. Taking on their underground street anthem they cut for their Full Clip compilation, “All 4 Tha Ca$h”. BRSB tease the tune in with the two top notes of the riff for the first 8 bars catching listeners ears and giving the DJs a record to work with. When the whole riff drops and they give away what the tune is they are covering awww shits & ooooooohs are sure to be heard out in the crowd.

1 Thing b/w Hoola Hoop

2nd single off the album The Serpent’s Mouth.

“Following up on the massive success of their sophomore full length “The Serpent’s Mouth”, Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band is back with another dance floor classic.

Side A is their already infamous cover of Amerie’s smash hit “1 Thing”. Done up in what is now their signature fashion, they take on the break originally lifted from The Meters, and believe it or not….step it up a notch. Steel pans play her infectious vocal melody lines over the raucous and crushing drum track. This will have the dance floor turning to the booth in amazement and wonder as soon as the pans come in. An absolute essential for DJs across the globe.

The B Side, “Hoola Hoop” is a BRSB original tune, the stuff that B Boys dream about…Setting it off with a killer breakbeat intro that drops into pan hits and flute flourishes, never losing the groove and full of energy. They trade off leads from flute to steel pans while running through turnarounds and drum fills building more energy the whole time like a snowball rolling down a mountain headed right for the speakers.”

The Serpent’s Mouth

Following up on the massive worldwide success of their debut album 55, Bacao Rhythm & Steel band is back with another heavy duty offering. Picking up where they left off and incorporating a ton of new recording techniques they take a huge step forward with The Serpent’s Mouth. Named after the eight-mile strait between the island of Trinidad and the coast of Venezuela, The Serpent’s Mouth is a journey through both originals and covers, combining classic elements that wide-eared music fans already know, and mashing them up in new and unique ways.

Take “1 Thing” – on it, the group attacks the galloping, chopped Amerie smash hit, with singing pans that follow the R & B vocal. The sound is crisp and up-front, arguably more muscular than the 2005 original. On “Great To Be Here,” they take on the Jackson 5 B-Boy favorite (which stretches back to the Zulu Nation / Bronx block party days) – uncoincidentally, the original version featured a guitar lick that emulated a steel pan run. Here, it gets an even more pulsating groove, adding open-drums breaks throughout, to get DJs salivating. The group veers through more inventively-constructed covers as the album’s sequence continues, including Gang Starr’s “All For The Cash”; Mary J. Blige’s “I Love You”; and the recently unleashed first single, “XXplosive” and “Burn,” paying tribute to both Dr. Dre and Mobb Deep for a bi-coastal funk party. And, as band leader Bjorn Wagner states, “My favorite cover on the album is probably ‘Crockett Theme,’ which is the theme to ‘Miami Vice.’ I always loved the melody, and the cosmic vibe of the song, and I was honestly surprised that it worked without synthesizers.”

This time around the group’s originals are even stronger, as evidenced by cuts like the flute-fueled break-fest of “Hoola Hoop”; the slow and spacey “Touchdown”; and the album’s title track, the future-epic-adventure-movie-soundtrack cut “The Serpent’s Mouth.” Wagner explains, “I wrote the song with Bernhard Hummer as an instrumental fantasy story – think of pirates, smugglers and a dangerously beautiful sea passage towards the island. It became an allegory for our mind travels into the world of the steel pan.”

The Serpent’s Mouth is sure to please past fans and newly-minted ones alike. It seems like a new era for Steel Drum music is upon us, and Bacao is firmly leading the way into the hearts of music fans around the world. Another Big Crown Records Sureshot…

Xxplosive  b/w Burn

First single from the second Bacao album The Serpent’s Mouth.

“Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band return with another instantly classic 45 guaranteed to be all over DJs set lists. With their sophomore full length coming in September, they treat us to another bomb of a two sider.

Side A is a cover of the Dr Dre hit “XXplosive” done up in proper BRSB fashion, smashing drums and steel pans playing the lead and bass lines. They take this one into new territory by adding synth parts and dubbed out horn lines playing Nate Dogg’s infamous vocal hook melodies.

Side B takes on one of NYCity’s grimiest Hip Hop club anthems, Mobb Deep’s “Burn”. We decided to do this tune and demoed it out long before the unfortunate passing of Prodigy. Unfortunately, he will never get to hear this cover, and that has been one of the nicest things in covering some of these more current Hip Hop tunes. Rest In Peace P.

BRSB manages to do it again…..a version equally as raw and punchy as the original. Pans bang out the iconic riff from the original, theremin ushers in the changes, and the low rubble of the synth bass is sure to crush the subwoofers. Another Big Crown Sureshot…”

P.I.M.P.  b/w Police In Helicopter

Second re-issue after original Mocambo press and Truth & Soul issue.

“Big Crown Records is proud to present the Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band’s smashing cover of PIMP on our imprint. Following up on the smashing success of their debut album “55” and a string of essential 45s, we are the third label to press this staple tune. Three labels, three times, three different B sides.

Back in 2008 BRSB released it’s smashing cover of 50 Cent’s P.I.M.P. which was long thought to be the original sample for the tune. The Mocambo pressing already hard to come by and fetching top dollar on the internet has become an underground classic. BRSB treat the tune to their signature smashing drums and bass heavy production, taking the original loop and turning it into a full composition. Brass and steel pan parts putting it somewhere between reggae, steel funk, and the Superfly Soundtrack.

Side B is the proper reggae offering from BRSB, a cover of the legendary John Holt’s classic “Police In Helicopter”. Another must have two sider, another Big Crown sureshot.”

8th Wonder b/w Scorpio

45 exclusive.

“Big Crown Records is proud to present Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band’s new 45, “Scorpio” b/w “8th Wonder”. Coming after the smashing success of their debut full length “55” they drop 2 B-Boy classics back to back on this tough two sider that comes in a beautifully illustrated picture sleeve.
The A side “Scorpio” is a killer cover of the Dennis Coffey breakbeat staple. BRSB turn up the tempo a touch on the original doing the tune justice with crushing drums they have become known for. This is sure to be in every breakbeat enthusiasts box.
The B side features the non album cut, BRSB’s cover of The Sugarhill Gang’s “8th Wonder”, a tune that lends itself to pans like it was written for them. Another dance floor winner sure to be in DJs sets the world over shortly.”

Jungle Fever b/w Was Dog A Doughnut

Reissue on Big Crown Records.

With their highly anticipated debut full length “55” hitting in early May, Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band hits us with another killer two sider 7″ sure to be in every DJ’s box. The A side is an incredibly catchy cover of Faith Evan’s smash hit “Love Like This”. Instantly recognizable from the first note they work their way through the tune in proper BRSB fashion. Advance “Test Press” copies were sent to tastemaker DJs across the globe, the results have all been the same. This one is a dance floor killer and has crowds captivated and curious. The B side is a gritty punchy interpretation of the classic Cat Stevens tune “Dog Was A Doughnut”. BRSB really pushing the genre envelope with this one, using steel pans on an otherwise dark electro backdrop sprinkled with killer open drum breaks.

EARTHRISING

Magic Source is a project led by producer Björn Wagner (The Mighty Mocambos, Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band, Mocambo Records), who is renowned for creating an authentic and hard-hitting raw funk sound. Following a few acclaimed single releases on Favorite Recordings over the past few years, the French label deeply wanted to collaborate further with the German combo, for a special and exclusive project bringing their music on new paths. This new project is a step towards a new style: Analog-Electronica, or so called Cosmic-Disco sound.

Recorded on a 16-track reel-to-reel tape, EARTHRISING combines raw unedited live band recording, with the refined production aesthetics of the Disco era, including the use of vintage synthesizers, group chants and processed acoustic percussions, for an organic club feeling. While maintaining an un-edited, but highly hypnotic four-on-the-floor groove, Magic Source leaves the old beaten track of cheesy Disco-Pop and overheard Dance classics.

The music is an unusual and surprisingly coherent mixture: Earthrising unites rootsy Afro elements (such as almost tribal chants, percussions and a funky rhythm section), with sci-fi score soundscapes (such as ethereal synthesizers, Theremin and space echo and miniature instruments) to an irresistibly grooving beat extravaganza.

« Cosmic music » was known exclusively in the region of north Italy, Austria, and southern Bavaria until recent. Originally an eclectic DJ mixing style that evolved in the late 70s, it combined Disco, Ethno groove fragments, Electro, Afrobeat, Dub, Italo, Funk and Exotica weirdness to a trancy and danceable turntable symphony.

Magic Source creates its very own all-live version of Cosmic. Though you will rarely hear anything similar from any other band, there’s hardly an eclectic style that sounds more natural than the wonderful album that is Earthrising.

55

Full length album my Mocambo’s Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band project.

“Keeping in the tradition of Steel Drum records, 55 is a journey through re-interpolations and covers with an updated approach, pushing Steel Pan music to uncharted territory. Flawlessly bringing previously untouched genres into the steel pan cannon ranging from Underground Hip Hop tunes to staple Funk tracks and some of all that falls in between. From the smoothed out Reggae cover of John Holt’s “Police In Helicopter” to the DJ sure shot cover of Faith Evan’s “Love Like This” BRSB’s 55 is reinvigorating tunes both well known and helping to shed some light on tunes still largely undiscovered. However, some of the strongest tunes on the album are original compositions, from spaced out Disco vibes on “Beetham Highway Ride” and “Port Of Spain Hustle” to the ugly face inspiring drums of “Laventille Road March”. Recorded to analog 8 track tape at The Mocambo Studios in Hamburg, 55 is a gritty, punchy journey in sound drawing on music from around the world, using production aesthetics from across both eras and genres, all coming together seamlessly.”

Shrouded in mystery, hailing from Hamburg, Germany, Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band (BRSB) releases their long awaited debut “55” on Brooklyn’s own Big Crown Records. Long time multi instrumentalist and band leader Bjorn Wagner spent a few months in Trinidad & Tobago where he became fascinated with Steel Drums. His initial intrigue with local steel pan music culture led him to learning the instrument both through help of local players and on his own. After he became proficient on the pans Bjorn had his own instrument built from a used oil barrel by legendary pan man Louis C. Smith. Upon returning home to Germany, Bjorn set out to blend the Tropical Steel into his already sharply honed Funk, Soul, and Hip Hop sensibilities. The outcome is an updated take on a classic format, a truly unique sound. Their first two recordings were covers of The Meters “Look A-Py-Py” & “Ease Back” which they self released on a 45. Looking back on these two sides you can tell they were just getting their chops up for what was to come next. This is evidenced by how all hell broke loose when they went on to cover 50 Cent’s hit “PIMP” taking the DJ and vinyl collecting communities by storm. Many people thought the recording was the original sample and probably still do to this day when it is played. The original Mocambo pressing sold out quickly and is now a collector’s item fetching heavy prices when it changes hands. It was this tune that made the introduction between Bjorn and Danny Akalepse of Big Crown. They immediately hit it off and starting making plans to do a full length project with the band.

Keeping in the tradition of Steel Drum records, 55 is a journey through re-interpolations and covers with an updated approach, pushing Steel Pan music to uncharted territory. Flawlessly bringing previously untouched genres into the steel pan cannon ranging from Underground Hip Hop tunes to staple Funk tracks and some of all that falls in between. From the smoothed out Reggae cover of John Holt’s “Police In Helicopter” to the DJ sure shot cover of Faith Evan’s “Love Like This” BRSB’s 55 is reinvigorating tunes both well known and helping to shed some light on tunes still largely undiscovered. However, some of the strongest tunes on the album are original compositions, from spaced out Disco vibes on “Beetham Highway Ride” and “Port Of Spain Hustle” to the ugly face inspiring drums of “Laventille Road March”. Recorded to analog 8 track tape at The Mocambo Studios in Hamburg, 55 is a gritty, punchy journey in sound drawing on music from around the world, using production aesthetics from across both eras and genres, all coming together seamlessly. If the 45s that have already come out on Mocambo, Plane Jane, and Truth & Soul are an indication, this full length is going to be a staple to both casual listeners and Disc Jockeys alike.

Lovestruck EP

“Favorite Recordings proudly presents Lovestruck, first single by Magic Source, including exclusive remixes by Africaine 808, Voilaaa and Patchworks. Magic Source is a project led by producer Björn Wagner (Mighty Mocambos, Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band, Mocambo Records), who is renowned for creating an authentic and hard-hitting raw funk sound. Following a few acclaimed single releases on Favorite Recordings over the past few years, the French label deeply wanted to collaborate further with the German combo, for a special and exclusive project bringing their music on new paths.

This new adventure is also a step towards a new style, an analog-electronic disco and cosmic sound. Followed later this year by a full album, Lovestruck immediately reveals this new course, combining raw live band recording and the refined production aesthetics of the disco era, with an organic 21st century club feeling. While maintaining an unedited yet highly hypnotic four-on-the-floor groove, Magic Source leaves the old beaten track of cheesy disco pop and overheard dance classics. To provide this great single package with nonesuch dancefloor assets, Favorite Recordings filled it up with an exclusive remix by uprising Berlin producer duo Africaine 808, and two other hot renditions by label mates Voilaaa and Patchworks.”