Goddess polka dottess

http://www.renaud-bray.com

http://www.renaud-bray.com

*** Résumé en anglais seulement ***TriBeCaStan s fifth studio album -- GODDESS POLKA DOTTESS serves up a veritablesmorgasbord of sonic flavors through its fourteen tracks. Diverse elements of world musicabound, with a plethora of styles and sounds woven together with distinct innovation. The bandhops gleefully from India to Ethiopia, to Jamaica and Eastern Europe and back to New York, allwith remarkable ease and characteristically sly wit.The album s manic overture, Repo Rodeo, blends bluegrass, circus music and exotic desert vibesinto a swirling tapestry meant to evoke the plight of American soldiers who ve served in Iraq.The title refers to war-torn vets returning to the states, only to find their homes and carsrepossessed, comments band co-founder, music educator and author John Kruth.Strains of East African dance music resonate in the grooves of Konjo (which means beautiful inEthiopia). TriBeCaStan s lilting valentine to the elephant-headed Hindu deity, Majestic Ganesh,sounds like a lost track from Magical Mystery Tour -- while The Surfing Swami, inspired by thelegendary saffron-robed surfer of Encinitas, is true indigenous music of southern California, asexemplified by Brian Wilson.A bit of dumbek driven Middle-Eastern exotica, Kilopatra features banjo, and Turkish yaylitambor, while Vagabundo blends dervish dance over a pumping ska rhythm. The track Borislav,humorously dedicated to TriBeCaStani percussionist Boris Kinberg, was inspired when the bandhappened upon a small village of that name in the Czech Republic during a European tour.Never attempting to recreate the sounds of its sources, TriBeCaStan s highly original music drawsupon myriad ethnic influences but also from the players varied backgrounds in American genresfolk, rock, blues, and the uniquely native idiom of jazz. Brimming with subtle references to jazzgreats, psychedelia, film scores, retro TV music, and even vintage Americana all cleverlyseasoned with exotic instrumentation from around the globe the band's eclectic music is likethe soundtrack to a very surreal global travelogue.In the past TriBeCaStan has created their own country and culture, and with this latest workthey expand upon these with their own inimitable cosmic mythology. This leads us on a journeyto meet the sultry kief smoker Kilopatra. We waltz across charnel grounds (where, in India, thedead are prepared) to witness the majesty of Majestic Ganesh and to behold The MahakalaStomp (referencing Mahakala, the black-faced, fanged Tibetan deity who scares Death to death).Finally we are introduced to a deity for today -- as the album ends with the band, along withvarious children and friends, chanting praise of the all-knowing Goddess Polka Dottess.Produced by John Kruth and Jeff Greene and engineered by Jim Clouse at Park West Studio inBrooklyn, GODDESS POLKA DOTTESS reveals some curious influences. There s perhaps moreAmerican music to be heard on this fifth album than on their previous releases -- with theTwenties-style swing of Zoli s Strut; the funky 70s-era, Quincy Jones-inspired Trouble In A FurCoat; as well as the unmistakeable strains of classic Looney Tunes cartoon music that inspireseveral tracks.