About this Event
THE MUCKERS
SPOTIFY
Standing out against the layers of noises a city like New York holds is no small feat: its blaring cars and screeching trains, its storied streets, blunt locals, and piercing sirens all meld together into a thick backdrop. The Muckers, a four piece as vibrantly fresh as resolutely timeless, are doing just that, and NME already calls them “one of New York’s most exciting new bands.”
Their debut album, the aptly titled Endeavor, comes on the heels of frontman Emir Mohseni's journey - nothing short of an odyssey: first, as an immigrant taking refuge in New York City from his native Iran to have the right to perform rock music, then as a band caught in the global pandemic who's had to let go of their greatest strength: thriving on any stage - from supporting Pond on the road in 1000-cap rooms to making the crowds dance and sweat in the divey bars of Brooklyn. One of their performances, at Treefort Festival, had caught KEXP's Cheryl Waters eye who commended them for "captivating the crowds" on her Music That Matters show.
“There is something altogether fresh in their energy, in Mohseni’s fast-moving guitar licks and his lyrics full of yearning,” Ladygunn lauded in a recent interview where Emir spoke of his influences, from Frank Zappa to The Stranglers.
“There are times in your life when you know the map to your destination but you need a force to drive you there,” Mohseni says of his move to the United States, profiled across acclaimed publications, from Rolling Stone to Billboard. Upon landing in this new environment, he met the three guys that would become his closest friends, and build with him the enlivening sound and enrapturing live show that The Muckers have garnered early praises for: Anthony Azarmgin at the bass, Chris Cawley on rhythm guitar, and John Zimmerman behind the drums.
The band's ethos can be heard in tracks like the unrelenting "Roll The Dice" which Mohseni says is about "risking everything you have in life for that one thing that you love the most." In the face of adversity, The Muckers have never let up their ambition, cutting through the noise with what Rolling Stone praised as “a call to fans to kick the dust off of their souls and boogie.”
KALETA & SUPER YAMBA BAND
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SOUNDCLOUD
BANDCAMP
Brooklyn’s Kaleta & Super Yamba Band are fronted by Afrobeat and Juju veteran Leon Ligan-Majek a.k.a. Kaleta. The singer/guitarist from the West African country of Benin Republic lived his adolescent life in Lagos, Nigeria where Afrobeat was born. Kaleta's guitar chops earned him decades of touring and recording with Fela Kuti, King Sunny Ade, Lauryn Hill and more.
Kaleta got his start in the late 70s performing in church and was soon after picked up by iconic Juju master and world music pioneer King Sunny Ade. A few years later Fela Kuti came calling. Kaleta would go on to tour the world playing guitar for the King of Afrobeat in his storied band Egypt 80 through the 1980s and into the 1990s.
Now based in New York City, Kaleta has been leading Super Yamba Band since 2017. Their debut album "Mèdaho," which was released by California indie label Ubiquity Records, draws on the group’s shared reverence for the raw, psychedelic sounds that captivated Kaleta as a music loving kid in 1970s Benin. Mèdaho means "big brother," "elder" or "teacher" and is dedicated to Kaleta's late brother Ligan-Ozavino Pascal who introduced him to funk and soul music at a very early age. The album was included on Bandcamp’s “Best Albums of Summer 2019” list and two of the songs were chosen for the ABC/Hulu series High Fidelity staring Zoe Kravitz.
Kaleta and his band have also erupted onto the stages and video screens of major music festivals and music publications across the US. They performed at the historic Apollo Theatre in 2019. They even prompted Action Bronson to stop his own show on VICELAND TV just so he could hear more Yamba. They also performed on Adult Swim’s Fishcenter Live show in 2019. In 2017 they rocked Paste Magazine’s Emerging Music Festival in NYC and after that performance Afropop Worldwide fell in love with Kaleta, saying “his James Brown grunts have got to be some of the best in the business!”
*photo by Florencia Saavedra
STEELE FC
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WEBSTORE
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Steele FC, formerly known as "Steele" and "(Brooklyn) Steele" is a New York born musician, sat at a small desk in a medium sized bedroom making melodic and introspective music. Raised playing the drums in bands around New York City, he is going where many a drummer has gone before - to the front of the stage. His most recent single “Cherry” features the French arts and culture icon, SOKO, and has been received with great enthusiasm. Steele has been hailed by institutions such as BBC1, DIY, NME, Interview Magazine, I-D, and Document Journal. His debut EP, Here Comes (Steele FC) is set to be released in Summer 2021. Loves: team sports, Brian Wilson, and Brian Eno. Hates: seafood.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
The Sultan Room, 234 Starr Street, Brooklyn, United States
USD 15.00 to USD 18.00