New Mastersounds

“If you book them, they will come,” says the fictionalized, desert dwelling Jim Morrison in “Wayne’s World 2.” Pretty sound advice when you’re booking top end talent like Aerosmith circa 1993 for an inaugural festival, but what about a band that’s never performed together?

With my belly full of turkey from the day before, I waddled my way out to the wintery streets of Indianapolis to The Vogue Theatre to catch my very first Turkuaz show. And, oh what a show it was! On November 26th, Turkuaz and The New Mastersounds, came to shake the dance floors of Indianapolis. It was a night of firsts for me.

The night before Thanksgiving is always a joyous celebration. Families getting together, old friends reuniting, and this past Wednesday at the Cabooze on the West Bank of Minneapolis, MN, two incredibly gifted funk bands from two very different places brought the Twin Cities together for an electric four-hour performance for the ages.

This fall, the UK-based modern-day legends of funk known as The New Mastersounds have been teaming up with Turkuaz, a Brooklyn-based nine-piece funk machine that has been garnering growing praise every step of the way.

Waking up from the tour opener of a massive Fall Tour in Fort Collins, CO last night, Britain’s The New Mastersounds and Brooklyn’s Turkuaz are pleased to debut the music video for the latter’s cover of prior’s song “On the Border”.  The tune serves as one side of a Split 7” EP that both groups collaborated on.  The record features both bands performing a cover song from the other artist's catalog, while also joining in on the collaboration.

Winding down a busy summer within the festival circuit, including performances at Mountain Jam, High Sierra Music Festival, Peach Music Festival, and coming up on a much anticipated debut appearance at Lock’n Festival,  Brooklyn’s Turkuaz is announcing a large scale co-headlining Fall 2016 tour with British funk band The New Mastersounds.

Jam. Band. Apart, these two words are innocuous. Put them together, and they somehow become polarizing. Whatever your perceptions may be, there are a few characteristics that help give meaning to this loosely defined genre. First and foremost, the artists are expert musicians, masters of their instruments and playing styles. These bands are also marked by their relentless touring schedules, which naturally lend itself to the improv that is a hallmark of the live setting.

The New Mastersounds have announced the release of The Nashville Session via Royal Potato Family on April 22. The 10-track collection was multi-tracked live to one-inch tape in a single evening session at Welcome To 1979 studio in Nashville, TN in front of a small studio audience,. Following the performance, the recordings were mixed down to quarter-inch stereo tape and then cut direct to vinyl lacquers. There are no guests and no overdubs—essentially The New Mastersounds—pure and unadulterated.

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