Where: Regent Parlor, NY Hilton. Avenue of the Americas at 54th Street
When:
Saturday January 12 @ 7:00PM
Sunday January 13 @ 8:40 pm
Tickets: FREE
Website:
http://www.reverbnation.com/venue/515225
Where: Drom, NYC. 85 Avenue A (between 5th and 6th)
When: Saturday January 12. Doors @ 11pm. Nomadic Massive plays at midnight, BlackMahal goes on at 1am ET.
Tickets: FREE with RSVP
Website: http://www.dromnyc.com/events/2202/apap-showcase-nomadic-massive-black-mahal#.UOETKonjnWo
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Get Your Turban Groove On! Punjabi Band BlackMahal Funks Up New York January 12-13
Nine-piece collective BlackMahal selected by Barbès Records and Electric Cowbell Records to play APAP Showcase
(NEW YORK CITY) Jan 1, 2013 – Part P-Funk, and all Punjabi-Funk, BlackMahal is a 9-piece live music experience complete with drums, DJs, horns, hip-hop MCs, and the godfather of Punjabi-American music, Ustad Lal Singh Bhatti. The weekend of January 12-13, the band will make its New York debut at NY Hilton’s Regent Parlor and as part of the APAP Showcase, which is produced annually by Barbès Records and Electric Cowbell Records at one of the hottest live music venues in the city, Drom.
BlackMahal’s music takes audiences on a wild ride that promises to get people on their feet and moving to the ‘turban groove’, created by funky rhythms on drums and turntables, punctuated by playful horns and Bhatti’s soulful bellows.
“We’re really excited to be part of the APAP Showcase,” says BlackMahal rapper and executive producer Vijay Chattha. The spirit of APAP and globalFEST is at the heart of how we make music – bringing people together in an experience that unifies and electrifies.”
Billed as the “Global Performing Arts and Marketplace Conference”, the APAP conference is considered a highly-respected event in the world music community, with artists and musicians traveling to New York from all around the world to perform, connect, and “discuss the impact we can make in our own businesses, in the arts industry and in our communities.”
Barbès and Electric Cowbell, both based in Brooklyn, teamed up several years ago to produce a showcase at Drom to coincide with the APAP conference and globalFEST. This year brings “a particularly exciting roster to the ever more suspect borough of Manhattan.”
BlackMahal will also play two shows at the NY Hilton’s Regent Parlor on Saturday January 12 and Sunday January 13.
BlackMahal’s playlist at their New York shows will include tracks like “Hey Buddy”, “Mangos” and “Meh Nee Behndi” as well as:
· “Save the Flavor”, in which driving rhythms are juxtaposed with Ustad’s clear, almost plaintive vocals. Full of double-entendres and lines like, “keep a mustache fly, like Magnum P.I. / let it drip dry / baby don’t dye it off / it’s so sexy,”, the song makes one wish for a mustache to savor the flavor…of a mango?
· “Jind Mahi” keeps it playful, while mellow horns and keys give the song a chill feel and take on a classic Punjabi riddim.
For a taste of BlackMahal’s music, visit: http://soundcloud.com/black-mahal/sets/music-love-dancing-sliced-diced-by-jay-slim
Show details:
Where: Regent Parlor, NY Hilton. Avenue of the Americas at 54th Street
When:
Saturday January 12 @ 7:00PM
Sunday January 13 @ 8:40 pm
Tickets: FREE
Website:
http://www.reverbnation.com/venue/515225
Where: Drom, NYC. 85 Avenue A (between 5th and 6th)
When: Saturday January 12. Doors @ 11pm. Nomadic Massive plays at midnight, BlackMahal goes on at 1am ET.
Tickets: FREE with RSVP
Website: http://www.dromnyc.com/events/2202/apap-showcase-nomadic-massive-black-mahal#.UOETKonjnWo
BlackMahal’s album, Music+Love+Dancing, is only available at their live shows – another reason to come check them out!
Word on the street:
“Their sound is perhaps unlike anything else out there today…It’s awesome.”
- Hilal Isler, Rolling Stone
“Four words: These guys freaking rule! It was a pleasure working with BlackMahal. Such a great experience is amplified when you have the opportunity to work with people who resonate so well together.”
- Mo Dhaliwal, Director, Vancouver Olympics Committee
“Make no mistake: BlackMahal’s Punjabi-hip-hop-jazz-funk experience is the new world order.”
- Linda Lucero, Artistic Director, Yerba Buena Gardens Festival
“BlackMahal absolutely rocked the Great American Music Hall! Their mix of energy, rhythm, and sounds got the crowd jumping. Everybody was asking about them after the show and we were honored to have them play.”
- Alison Murdock, Event Producer, SV Rocks
About BlackMahal
What happens when one of the most revered traditional Punjabi musicians of our time teams up with some of the most creative rappers and musicians from California?
BlackMahal.
An artful blend of tradition and experimentation, BlackMahal’s roots can be traced back to the 1890s in Old California, a time when the first Punjabi-Americans settled the Great West and forged a new identity. This new identity combined elements of Mexican and African-American influence, and can be seen and heard in BlackMahal’s music today.
Usually appearing as a nine-piece ensemble, BlackMahal was founded by the godfather of Punjabi-American music, Ustad Lal Singh Bhatti, and Vijay Chattha, a DJ at the time who now does vocals for the band. Other band members include Jon Cook (drums), Tim Chang (bass), Pang Fua Chang (vocals), Dave Wood (trumpet), Sandeep Bhatt (sax), Jason Lee (turntables) and Satish Pillai (keyboard).
BlackMahal has rocked major concerts across North America including the Vancouver Olympics, and has been featured in Rolling Stone, Wired, The San Francisco Chronicle, and rotation on the BBC Radio 1.
About Ustad Lal Singh Bhatti
Ustad Lal ‘Blitz-Singh’ Bhatti, is regarded as the godfather of Punjabi-American music. Bhatti has collaborated with The Black Eyed Peas and The Doors. He has performed for nearly every U.S. President since Gerald Ford, and was honored at the opening of the Smithsonian Sikh Gallery.
For over four decades, Bhatti has used the power of dhol, bhangra and Punjabi music to bring people of all cultures together including performances at America’s Bi-Centennial celebration in 1976 all the way to the 2010 Vancouver Olympics as official Cultural Olympiad Performer.
About Nomadic Massive
Nomadic Massive is Montreal’s own multilingual supergroup. Since 2004, the band has been rocking live shows worldwide and redefining hip-hop.
