Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Mucca Pazza on Electric Cowbell records


It's one thing to put out a single from the likes of Mucca Pazza, a 30 piece punk marching band out of Chicago... after all, Electric Cowbell released their full length Safety Fifth not too long ago, but then they had to go further than just a single and invited the Greenwood Rhythm Coalition and Producer/DJ Jon Kennedy to go nuts and completely put their own spin on something that was already insane in my book.

"Tube Sock Tango" the A-Side track by the Greenwood Rhythm Coalition leads off with a guiro, washboard scrapey rhythm and those talked about layers of percussion from the 30 piece, including appropriately enough, a cowbell. The melody comes out of a klezmer style, clarinet phrase... half gypsy, half polka, already combining half a dozen influences. This gives way to an organ jamming on that same tune. GRC is combining electronics, like this heavy wave synth along side the organic woodwind section of the original. The layers are dense and heavy, a phasered electric swishes in and GRC isn't weilding too heavy of a hand here to obliterate the source, just upping the tempo and adding a little of their own percussion, doubling up this rhythm and including touches of synth's, like this piece of positively bouncing keys at a hectic pace at the end here. Turning their tango into a surf electronica.

Jon Kennedy in his take of "Boss Taurus", takes an opposite approach and gets pretty technical with this heavily manipulated version. Slices of bass spliced and scotch taped back together in a completely new melody, pieced together note by note under a heavy beat. That melody is a whole lot of brass and organ, dropping out to that massive hockey rink sound in a slow grind. Heavy, clean sounding swing bass, like 16 Horsepower or Soul Coughing with bursts from that brass section. An electric solo piece is looped, the scratchiness of a sampled vinyl, dub step sound coming through even in the soundcloud version of this. Finally, "Coolashell" is dense, marching band sound that I'm pretty sure is straight from a live recording here...piled on march beats, making full use of this huge section of their band. I like the idea that they're making this cool when it clearly shouldn't be, forcing it back around to being cool again. Get it on Electric Cowbell, embracing the impossibly skilled fringes of music.

Greetings from Electric Cowbell Records. We're super excited to share some good news with you! Chicago's beloved bombastic 30-piece marching band-Mucca Pazza-gets tossed in the beat blender on this special 45RPM 7". Tracks from their latest full-length Safety Fifth on Electric Cowbell Records get the royal treatment by two of the most potent mixologists on the scene today. Brooklyn's Greenwood Rhythm Coalition (NYC Trust) puts the original Tube Sock Tango flavor into their signature blender, adding a heavy dose of tropical-inspired percussion, bass, and lo-fi keyboard charm that sits perfectly alongside the deconstructed brass. And side B's Boss Taurus gets a groove-over from the UK's Stockport-bred drummer, producer and DJ extraordinare JON KENNEDY (Tru Thoughts Recordings, UK-based Grand Central Records and U.S. based Organik Recordings). This remix was entirely unique in that it had over 20 tracks of brass! Jon Kennedy finds a hook, concentrates it and fattens the track out with a bodacious break and a propulsive bass line. No small feat when there are so many hooks to choose from. The result is a down-tempo burner that finds the horn section sipping martinis between takes in the brass band lounge. And an extra bonus at the end of side B is 32-second drum corp cadence courtesy of Mucca Pazza's esteemed K12 percussion section! And the cherry on top is the beautiful full-color artwork by grammy-nominated Kathleen Judge! Available on 45RPM 7" vinyl August 21, 2012 or from our online store NOW!


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