On the heels of its explosive summer tour, GALACTIC – the New Orleans-based frontrunners of futuristic funk – will embark on an extensive, six-week North American trek on October 11th in Flagstaff, Arizona. In support of the quintet’s hotly-anticipated Anti- debut From The Corner To The Block – which drops August 21st and intersects its renowned funk fusion with modern day hip-hop – GALACTIC perform with Lyrics Born on ABC-TV’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live†on September 6th.Joined by The Coup’s Boots Riley and special guests Lifesavas on all dates, Jurassic 5’s Chali 2na will also be featured with GALACTIC through to October 27th. Mr. Lif will then jump on the tour as special guest along with Riley and Lifesavas October 31 – November 18. Counting these esteemed artists and more, From The Corner To The Block boasts an array of today’s most innovative hip-hop MC’s including, Lyrics Born, Gift of Gab of Blackalicious, Lateef the Truthspeaker, Digable Planets’ Ladybug Mecca and multi-platinum rapper Juvenile.
Already garnering significant early praise, Esquire magazine writes, “On what seems like the first true post-post Katrina record, home grown instrumental funkateers GALACTIC have found a way to celebrate New Orleans by forging forward without looking back at the disaster.†Meanwhile, The Fader writes, “If you asked us if we thought it were possible for Juvenile to rap over a track with funk-jam band GALACTIC, we would have laughed long and hard. Well, the joke is on us because it happened and it is kind of awesome.â€
Additionally, The Village Voice insists, “GALACTIC brings back a dead tradition, staying in the background but putting together a recognizable sound all the same,†adding “[they] were smart in making their connections, choosing rappers that mesh well with their whole organic stomp.â€
Elsewhere, Vibe says, “The additions [of Juvenile, Boots Riley and Mr. Lif] are exactly the shake-up the group needed,†while Relix praises, “At the intersection of jazz-funk and hip-hop, you’ll find a fascinating new disc by GALACTIC.†Drum Magazine calls From The Corner To The Block “metaphorical nirvana†heralding GALACTIC for “reaching even further from its expansive comfort zone, kicking bouncy hits from curb to curb while blurring genre definitions with supreme ease.†And finally, Rolling Stone Magazine declares the GALACTIC/Boots Riley collaboration ‘Hustle Up,’ “hereby nominated as the anthem for next Mardi Gras – a call to get down when you’ve had it up to here with everything else.â€
The respected MC’s that contributed to From The Corner To The Block were asked to approach their lyrics with one uniform concept: Corners. Stemming from the idea that GALACTIC’s hometown is full of evocative street names inspired by history, mythology and multiple ethnicities, guest artists were asked to think of an intersection that was important to them.
Just as every corner is an intersection of two paths – for instance New Orleans’ own “Law and Desire†or “Martin Luther King and Oretha Castle Haley†– the disc is a meeting of two different styles of music. GALACTIC has played with hip-hop giants like The Roots, Talib Kweli, and Jurassic 5, and such collaborations seeded the uplifting, thought-stirring and undisputedly natural merger of the band’s electrified funk and hip-hop’s insightful lyricism on From The Corner To The Block.
On this record more than any other, GALACTIC, bassist Robert Mercurio, guitarist Jeff Raines, keyboardist Richard Vogel, drummer Stanton Moore and saxophonist and project co-producer Ben Ellman, marries the two types of New Orleans street music. Old school Brass Band second line grooves meet bounce style inspired hip-hop on the title track for which GALACTIC enlisted native superstar Juvenile – with whom the band previously performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live – and the up and coming Soul Rebels Brass Band. On the track “Second & Dryadres†the band called on Mardi Gras Indian Big Chief Monk Boudreaux whose chants blend seamlessly with the bands electro funk sound thanks to Ben Ellman’s innovative production.
GALACTIC’S FALL 2007 TOUR
* – denotes dates with BOOTS RILEY, LIFESAVAS
** – denotes dates with BOOTS RILEY, CHALI 2NA and LIFESAVAS
++ – denotes dates with BOOTS RILEY, MR. LIF and LIFESAVAS
Thursday October 11 Flagstaff Orpheum Theatre**
Friday October 12 Los Angeles House of Blues**
Saturday October 13 San Francisco Fillmore**
Sunday October 14 Stateline, NV Mont Bleu Resort**
Monday October 15 Ashland, OR Armory**
Wednesday October 17 Bellingham, WA Nightlight**
Thursday October 18 Vancouver, BC Commodore Ballroom**
Friday October 19 Seattle, WA Showbox**
Saturday October 20 Eugene, OR McDonald Theatre**
Monday October 22 Ft Collins, CO Aggie Theatre**
Wednesday October 24 Dallas, TX House of Blues**
Thursday October 25 Houston, TX Meridian**
Friday October 26 New Orleans, LA Voodoo Music Festival**
Saturday October 27 New Orleans, LA Tipitina’s*
Wednesday October 31 Austin, TX Stubb’s ++
Thursday November 01 Baton Rouge, LA Varsity Theatre ++
Friday November 02 Athens, GA Georgia Theatre ++
Saturday November 03 Atlanta, GA Variety Playhouse ++
Sunday November 04 Charleston, SC Music Farm ++
Tuesday November 06 Raleigh, NC Lincloln Theatre ++
Wednesday November 07 Charlotte, NC Visulite Theatre ++
Thursday November 08 Asheville, NC Orange Peel ++
Friday November 09 Richmond, VA Toad’s Place ++
Saturday November 10 Pittsburgh, PA Mr. Smalls ++
Wednesday November 14 Washington, DC 9:30 Club ++
Thursday November 15 Baltimore, MD 8×10 ++
Friday November 16 Philadelphia, PA The Fillmore at the TLA ++
Saturday November 17 NYC Roseland Ballroom ++
Sunday November 18 Boston, MA Paradise ++