NYC collective The Phenomenal Handclap Band has returned from the UK and are preparing to hit North America once again, this time alongside Simian Mobile Disco, Chromeo and Bajofondo among others. The band will be playing a very special show at Pop Montreal tonight, Wednesday 9/30, and will be DJing at select events and parties during this year’s CMJ Music Marathon.
Led by Daniel Collás and Sean Marquand, (producers/musicians/pals/DJs), The Phenomenal Handclap Band has been touring behind their self-titled album, out now on Friendly Fire Recordings. The album features contributions from their friends in TV on the Radio, Antibalas, The Dap Kings, The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, L’Trimm, Calla, The Mooney Suzuki, Sà Se, and Honeycut among others. Live they are an 8-piece band, with a variety of special guests.
The band recently recorded a brand new Live at Lime session at their own Chanel Studios, in the Lower East Side. Produced by Daniel and Sean and performed by the full 8-piece live band, it is a truly unique addition to the band’s catalogue. The band and Limewire are offering a free mp3 download of “Testimony” from this session. Check out the EP complete with fan artwork, and their Limewire Featured Artist profile.
If you haven’t seen it yet, the band also released their amazing new video for the single, “15 to 20,” a song RollingStone.com called “Summer’s First Party Jam” and one of SPIN’s “Songs You Must Hear Now!” Directed by Moh Azima, the video was filmed at various locations in New York City over some of the hottest weeks of late summer. The band also performed “15 to 20” for a recent Live on KEXP Session from the Cutting Room Studios in NYC. Dubbing themselves “The Electronic Handclap Band” for this session, they played without guitarists and did a full-on electronic set with never-heard-before versions of the song.
THE PHENOMENAL HANDCLAP BAND UPDATED TOUR DATES:
Nov 1 Washington DC – 9:30 Club w/ Simian Mobile Disco
Nov 4 Chicago, IL – Metro w/ Simian Mobile Disco
Nov 6 Toronto, Ontario – The Mod Club w/ Simian Mobile Disco
Nov 7 Montreal, Quebec – SAT w/ Simian Mobile Disco
Nov 13 Philadelphia, PA – Making Time At Pure w/ The xx
“…equal parts psychedelia, proto-disco, heavy rock ‘n’ roll, ’60s soul and hip-hop – what NPR Music calls “a perfect mix of everything from the past 40 years of popular music.” – NPR ‘All Songs Considered’
“…buzzing, burbling four-on-the-floor dancefloor fillers… a resounding success” – Pitchfork
“The PHB’s sense of style is spot-on…” – Entertainment Weekly
“…this 20-plus-member group is a chronology of cool New York music. Disco, funk, first-generation hip-hop, new wave and prog rock all coalesce into music that defies categorization but always aims at the dance floor.” – Playboy “Top Ten Bands To Watch In 2009”
“…musically diverse, incredibly melodic and dance-floor ready. It’s the kind of album that gives cookie-cutter pop the trashing it deserves.” – New York Post
“…an impressive hodge-podge of various accomplished musicians simultaneously channeling the energy of !!!, Tom Tom Club, Can, Cerrone, and Giorgio Moroder in a surreal explosion of sound.” – XLR8R
“It’s hard to describe the all-encompassing sound of thePhenomenal Handclap Band. The New York based collective drapes a layer of electro-disco sheen over ’60s-inspired psychedelic prog-rock, creating danceable freak-out fusion worth its weight in mirror balls.” – Waxpoetics
For more info, please visit:
http://www.phenomenalhandclapband.com
http://www.myspace.com/phenomenalhandclap
http://friendlyfirerecordings.com/Bands/PHCB/phcb.html