Super Hi-Fi spread their wings on experimental 5th LP Blue and White – Premiered on Cultartes
BROOKLYN, NY | March 9th, 2018 – It may still be winter here in gritty old New York, but Brooklyn’s premiere dub-reggae outfit Super Hi-Fi refuse to let the cold weather dampen their summery vibe. Their long awaited fifth LP Blue and White, which was premiered earlier this week by Cultartes packs enough aural vitamin D to carry you through the worst of whatever March has left to offer. Described by Cultartes as a “slowly boiled masterpiece”, Blue and White may just provide the winter reprieve that you’ve been jonesing for. Because let’s face it, dropping the needle on a reggae album is probably the closest that most of us are going to get to the beach this year.
Recorded at 9 Lives in Jersey City by engineer Nicola Stemmer, Blue and White is an album punctuated by dueling trombones, gut rattling bass lines, and Afrobeat inspired rhythms. In this sense the band maintains their signature sound but manages to explore new sonic territory by embracing elements of rock and improvisational jazz. Another aspect of Blue and White that separates the album from previous Super Hi-Fi releases is the presence of band leader and bassist Ezra Gale’s distinct voice. Where 2012’s Dub To The Bone was strictly instrumental, this latest effort features Gale singing on half the tracks. The vocal element marks a clear evolution in the band’s musical aesthetic and demonstrates both creative growth and fearless experimentation.
“This is our fifth full-length album, and I think if anyone’s following all of them it’s pretty obvious that our sound has changed a lot from the time we started in 2012. I think this is the biggest leap we’ve made, partly because the vocal element on this album makes the songs feel different, but also because I think it’s the most focused sound we’ve had. It’s also the heaviest, for sure, and I think that’s all due to us playing together so much at this point. Overall I’m really happy with the whole thing.” – Ezra Gale (bass, vocals, bandleader)
In classic analog fashion the entire album was recorded directly to tape, giving the songs a sticky, rich warmth and a bottom-end that feels heavy and natural. The twelve track album which will be released by the Brooklyn-based Very Special Recordings consists of all original material with the exception of a dubbed-out cover of The Police’s “Hole In My Life”. Lending his creative hand to the album artwork is acclaimed artist Rob Swainston who will be screen printing a run of 500, one-of-a-kind covers to compliment the forthcoming vinyl release. No two album covers will be the same which Gales says “echoes the aesthetic of dub music, where you have all these variations – versions of the same song – spun out from the same source material”. Super Hi-Fi are currently booking shows for the Spring and Summer months and Blue and White is available for purchase via Bandcamp, iTunes, and all other major online retailers.
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About Super Hi-Fi:
Brooklyn-based Super Hi-Fi- an underground supergroup of sorts whose members have backed a diverse collection of artists ranging from Beyonce to Donovan to Bill Frisell to the Skatalites- mixes jazz-inflected trombones, the heavy rhythmic thump of Jamaican dub and touches of afrobeat, funk and rock for a mix memorably described as an ‘imaginary soundtrack from Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, The Specials and Led Zeppelin.’ Led by bassist and composer Ezra Gale, whose last outfit, the San Francisco-based Aphrodesia, took their take on afrobeat all the way to Femi Kuti’s Shrine in Lagos, Nigeria, Super Hi-Fi has been making waves in the fertile New York music scene since 2010, releasing records nearly non-stop since their debut full-length album, “Dub To The Bone,” in 2012.
Deservedly acclaimed both for their prolific recorded output and their live show, Super Hi-Fi’s unique double trombone-led sound is equally at home at a raucous dance party or an intense listening session. Applying the improvisatory dub mixing approach to live performances of the band’s original compositions and inspired covers, the group has shared stages with John Brown’s Body, Rubblebucket, Beats Antique, Debo Band, Meta and the Cornerstones, Giant Panda Guerrilla Dub Squad and many others at venues like the Brooklyn Bowl, Maxwell’s, the Mercury Lounge, the Rocks Off Concert series and elsewhere.
Meanwhile the group’s varied recorded output- which with the release of the new album “Blue and White” will stretch to five full-length albums and 4 single releases in five years- has garnered worldwide praise. Their debut full-length, ‘Dub To The Bone,’ was crowned ‘Best Reggae album of the year’ from NY Music Daily and the #1 album of the week from the NY Daily News (Dec 2, 2012). The band’s first single, the 7″ “Single Payer” (Electric Cowbell Records), was recorded by Brooklyn dub legend Prince Polo and received raves (“warm, enveloping, and heavy as lead” said Reggae Vibes) with a B-side of a radically deconstructed remix from Brazil-based dub producer Victor Rice. A split 7″ with Seattle’s Polyrhythmics featuring the “cinematic afro-dub” of “We Will Begin Again,” was called “Eerie, reminiscent of Rico Rodriquez’ work on the Specials’ Ghost Town” by Splinters and Candy. The band’s two Christmas albums- “Yule Analog Vol. 1” (2014), and “Yule Analog Vol. II” (2015) featured re-imaginings of Christmas classics and were critically acclaimed even from Scrooges like the music website InForty, who wished “If only shopping malls were blasting this every holiday season!” Next came two releases of inspired takes on classic songs- the Record Store Day Beatles/Police single on Electric Cowbell and the cassette (!) and download-only “Super Hi-Fi Plays Nirvana” (Very Special Recordings), which Paris DJ’s called “for sure the most surprising cover album of 2016!”
Super Hi-Fi’s new release, “Blue and White”, will feature original songs and will have a stunning cover design from printmaker Robert Swainston, who designed a cover that will be printed on each album individually. “Each one will be a little different but will come from the same source” explains Gale, “which echoes the aesthetics of dub music where you have different pieces made from the same song.” It’s a different perspective and more ambitious than most, but it’s clear by now that there aren’t many challenges Super Hi-Fi isn’t interested in taking on.
Super Hi-Fi is:
Rick Parker, Robert Stringer – Trombones
Jon Lipscomb – Guitar
Ezra Gale – Bass, vocals
Madhu Siddappa – Drums
For media inquiries please contact Alex Pastuhov: [email protected]
