I can no longer keep this to myself.

It's just too good...

If you're a funk fan in the States, you're most likely hip to Galactic, the Greyboy All-Stars, and the Daptone Records/Neil Sugarman connection, but I guarantee most of you have not heard about the f'ing funk machine that is -

The New Mastersounds.

Holy crap, folks. This is the stuff.

An amazing band of honkies from the UK, the band includes guitarist Eddie Roberts (whose new record "Roughneck" I'll be spotlighting next week), drummer Simon Allen, bassist Pete Shand and B-3 whiz Bob Birch. They'll occassionally have a vocalist here & there, but mostly it's an instrumental thing.

I've been digging around (and just plain digging) the NMS vibe and sound for over a year and a half now, and the stars are finally beginning to align. I'm proud to announce they'll be arriving for their first tour of the US in the Spring of '05, eyeballing dates in NYC, Chicago, SF, LA, Austin, and NOLA for Jazzfest. I'm working hard to be the opener for the US shows - if you think I'm the man, email the band and get behind me. Big Thanks to David Vandenberg in Chicago (the band's patron saint here in the US), and Simon Allen from the NMS for the dialogue. Let's make this happen, guys...

I present a "new" New Mastersounds tune for your approval - "The Minx" (right click & "save target as..." to keep the MP3).

A quick PS for those on the West Coast - The band has just been confirmed for the High Sierra Music Festival (I'm working extra special hard to be the first DJ ever to play the fest - wish me luck - they're a tough nut to crack), and I can't wait...

Cheers, gentlemen, welcome to America! Now let's kick 'em in the junk!