Thursday, May 31, 2012

Galactic: Carnivale Electricos

"Every New Orleans band has to reckon with Mardi Gras. ... Galactic, formed in New Orleans in 1994, takes a wide-angle view on 'Carnivale Electricos,' writing and transforming Carnival songs not only from New Orleans and Cajun country, but also from another Carnival epicenter: Brazil. Onstage Galactic is a first-rate funk band. In the studio it has become a perpetually recombinant group of musicians, producers and conceptualizers, hooking up with collaborators from New Orleans and far beyond. The guest list on 'Carnivale Electricos' extends from New Orleans to Rio de Janeiro, in tracks that morph across time, space and cultures. 'Carnivale Electricos' is brimming with ideas; it’s also one raw, rowdy party album. Galactic doesn’t enforce any trademark sound. While New Orleans funk is laced through the album, it’s freely collaged with all sorts of other things. So 'Ha Di Ka,' featuring Big Chief Juan Pardo and his Mardi Gras Indian tribe, Golden Comanche, isn’t just one more Indian chant backed by a band; it’s got fat-bottomed electronics, a deranged psychedelic guitar and explosive samples grappling with Galactic’s keyboard funk. ..." (Jon Pareles, "Reviews of Albums from Grimes, Galactic and Tyga," New York Times, 2/20/12).

View catalog record here!