THE PHENOMENAL HANDCLAP BAND

Is there any band out there right now that is more modern than this new band from Germany™s GOMMA label? A band from New York City that includes members of TV ON THE RADIO, JOHN SPENCER (from the BLUES EXPLOSION!), the AMY WINEHOUSE band, and a few hot Lower East Side and Brooklyn kids. A band that creates a sound which is at the same time: a) the answer to the Neo Psychadelic Rock of MGMT and Empire Of The Sun b) the consistent development of the current Disco and Rock revival c) the best alternative to the never ending 80ies revival d) the common element of all today™s NewRaveRockGrimePostPunkDiscoElectro: The sound we are talking about is PSYCHEDELIC FUNK. And it™s the sound of The PHENOMENAL HAND CLAP BAND. The PHENOMENAL HANDCLAP Band seems to be the band of the moment. Everybody is shouting it out, since their first two songs (š15 to 20› and šTestimony›) are circulating the world™s web. All relevant blogs„ London™s NME (who chose them as one of their favourite bands for this year.)„Underground Radio DJs all over the world..The band™s story: The band™s heads are Daniel Collás, the ‚Witch Doctorš, and Sean Marquand, the ‚Medicine Manš. These guys are leading figures in New York™s šWilliamsburg› night life and music scene. Party impressarios, musicians and DJ™s with a nearly encyclopaedic knowledge of all that ever happened in esoteric music: From Brazilian Vintage Pop to Funkadelic Psycho Rock. For quite some time Daniel and Sean were looking for a new band who could be the answer to all that happened in music over the last years  but they couldn™t find it. So  by last year - they decided to form their own group. They called a few of their friends from New York™s Indie Rock and Underground Soul scene and started this COLLECTIVE of their dreams. And what a collective it became! TV On the Radio™s JALEEL BUNTON. JON SPENCER from the Blues Explosion. NICK MOVSHON - bass player in Amy Winehouse™ band, and even LUKE O™MALLEY who is part of Mary J. Blige™s band joined the group. Female - Rap Icon LADY TIGRA of L™Trimm and REBE BO, who usually plays the bass in the soloproject of The Strokes™ ALBERT HAMMOND Jr. Thus, The Witch Doctor and his Medicine Man realized their holy musical vision: Together they created a sound which is danceable and catchy as well as anthemic, sometimes intimate and orchestral. Even though they use a lot of elements of early 70ies music, the sound is totally NOW. And the most important thing: They never sound like any other current band. Instead there are bits of early Fania Latin Soul records, esoteric Psychedelica, AfroSoul, Rare Funk, Brazilian Fusion„ sometimes they sound like Tom Tom Club in a Salsa party...sometimes like James Brown on Acid„ What is more, as a LIVE band, you can™t compare The Phenomenal Handclap Band with anybody else either. On stage The Phenomenal Handclap Band is distilled to an eight-member powerhouse, an eye-popping spectacle that overwhelms the senses. It pulses with a savage rhythm section that provides the ultimate foil for cascading guitars and electrified washes of organ and synthesizers. Their delirious sermonizing whips crowds into a charismatic frenzy. Needless to say, their live shows are more akin to a spiritual church revival than an actual rock show. The new video of šYou™ll Disappear› shows a little bit of this aspect of The P.H.B. Maybe you are asking yourself now: Why did the P.H.Band choose the little German GOMMA label to release this album? There is a simple answer: GOMMA is the Europeans indie label with the strongest connection to the New York alternative music scene. NYC artists such as RAMMELLZEE, IN FLAGRANTI and DFA records boss JAMES MURPHY produced music for the German label. Remember MUNK & James Murphy™s discorock hymn šKick Out The Chairs? From 2004„Gomma has also been the first label to release a New York PostPunk / No Wave compilation back in 2001. The so called ANTI NY CD. So it was quite clear for the NY bunch to choose Gomma as their European partners.