Media

Brass Menazeri, Mr. Lif: Live on KEXP (Download)

9:34 a.m. · January 7, 2011 · by Dan Nishimoto

This one is chock full of artists I'm nuts about, but haven't talked on in a minute. First, we have an old favorite of mine from my Ashkenaz days: the veteran, new-school Balkan brass band Brass Menazeri (pronounced "menagerie"). Last year the group reissued its awesome 2008 record Vranjski San which featured a mixture of originals, traditional tunes and Bollywood. What more would you expect from the granola-rich fields of the Bay Area? Mr. Lif, on the other hand, I simply haven't followed since his Def Jux days -- that's my bad. Has it really been 8 years since I Phantom? Yikes.

The two (along with Spark on the turntables) recently paired together and stopped by Seattle's KEXP for a live performance and some words. Lif sounds more limber and completely at ease reimagining his past works (like "Brothaz" and "Lookin' In" from his 2006 album Mo' Mega) with a Balkan beat. Lif explained the inception of the pairing: "We were brought together by Devon Leger to play a set at the Seattle Folk Festival on Dec 12th 2010. Within the first minute of our first rehearsal, we recognized we had potential to do something unique, and we've been intoxicated by the process of working together ever since." He said they were planning to develop more material together. Huzzah!

Lif just posted the performance on his Bandcamp page. You can stream and download it below or here.

[Image: David Lichterman]