Big bands seem to be coming back in fashion and one of the best I have heard lately is Turkuaz, a nine-piece “PowerFunk” outfit from Brooklyn, NY. Their new album is off the hook and I look forward to hearing what they can do live. They play Saturday night in the upstairs Parish room of the HOB.
Turkuaz has a rock set up—guitar, bass, keys/guitar, and drums—but also features two saxophonists, a trumpeter, and two female vocalists. They create very forward-looking music with synthesizer flourishes amid dance floor beats and four distinctive singers. Needless to say, it’s a big sound.
Digitonium (Techne Records), Turkuaz’s second national release, has a Peter Gabriel and Talking Heads feel and evokes the best of ’80s dance music. But the band is also influenced by earlier funk sounds including Sly and the Family Stone, Rick James, and of course, the funkmaster himself, George Clinton. At one point, I heard a voiceover that might be Sir Nose’s long lost cousin!
Digitonium is also a throwback of sorts since it’s basically a concept album—a rarity in the new world of single song digital downloads. Repeated phrases are intertwined throughout. It envisions a dystopian technological future and the archetypal characters of the myths of Avalon are developed through various tracks.
Supported by transitional interludes, these elements make Digitonium feel a bit like the score to some wild animated film a la Heavy Metal.
The band has been touring for the past three years and has played all over the country. Some of the reviews I have unearthed use terms such as “bombastic,” “funk army,” and “raise the roof” to describe their live show. So I am expecting some serious music.
New Orleans’ own Gravy opens. Tickets are available here.
PHOTO: PHIERCE PHOTO
