RCRD LBL

The Phenomenal Handclap Band

MusicPhotos

Location: New York, NY

Websites:

• http://myspace.com/phenomenalhandclap
• http://phenomenalhandclapband.blogspot.com/

Bio: The Phenomenal Handclap Band is a tight-knit aggregation of musicians and artists from Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn. At the center of the collective, Daniel Collás (the ... (more) Witch Doctor) and Sean Marquand (the Medicine Man) who, after years of searching and contemplation, through live performance and the manipulation of recorded music, have finally succeeded in assembling the personification of their holy vision: The Phenomenal Handclap Band.

It all started with Collás and Marquand, two New York underground club DJs feeling restless with the concept of playing other people's music. Both had also been involved in the NYC nightlife scene, and had an almost encyclopedic knowledge of esoteric music ranging from Brazilian soul to vintage psych-rock... becoming producers seemed to be the next logical step. After writing and working with a wide range of artists, from veteran soul acts to up-and-coming rock n' rollers, the duo set their sights on their most personal project, The Phenomenal Handclap Band. 

The band's core consists of, along with Daniel & Sean, Patrick Wood, Nicholas Movshon, Pier Pappalardo, Luke O'Malley, Laura Marin, Quinn Luke, and Joan Tick. Together, in their Lower East Side studio, they crafted a sound that is equal parts anthemic, dancefloor-oriented and orchestral, borrowing elements from progressive rock, disco, electro, and psychedelia. Throughout the recording, many friends stopped by in interest of the project including The Lady Tigre, Aurelio Valle, Bart Davenport, Jon Spencer & Jaleel Bunton to name a few. 

The album begins with the meditative strains of the epic "Journey to Serra da Estrela" which erupts into a driving synthesized force, and foreshadows the arrival of "Testimony", in which Jaleel Bunton (TV on the Radio) provides a fiery psychedelic guitar backdrop for Aurelio Valle's (Calla) voodoo incantations. Carol C (Sí Se) lends her considerable vocal talents on the last single "You'll Disappear", a cosmic disco floor-filler that sets the stage for The Lady Tigra's (L'Trimm) jump-rope rhymes on forthcoming single "15 to 20".

Live, 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.  (less)