From The Corner To The Block and straight out of Hurricane Katrina’s path of destruction! ANTI- Records will soon release a very special album from the N’Orleans band Galactic. One of the most inspiring and unique albums to be pressed since the devastating storm intersected with one of our nation’s oldest cities, From The Corner To The Block is a rare documentation of worlds colliding. Not only because the musicians were forced to evacuate their homes during the recording process, but also from the seamless integration of hip hop bounce with traditional Mardi Gras marches and old-world brass band stomps.

Hip Hop And Jazz Intersections

This combination might seem too disparate if it weren’t for the authenticity of each musician involved: the lyricists and the instrumentalists share a community spirit that never strays far from the streets, musically and politically. MC’s like Juvenile, Mr. Lif, and Boots Riley (The Coup) were asked to focus on intersections, corners, crossings and the like when composing stories to weave over the electrified funk of a jazz quintet. Lyrics Born, Gift of Gab of Blackalicious, Lateef the Truthspeaker, and Digable Planets’ Ladybug Mecca were also invited to cross streams of consciousness with bassist Robert Mercurio, guitarist Jeff Raines, keyboardist Richard Vogel, drummer Stanton Moore and saxophonist Ben Ellman. ANTI Records stated:

Stemming from the idea that GALACTIC’s hometown is full of evocative street names inspired by history, mythology and multiple ethnicities, guest artists were asked to think of an intersection that was important to them.

Other artists featured on the home-grown record include Z-Trip, Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, Soul Rebels Brass Band, and Nino Moschella.

From The Corner To The Block Tracklist:

01. I Got It (What You Need?) with Lyrics Born
02. …And I’m Out with Mr. Lif
03. The Corner with Gift of Gab
04. Second and Dryades with Big Chief Monk Boudreaux
05. Think Back with Chali 2na
06. Bounce Baby with DJ Z-Trip
07. Hustle Up with Boots Riley
08. Sidewalk Stepper
09. From the Corner to the Block with Juvenile & Soul Rebels Brass Band
10. Squarebiz with Ladybug Mecca and Nino Moschella
11. Tuff Love with Trombone Shorty
12. No Way with Lateef the Truthspeaker
13. Fanfare
14. Find My Home with Vursatyl and Ohmega Watts

Lyrics Born and Galactic Live At Bonaroo

I could only find poor quality cellphone vids of Galactic at this year’s Bonnaroo, but if you have ever seen a real Southern funk band live (like that rockin-the-mudder-fukkin-roof-off MOG party at The Independent!) then you might appreciate the energy these guys create in a room. The audience is not so separate from the musicians on stage, as everyone in the space is transported together by the music. And it’s HOT!
So, for what it’s worth, here is a clip of Galactic with Lyrics Born at Bonnaroo 2007:

GALACTIC’S FALL 2007 TOUR:

The album is a solid piece of history and will enchant audiences worldwide when it hits the streets on August 21st. People of all walks of life should be fully infected with the soulful sounds and words of wisdom by the time the entourage take the record on the road for a six week US tour this Fall. The full band will be joined by esteemed MC’s the whole way:

Joined by The Coup’s Boots Riley and special guests Lifesavas on all dates, Jurassic 5’s Chali 2na will also be featured with GALACTIC through to October 27th. Mr. Lif will then jump on the tour as special guest along with Riley and Lifesavas October 31 - November 18.

Oct. 11 Flagstaff Orpheum Theatre**
Oct. 12 Los Angeles House of Blues**
Oct. 13 San Francisco Fillmore**
Oct. 14 Stateline, NV Mont Bleu Resort**
Oct. 15 Ashland, OR Armory**
Oct. 17 Bellingham, WA Nightlight**
Oct. 18 Vancouver, BC Commodore Ballroom**
Oct. 19 Seattle, WA Showbox**
Oct. 20 Eugene, OR McDonald Theatre**
Oct. 22 Ft Collins, CO Aggie Theatre**
Oct. 24 Dallas, TX House of Blues**
Oct. 25 Houston, TX Meridian**
Oct. 26 New Orleans, LA Voodoo Music Festival**
Oct. 27 New Orleans, LA Tipitina’s*
Oct. 31 Austin, TX Stubb’s ++
Nov. 01 Baton Rouge, LA Varsity Theatre ++
Nov. 02 Athens, GA Georgia Theatre ++
Nov. 03 Atlanta, GA Variety Playhouse ++
Nov. 04 Charleston, SC Music Farm ++
Nov. 06 Raleigh, NC Lincloln Theatre ++
Nov. 07 Charlotte, NC Visulite Theatre ++
Nov. 08 Asheville, NC Orange Peel ++
Nov. 09 Richmond, VA Toad’s Place ++
Nov. 10 Pittsburgh, PA Mr. Smalls ++
Nov. 14 Washington, DC 9:30 Club ++
Nov. 15 Baltimore, MD 8×10 ++
Nov. 16 Philadelphia, PA The Fillmore at the TLA ++
Nov. 17 NYC Roseland Ballroom ++
Nov. 18 Boston, MA Paradise ++

* denotes dates w/ BOOTS RILEY, LIFESAVAS
** denotes dates w/ BOOTS RILEY, CHALI 2NA and LIFESAVAS
++ denotes dates w/ BOOTS RILEY, MR. LIF and LIFESAVAS

Galactic and Coup Links

For much more info and insight, including praise from Esquire Mag, Village Voice, The Fader Mag and more, read the mesmerizing press release for Galactic’s debut album on ANTI Records.

You can also catch Galactic performing on Jimmy Kimmell on September 6th (last time they played on this show was with Juvenile pon di mic!)

And, for Coup fans - if you head over to The Coup’s Mutiny$pace you can download a new live recording of “Heaven Tonight” from The Independent in SF!

Pages about ANTI ~ Boots Riley ~ Chali 2na ~ funk ~ Galactic ~ Juvenile ~ Ladybug Mecca ~ Lifesavas ~ Lyrics Born ~ Mr Lif ~ The Coup