Feature Profile – Slavic Soul Party! / Carnegie Hall Neighborhood Concert

Posted on 8 June 2012 by Steve

“Fiery Balkan brass, throbbing funk grooves, Gypsy accordion wizardry, and virtuoso jazz chops: Slavic Soul Party! delivers exactly what its name promises. These nine musicians bring you Balkan soul and Gypsy funk mashed together with an unpasteurized blend of gospel, dub, jazz, and Latin music, all culled from the streets of New York City. If nothing else, you can depend on Slavic Soul Party! for always “delivering a great time.” – The New York Times

“The players have the muscle and know-how to make Balkan sounds crackle with NYC energy… we strongly recommend you witness it live and direct.” – TimeOut NY

Matt Moran started Slavic Soul Party! in New York City around 1999. By 2004, the band had evolved into its current formation – a 9-piece powerhouse brass band that’s sold out shows around the world, released a slew of records, and unanimously thrilled all types of audiences in all sorts of settings. Speaking with Matt about the band’s makeup, philosophy, and New York City roots, it becomes clear that there is nothing average about Slavic Soul Party!

SSP! have performed on stages around the world for major international audiences and wild acclaim. They’ve also performed in hospitals, prisons, juvenile facilities, and other public spaces. Matt takes the business of sharing live music seriously and believes in bringing the experience to people who don’t often see music in traditional settings, but enjoy it so deeply when brought to them.

“When you’re right up in peoples’ faces, when they know you’re playing for them, with sweat and ecstasy all around, that’s when you can make magic and transform peoples’ lives. That’s being a brass band, to me. We’re supposed to help you move through life. And there are lot of people who get it, who need it, who can’t come to festivals or clubs.”

SSP! will be doing just that on June 21st at Jacobi Medical Center in the South Bronx, and Moran acknowledged the integral role that New York City plays in his band. “What we do is inspired by music from other places, but what it becomes in New York, could only happen in New York. I could never run this band in any other city.”

He’s been consistently amazed by the depth of musical talent in New York. As an internationally-touring 9-piece band, there are inevitably scheduling conflicts, and the band, Moran says, is more like an 18-piece with a deep bench of NYC players. Great players, Moran says. And he means it. To play their brand of raw Balkan brass and American jazz and funk, you need serious chops.

SSP! are a New York band through and through, and maintain that strong connection to their NYC community, holding a tuesday-night residency at Barbes, a Park Slope bar, performance space and record label that’s become a veritable world music hotspot here in the city. Moran loves playing there, and says the community of regulars and newcomers alike makes for high-energy shows every week.

As veteran NYC musicians, the members of Slavic Soul Party! play a big part in building the city’s brass band community. “New York needs good brass band music,” he says. And he’s happy if his band can lend even a little inspiration to younger bands, as he’s consistently inspired by so many artists and musicians in New York and far-flung places around the world.

Speaking of their sixth, and latest record, New York Underground Tapes, Moran points to something simple and important about this band and the music they make together. “Balkan brass music is street music in its native habitat.”

Their concert on June 21st is presented by the Carnegie Hall Neighborhood Concert Series. Slavic Soul Party! is now in its third season of programming with Carnegie Hall, as part of their Musical Connections program. These educational programs are directed by the Weill Music Institute and aim to connect great music to the widest possible audience.

Carnegie Hall Presents Neighborhood Concert: Slavic Soul Party! | Thursday, June 21st, 2012 | 6pm | Jacobi Medical Center – 1400 Pelham Parkway | South Bronx, NY 10461

And if you just can’t get enough Soul Party!, they’ll be throwing a floating record release party on the East River, June 24th.