People’s Champs official site | People’s Champs on Twitter | People’s Champs on Facebook | People’s Champs on Instagram | People’s Champs on Bandcamp | People’s Champs on Soundcloud

People’s Champs combines the hottest dance rhythms from West Africa and South America with retro-futurist synth tones, crafting them into indie songs with Stevie Wonder-esque lyrics. With their “crazy ass genre mash ups” (Blakbook), People’s Champs’ truly original sound is equal parts Sharon Jones, tUnE-yArDs, Os Mutantes, William Onyeabor, and Prince. Critics are calling People’s Champs a “New York supergroup!” (Lucid Culture) and “Well on their way to becoming NYC’s de facto Funk and Afrobeat experience” (Deli Magazine).

With feet placed equally in Brooklyn’s thriving indie rock community and it’s renowned retro funk & soul scene, bandleader Alex Asher founded People’s Champs inspired by the idea that music is for everyone: They creatively deliver a unique blend of powerful lyrics and danceable rhythms that relate to people from all walks of life. After rocking big events at The Guggenheim Museum and The MoMA, countless NYC underground parties, and a multiple-year monthly residency at Brooklyn creative music hotspot Barbès, People’s Champs released their first full-length album — “American Dreamers” — on October 23rd, 2015 on boutique Brooklyn label 3rd Generation Recordings.

The highly anticipated album, recorded half at Converse Rubber Tracks Studio in Williamsburg and half in bedrooms, living rooms and basements all over Brooklyn, was been in the works for over two years. Produced by Ian Hersey of internationally recognized group Rubblebucket, the album features nine original tracks.

“Hostages,” the first official single from the album, made its debut in July 2015 via Wax Poetics, who say the track “starts small but sneakily unravels into something really huge.” On the track, People’s Champs muse:

“In thinking about the larger shape of the tune, we found it best to embrace an unconventional song structure — depending on your point of view, this tune might not have a verse or a chorus. Also, lyrically, we were very inspired and influenced by Persian poet Hafez’s work “We Have Not Come to Take Prisoners”. We riffed on his words to suit our melodic ideas while staying true to his message. We hope Hafez digs it, wherever he is.

Consequence of Sound had the first listen of “Keep On Fighting,” an uplifting, punchy second single that feels like “a dance party waiting to happen, always changing and always excitable” (- CoS).

“The song is about fighting for yourself and not letting your dreams go. However, it’s more so about fighting for your dreams on behalf of all the people who have made sacrifices to help you. People who put aside their own needs to help you; people who have dreamed for you and love you so much that their dream is to see you live yours.” -PC

People’s Champs is an all-star collective featuring some of the most creative and original musicians in Brooklyn. Members of People’s Champs have performed internationally with artists including Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Lip Talk, Bajah and Dry Eye Crew, Cuddle Magic and Delicate Steve, among others. People’s Champs feature members of The Superpower Horns, the recording studio horn section for Beyoncé Knowles. They arranged the horn lines on two of Beyoncé’s top albums, her 2013 surprise album Beyoncé and her 2011 effort 4. The song “Love on Top”, featuring the horns prominently, won a Grammy Award. The Superpower Horns recently became the touring horn section for Boy George & Culture Club and participated in the Club’s 2016 international tour.

Super Yamba Band official site | Super Yamba Band on Facebook | Super Yamba Band on Bandcamp | Super Yamba Band on SoundCloud | Super Yamba Band on Instagram

Brooklyn afro-funksters Kaleta & Super Yamba Band are fronted by legendary Afrobeat veteran Leon Ligan-Majek a.k.a. Kaleta. The singer, guitarist and percussionist from the West African country of Benin Republic lived his adolescent life in Lagos, Nigeria where Afrobeat was born. Kaleta performed and toured the world with the two most popular musicians from Nigeria, Fela Kuti and King Sunny Ade, along with Majek Fashek and recently Lauryn Hill.

Now based in New York City, Kaleta was overjoyed to find Super Yamba Band and hear their take on the vintage, psychedelic sounds of his native country. Super Yamba takes its cues from artists like Orchestre Poly-Rythmo, El Rego and The Funkees all legends in their own right for pioneering the classic styles of Afro-Funk and Afro-Rock in Benin and Nigeria. Super Yamba Band have dialed in the nuances of some of the rarest grooves out there with a timeless sound that will move everyone in the room to dance!

Kaleta got his start  in the late 70s performing in church and was soon after picked up by iconic Juju master and world music pioneer King Sunny Ade. A few years later Fela Kuti came calling. Kaleta would go on to tour the world playing guitar for the King of Afrobeat in his band Egypt 80 through the 1980s and into the 1990s. Audiences will hear Kaleta sing in several different languages native to West Africa including Fon, Goun, Yoruba and Ewe, along with French and Pidgin English, “the official language of Afrobeat” he says with a grin.

Super Yamba Band’s live performances with Kaleta are absolutely explosive. Afropop Worldwide said “their ace-up-the-sleeve: the singer Kaleta, whose James Brown grunts have got to be some of the best in the business.” With Kaleta at the helm Super Yamba Band have recently erupted onto stages at Paste Magazine’s Emerging Music Festival, World Music Institute’s Masters Of African Music Series, The Untitled Action Bronson Show (Viceland TV), Secret Planet APAP 2018 Showcase and more, giving audiences an unforgettable experience of world-class Afro-Funk dance music.

IGBO official site | IGBO on Facebook | IGBO on Twitter | IGBO on Instagram | IGBO on SoundCloud

“ThunderLove” was premiered on NPR 

Listen to the song here

“Gimmie Gimmie” was premiered by The Fader and currently has 76K+ plays on soundcloud.

Listen to IGBO’s Debut EP Here

The New Yorker:

“IGBO, a funk-fusion band from New York, fishes through the same record section but grabs richer sleeves: Bob James, George Clinton, and maybe a few “Sesame Street” anthologies”  

“…with sunny rhythm guitar, sticky brass-and-woodwind arrangements, and flower-child parables…”

NPR:

“With the sometimes maddening way this world turns, we could all use a little extra light, with a hint of cheesiness. And that’s exactly what IGBO is here to bring.”

The Fader:

“IGBO fuck with the funk, and do it well”

“…recall fusionists like Bob James or Dexter Wansel, but the sound’s distinctly young: loose, pulsing keys and rolling drum fills glued in pocket. “

“Free Wheeling Fusion for the youth”

Saint Heron:

“…everything we could ever want within the sphere of electro-pop.”