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New Groove of the Month
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Edited
by Dean Budnick
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It was a rainy August morning at the Berkfest Music Festival when three musicians from Toronto took to the stage to begin their set to a sparse, half asleep, rain soaked crowd. Within ten minutes, tent flaps became unzipped and out crawled hundreds of fans curious as to what that unique sound was echoing off the mountains. The fans that day discovered something that many music lovers world wide will soon discover...The future of music has arrived, it is the music of The New Deal. Intense, revolutionary and diverse are a few adjectives that can be used to describe The New Deal but the phrase most relevant would be mind blowing. Never before has a band been able to capture and combine the intensity of improvisation music with the upbeat vibe of electronic dance music. "It's taking what's new and innovative and playing it the old fashioned way, improvising without a net" says keyboardist/moogist Jamie Shields. The band has created their own brand of improvised organic-electronic music without samplers or sequencers. The music is 95% improvised and is becoming a fast favourite of the jamband community. Having already played Berkfest as well as the mecca of improvisation music, The Wetlands, The New Deal have captured many fans that include such notables like DJ Logic and the band Day by the River. The New Deal is composed of three leaders of the Toronto electronic/jazz scene. Keyboardist /Moogist Shields, drummer Darren Shearer and bassist Dan Kurtz. The New Deal experience lies in the cohesiveness of these three musicians. The band begins their set with one note and from then on it's anyone's guess as to where the music will take you. "Our improvisation is directly rooted within the audience, our vibe is created from the response of the crowd."" Were not throwing the party, were part of the party". The music of The New Deal maintains the quintessential jamband element, improvisation. But their live drum and break sound sets them apart from most jambands. The New Deal is taking music to the next level while still maintaining the authenticity of traditional live music. The New Deal is at the forefront of the ever evolving music scene. "We want to keep being innovative while still being able to keep the human element to our music" comments Shields. Whether it be on stage or in the studio, the bands music remains uncompromised, this is free form music at it's finest and most natural. "This Is Live" is the first release from The New Deal, captures what The New Deal experience is all about. It is live and improvised and that's the way the band prefers it. "Nothing is compromised in the recording process, you get the full live experience on disc" says Shields. "This is Live" has already sold thousands of copies and their live shows have begun to circulate within the tape trading community. The New Deal have managed to do what most Canadian jambands cannot, and that is excelling in The United States. "Being from Canada is a strong selling point, American audiences are more prone to checking out what's new and relatively unheard of "says Shields. Their sound is infectious and that was clearly exemplified at Berkfest. "We played indoors the first night in a ski lodge which isn't the most comfortable place to be in August (it is designed to trap in heat for the winter) we weren't expecting a big crowd but by the end of the evening we had about 500 people inside and a couple of hundred outside grooving". This phenomenon also hasn't been uncommon at The Wetlands either. On a couple of occasions, with the New Deal playing in the lounge. Many people once hearing their sound, began to filter from the upstairs into the lounge astounded at what their hearing, leaving the band upstairs playing to a sparse audience. One of the many highlights of the live show is drummer Darren Shearers beatbox. The beatbox (creating drum beats with the mouth) usually leaves the crowd in awe at his ability. Shearer is an extremely gifted drummer, his beatbox highlights his strong rhythmic abilities that he shares with bassist Kurtz. Shields is as talented as they come when it comes to the keyboard/moog. His tempo can turn from dance to ambient without notice and keeps the audience on their toes. What's most amazing is the fact that even with Shields quick changes, Shearer and Kurtz never lose a step, exhibiting the bands strong ability to remain cohesive throughout an entire show. If you like DJ's you'll dig The New Deal. If you like jambands, you'll dig The New Deal. This could be the most impressive music to arrive in the last 15 years. It's nothing you've ever heard from three musicians before. Check out The New Deal and you will experience something you never thought could be possible, you will leave in awe and a fan. Tour Dates:
Philadelphia, PA: Wednesday Nov. 17 - The Khyber
Contact:
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