Band : Galactic
Album title : Ya-Ka-May
Label : Anti- - Epitaph Records
Distributor : PIAS
Release date : 08/02/2010
Release : CD

In the immortal words of Britain’s legendary comical outfit Monty Python: “And now…for something completely different…”! You see, Galactic was founded in 1994 as an organic New Orleans-styled Funk octet under the name Galactic Profilactic [soon dropping the profilactic surname and slimming down to a sextet of 5 musicians (originators Jeff Raines and Robert Mercurio – childhood friends who’d moved to New Orleans for University studies and fell in love with the local Funk scene – on guitar and bass respectively, sax/ harmonica player Ben Ellman, drummer Stanton Moore, and Hammond organist Rich Vogel) and a singer], but has musically evolved over the years by incorporating elements of Hip Hop, Electronic, World Music, Fusion, and Jazz. Over the years, Galactic have released one groundbreaking album after the other (just to be complete, those are 1996’s  Coolin’ Off, 1998’s Crazyhorse Mongoose, 2000’s Late For The Future, 3001’s We Love ‘Em Tonight Live At Tiptina’s, 2003’s Vintage Reserve and Ruckus, and 2007’s From The Corner To The Block). Having evicted their second vocalist in 2004, the remaining quintet sought and found aid from several MCs from the local music scene to record their 2007 album.

Of course, when thinking of New Orleans, most people view the place as something of a musical museum with a quite unique an colorful history. But even in New Orleans youngsters pick up outside influences which they then use in the music they make, and some of those people have long since gone into their “third” youth (I mean, “changes” have been goin’ on for longer than just the few past years, making for veterans in a style quite different from what is typically considered the “local sound”). Galactic being quite the touring band, they have also often shared stages with bands from New Orleans, where the Hip Hop at the heart of today’s culture emerged from an energetic, highly erticized gender-bender sub-genre called Bounce. And the truth of the matter is, in New Orleans all the town’s different musical styles (be it Jazz, brass bands, Funk, or the newer “Bounce”-influenced Hip Hop) are intrinsicately linked, a particular inclusiveness about the town connecting both its people and music (some difficult words there, which I quite honestly took from the biography we got with the download promo of this album)!

Somewhere along the line in the last three years (or perhaps more), Galactic came up with the idea to invite musicians/ singers from the different musical styles for guest roles on their album. Hence, the album (I’m again semi-copying from that same biography here) features such established legends as (in chronological order on the album) the Rebirth Brass Band, Irma Thomas, Big Chief Bo Dollis, Allen Toussaint, and Walter “Wolfman” Washington…but also younger artists like (again as in order on album) Trombone Shorty and Corey Henry, John Boutté, Josh Cohen and Scully, and Glen David Andrews…as well as groundbreaking new Bounce artists such as Big Freedia, Katey Red and Sissy Hobby, and Cheeky Blakk. Each bringing in something of their own in a musical palate normally not their own. The result is actually quite unique, as long as you have an open mind for music in general and don’t stare yourself blind on just Metal, Rock, Hardcore, Punk, or whatever normally is your “thing”! On top, the band also brings two songs on their own, the first being album opener “Friends Of Science”, the spoken vocal part coming from the Jerry Lewis movie The Nutty Professor, if I’m not mistaken. The second is a track titled “Krewe D’Etat”was not available on our download, it being somehow exchanged for a second “Friends Of Science”!