Archaic funk fables and soul migrations from this hybrid musical ensemble, who’s songs explode with heavyweight grooves, fervent vocals and rich instrumentation.Vocalists Julie Gordon and Damien Mahoney combine and take turns to tell bitter-sweet tales of the self, soul and society.
Soaking up inspiration from afrobeat to post-punk, Indian ragas through to reggae and acid house, Caulbearers’ music is full of dynamic, twisting structures and sonic invention:Mahoney’s tight, multi-layered productions combine hypnotic melodies, colossal basslines and battered jazz beats. This is roots music from the rainy city. Psychedelic soul with poetic, social observation.
This Manchester-based act were formed in 2007 from members of Single Cell Collective, a group of artists, musicians and activists collaborating on DIY releases and events.Though a core of the original players remain, Caulbearers attracts a fluid set of musicians from as wide a pool as the band’s influences. Collaborators from past and present have played with the likes of RSL, The Earlies, Cherry Ghost, Cinematic Orchestra, Happy Mondays, Go Go Penguin and Beats and Pieces Big Band.
This is Caulbearers’ first release on the Jack To Phono label, following the self- released 2011 EP, More Lie Deep.Hollow Bones showcases the raw, celebratory roots-funk of the band’s live gigs, where they have built a reputation for high octane, incendiary shows, with up to 10 members on stage.
A powerhouse of a vocal performance from Julie Gordon, expressing defiance and vulnerability in equal measure, slams out over a relentless groove of pulsing bass and four-to-the-floor drums.Add to this, Chic-style rhythm guitars, cellos that sweep and slice and a heavyweight horn section, which provides the song’s expansive hook.
Remixes of the single come via Monochrome’s epic film score version, the faster instrumental dub of Schwärmer and Barbatus’ deconstructed, percussion-heavy work out.
“A beguiling, bittersweet soul-funk maelstrom that sweeps through Sly And The Family Stone, The Specials and Stevie Wonder’s Innervisions; a sound that never fails in its quest to transform any room full of strangers into gurning, loved-up best friends forever. Watch their incendiary live shows and your immediate impression is of a band spinning musical plates with remarkable, dextrous ease: cross-stitching genres, assimilating myriad influences, improvising segments at will”
David Sue, Manchester Evening News
“Great music, delivered with real power and style”
George Monboit, The Guardian
“A freewheeling statement of funk-soul intent, the sound of a group firmly living up to their all-inclusive manifesto”
Metro
