The progressive
genius of Grupo Fantasma, (Austin, TX) now in the tenth year
of its long and intriguing musical journey, comes to life
on El Existential set for a May 11th, 2010 release on Nat
Geo Music. Known as the funkiest, finest, and hardest working
Latin orchestra to come out of the United States in the last
decade, the band has garnered critical acclaim worldwide for
their adventurous albums, prudent songwriting and unprecedented
live shows. “Grupo Fantasma is as tight as one would
expect from a band that routinely backs up Prince” exclaimed
LA Weekly and the Washington Post affirmed that “the
ten members represent a new generation of latin music.”
Their last effort, the Grammy nominated Sonidos Gold (2008),
further trademarked the ensemble’s innovative sound
and scored a cover feature in Pollstar Magazine, radio spots
on NPR’s “Day to Day” and PRI’s “The
World”, top ten status for several months on the CMJ
radio charts and extensive press coverage throughout North
America and Europe.
The band’s incendiary live show has also stockpiled
rave reviews across North American, Europe, and beyond. After
catching Fantasma at the 3rd annual Fun Fun Fun Fest in their
hometown of Austin, Texas, Dead Milkmen frontman Rodney Anonymous
noted on his blog that "You haven't lived until you've
seen these guys come out of a Tex-Mex drum solo into Led Zeppelin's
Moby Dick.” Highlights from the past few years include
the New Orleans Jazz Festival, Bonnaroo, Jelly NYC Pool Party,
Montreal Jazz Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival in the Netherlands,
the horn section performing with Prince at Coachella, London’s
02 Arena and the “Tonight Show with Jay Leno,”
and a two ten day engagements to entertain troops stationed
in Kuwait and Iraq. Grupo Fantasma was also selected to perform
at WOMEX, the exclusive world music expo, in Copenhagen, Denmark
this past October. 2010 will have the band once again criss-crossing
the globe with club dates and festivals worldwide. |
