Electric Simcha infuses old-world Hasidic melodies with the best of West Philadelphia’s burgeoning underground rock scene to create a new, raucous, Eastern European tinged, violent party sound. Wordless devotional melodies, called nigunim, that Hasidim sing over and over to stoke the holy spark of spiritual enlightenment within, bounce around from voice to trombone to guitar, interspersed by wild high-energy solos and band riffs. A wedding set that could easily be heard on any Orthodox or Hasidic bandstand is transformed by a loud and fast, hardcore punk aesthetic influenced by bands like Black Flag and the Minutemen. Electric Simcha grabs hold of that holy spark and turns it into a continuous explosion of raw musical energy.
Singer and trombonist Dan Blacksberg is rapidly manking a name for himself as one of the premiere trombonists in Jewish music. He’s been a featured performer at festivals and workshops everywhere from Toronto to Charlottesville to Weimar, Germany and Krakow, Poland. Guitarist Nick Millevoi is best known for his work free-blast power trio Many Arms, and along with bassist Travis Woodson, is a member of the art-rock group Make a Rising. Drummer Julius Masri completes the group with his unique driving power honed in many of Philadelphia’s avant-garde rock, jazz, and noise outfits.
Electric Simcha is:
Dan Blacksberg: Trombone, Vocals
Nick Millevoi: Guitar (http://nickmillevoi.blogspot.com/)
Travis Woodson: Bass Guitar (http://twoodsonmusic.webstarts.com/)
Julius Masri: Drums
Press:
http://blogs.forward.com/the-arty-semite/tags/electric-simcha/
