Fiery Balkan brass, throbbing funk grooves, Roma (Gypsy) accordion wizardry, and virtuosic jazz chops make Slavic Soul Party! New York City’s official #1 brass band for BalkanSoul GypsyFunk. SSP! pumps a strong Balkan brass sound through the filter of life in New York’s outer boroughs, making new music out of the serendipity of immigration, proximity and globalization.
Cristina Black (TimeOut NY) writes, “Of all the NYC dance bands that draw on Eastern European music, Slavic Soul Party! is the coolest…. SSP! jumps from traditional songs to contemporary covers and originals, connecting the dots…with surprising finesse.” Banning Eyre (NPR) adds, “With razor-sharp precision, juggernaut force and a healthy dose of playfulness, these guys start out in overdrive and never let up.” But Peter Margasak of Chicago Reader makes an important qualification: “Slavic Soul Party! Is one of the few bands that can balance its manic energy and irreverent spirit with a deep understanding of Eastern European folk forms and the chops to play them.”
Since its inception 15 years ago, SSP! has released 7 full-length albums (including a wild and wooly but highly respectful version of Duke Ellington’s Far East Suite), and toured USA, Canada, Mexico, Europe, Turkey and Zimbabwe – from pasha’s palaces to Carnegie Hall! “The band has also roused crowds in Serbia, Macedonia and Turkey, won over Warped Tour skatepunks and BBC commentators, and dazzled everyone from Šaban Bajramović (the late “King of Romani music”) to Sufjan Stevens (American singer-songwriter & instrumentalist). The group’s residency at Barbès (a small, seminal nightclub in Brooklyn) has become a gathering place for international musicians and the nexus of East Coast gypsy punk, not because Slavic Soul Party! comprises scenesters, but because the band is undeniably world class” (SF Weekly).