Gimme The Boots

Mo' Blow - Live In BerlinCD / digital Felix Falk saxes, didgeridoo, perc Matti Klein rhodes Tobias Fleischer bass André Seidel drums Special Guests: Pat Appleton vocals (02) Adam Bałdych violin (03) Franz Bauer vibraphone (05) Nils Landgren vocals, trombone (06 & 10) Kacper Smoliński harmonica (08) "The best thing I've ever heard! You've just gotta love their energy, the way they enjoy their music. Plus their team spirit, ability, playfulness...and their cojones. Thanks guys, just keep on doing what you do - live and on CD!" Mo’ Blow receives this kind of praise from ecstatic fans from all over the world. Their brand of jazz-funk has even managed to locate the defrost button (who knew there was one?) of one of the most influential broadsheet newspaper culture supplements, that of the Munich-based Süddeutsche Zeitung, who wrote: "Party! These lads don't just get you going with conventional grooves, they grab you. More power to them!" The four lads of Mo’ Blow have been on their "for those about to Funk" mission for a good decade now. They released their ACT Debut album - with that name - in 2011, and since then they have done well over a hundred gigs, and have travelled to over 20 countries. They have covered the terrain you'd expect, the clubs of Germany, Austria and Switzerland, they've stretched out into the Baltic countries. But they've also taken in Ukraine and Russia and then gone onwards to Malaysia and China. One appearance at the Jarasum Jazz Festival in Korea, with an audience of several thousands going wild stays in saxophonist Felix Falk's mind as something special: “What an amazing atmosphere. The fans went completely mad! Our Korea trip is right up there in Mo’ Blow’s best gigs ever.” This is an exceptional band which proves the point that instrumental jazz-funk really can completely energise a crowd and really get it going. Felix Falk's distinctive skronk baritone sax hooks, Matti Klein's killer Rhodes, Tobias Fleischer's funktastic bass, and André Seidel's boss drumming... these guys have technique bordering on the scary, but also a ridiculous and infectious sense of fun. Their regular gigging has instilled in them an instinct for showmanship and stagecraft, plus a sixth sense of the right way to construct and to pace their shows. Also right in there in the Mo’ Blow mix are the infectious joy they unfailingly communicate, and the capacity of the band members to get stuck into each other's musical ideas. After three studio albums, the time had come for a Mo’ Blow live CD. The intimate space A-Trane Club in Berlin feels like their living room. It was a case of “mind the closing doors, please” - and off they went, straight into frenetic action with the track “Slingshot.” On this new album, Mo’ Blow take you on an hour's ride through their repertoire from the past ten years, culminating in a high-energy work-out on the title track of their most recent studio album, “Gimme the Boots.” The word about Mo’ Blow had also travelled around the music scene, to judge by the illustrious guests who blew in to the A-Trane to join the party. There was Nils Landgren – who also produces their albums. It was his Funk Unit which set the whole European funk thing in motion a few years ago. With his red horn, he has continued to show that he knows exactly which buttons to push to turn up the heat of an audience. Violinist Adam Bałdych, another member of the ACT family, also joined in. He is a musician who in a very short time has managed to open up completely new dimensions for the violin, from crossover and in towards soul and funk. Two others also spun by to contribute some flavourful sounds: Franz Bauer on the vibraphone und Kacper Smoliński on harmonica. Another party guest was Pat Appleton. This singer has been described as the mother of German funk jazz, having emerged as the lead singer of DePhazz, a bossa funk band incredibly popular in Germany at around the turn of the millenium. Her song “No Particular Way” fits into the programme perfectly. For the Mo' Blow-ers, this is the first ever contravention of their rule to be a purely instrumental band. In fact the quartet have made another exception to that rule for their old buddy Nils Landgren, who gets to sing a sensational and punchy version of Adele's “Rolling in the Deep.” As Berliner Zeitung has described the Mo' Blow phenomenon: “With 'Live in Berlin, Mo’ Blow have once again fulfilled their promise, they are one of the hottest club bands around.” Credits: Recorded live at A-Trane (Berlin) by Martin Offik, August 11 - 15, 2015 Live mix by Jonas Hinz. Recording assistance by Ralph Grässler. Edited and mixed by Martin Offik at Schumann&Bach, Berlin Mastered by Andreas Balaskas at Masterlab, Berlin

Mo' Blow - Gimme The BootsCD / digital Felix F. Falk saxes, didgeridoo, percMatti Klein rhodes Tobias Fleischer bass André Seidel drumsMore and more young German musicians, primarily from jazz backgrounds, are discovering the appeal of heavy grooves, earthy sounds and driving rhythms in funk and soul. Swede Nils Landgren has been the European calling card for funk for 20 years with his Funk Unit, and we can now count representatives of the ACT series "Young German Jazz" among the pioneers of the next generation: The Berlin quartet Mo’ Blow astonished the scene two years ago with their snappy ACT debut "For Those About To Funk". The Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper wrote, "Party, not with run-of-the-mill grooves, but with quality", whilst others praised the timelessness and complexity of the album. In addition to good critiques, Mo’ Blow also won the "Future Sounds" competition at the Leverkusen Jazz Days, there being no doubt in the jury's mind: "Mo' Blow light up a sparkling funk firework on the stage". And now, "Gimme The Boots" proves all the more that Mo’ Blow really is the successful hybrid of sounds of the seventies with the contemporary. With its own high energy, the very first track "Call Me Milroy" grabs you by the ears and legs, from the slap sounds, cool phrases and reverberating sax played by Mo’ Blow founder Felix Falk to the perfect round-off with a percussive solo by Matti Klein on the Fender Rhodes. The distinctive theme of "Winter Came Early" glides past lightly and easily, while the shouts of "Papa's Pancakes" are nervous and driven. Sonorous soul dominates on "Ray", minimalistic but all the more engendering "good vibrations". Pure funk with the slapped bass of Tobias Fleischer and rapid, sharp syncopations by the entire band bring "Slingshot" to the boil. The four have decided to go with pure Mo’ Blow on this album and, though there was no shortage of offers, this time they chose not to call on guest stars. The whole record originated from the band's own machine, including the compositions for all twelve tracks, and the distinctive sound that has developed over the ten years of their playing together really comes into its own. A musical energy is captured here that the group has earned itself over the years, in hundreds of concerts both in Germany and abroad. The solos are no less emphatic, and it’s no wonder when one considers the huge musical spectrum that each of the four band members contributes. More than anything it is the many surprising details that define the character of the Mo’ Blow sound: the atmospheric percussion introduction on "Sunsqueezed", the didgeridoo on "Gimme The Boots" and the wild, whirling lead-in by André Seidel on "Headbutt". The mixture is the key. "Master of Funk" Nils Landgren couldn't resist: he produced this second album just as he did the ACT debut. Together it all makes up a dynamic, thrilling, feel-good album. The young German guns – causing an ever-growing international furore. 

Mo' Blow brings energy to jazz with dynamic performances and club vibes. Featuring sax, trombone, guitar, and vocals in an electrifying blend.