As Ned Sublette puts it in the liner notes, this is not your grandfather’s New Orleans record. On their sixth studio album, the jazz-funk jam band creates a record that aims to capture the modern and diverse music scene of New Orleans. The band has recruited a variety of artists from the city to contribute to the album. New Orleans is represented by artists in a diversity of genres such as brass (Rebirth Brass Band on “Boe Money”), jazz (John Boutte sings on the blues and funk inspired “Dark Water”) and most prominently, bounce. The inclusion of bounce on the album, from artists such as Cheeky Blakk (“Do It Again”) and Big Freida (“Double It”), will make fans recall Galactic’s previous hip hop inspired album From the Corner to the Block, and make the listener want to get up and dance while playing the album loud. Ya-Ka-May is an album that is very much like the dish that it takes its title from; it contains ingredients that should not work well together, but once it is mixed together and served, it is excellent. This album will blow your mind. (Anti-, www.anti.com) Charles Lefebvre
Winnipeg music & culture since 1989