B.C. band’s dance-party riffs hide a ‘subversive’ message
At first listen, Victoria, B.C.’s funky 10-piece horn-heavy unit The New Groovement comes on like a killer dance-party band. But there can be a grittier message lurking just below the surface.
“I’ve always looked at our music as sort of a Trojan horse,” explains the group’s chief rhymer and rapper, vocalist Danimal House.
“We try to make sure the music caters to people who want to go out and have fun, but along the way I want to offer subversive lyrics that make you think more. You may be partying but once you start singing along you might realize, ‘Wait a second, he’s making me think about things that matter.’ ”
House points to the band’s song Bad News, which talks about lying politicians, corporatization and a few downsides of 21st century living, encouraging people to hope and work for better days. He insists there’s a silver lining in the dark clouds of the world political climate.
“We wrote it a couple of years ago, before the rise of (Donald) Trump, but it seems to be even truer now than it was then. I think there are always problems when people try to jump-start revolutions and strongmen come to power even with the best of intentions. But when we see things go wrong and someone like Trump screwing up on an epic scale, that can hopefully precipitate more change.”
The engaging tune is a key track (now with a unique animated video) from the band’s independently produced year-old debut disc The Orange Album. Financed by a crowdfunding campaign that wound up bringing in an extra 70 per cent on top of its original goal, it won the Vancouver Island Music Awards Album of the Year and got them nominated for Urban Artist of the Year in the Western Canadian Music Awards.
Along the way The New Groovement, (or NGM as they abbreviate it), have enjoyed doing their bit to shake up those stereotypes of Victoria as a city for retirees. Its members run from their early 20s to early 40s, packing a collection of influences and musical experiences that include jazz and folk ties outside the band on top of the R&B, funk and hip-hop grooves, slinky soul ballads and punchy horn arrangements that fuel the group’s sets.
Two saxophones, trumpet, trombone, up to three percussion, guitar and bass, powerhouse singer Steph Wisla and MC House fill out the band, usually 10 members on the road.
Taking time out for a chat, House was busy prepping for the band’s first tour outside British Columbia, which finds them in Edmonton this week for two nights at Blues On Whyte and a final night at The Black Dog.
To appreciate NGM’s origins you have to look back about five years. That’s when drummer-manager Reuven Sussman started inviting friends over to jam. Already a disciple of old school funk greats like James Brown and ParliamentFunkadelic, Sussman brought experience from Victoria’s Masala and the Edmonton-based Democrafunk.
On a broader scale, NGM took inspiration from contemporary groove masters like The Roots, pop jazz pioneers like Steely Dan and singers like Amy Winehouse.
As House tells it, the jam band found common bonds, forged original songs from a writing collective (Wisla and House handle the words), and pursued their desire to bring the party to club and festival stages across the province.
A major coup in NGM’s evolution came in coaxing producer Joby Baker (who has overseen Alex Cuba’s Grammy-winning records) to take on The Orange Album in multiple sessions over nearly two years.
House credits Baker’s “fantastic job” for pushing band members to sharpen their writing skills as he pulled “nifty little musical Easter eggs” into the mix. Now the group has most of another album together for another date with Baker this summer but in the meantime they’re testing out some of that fresh material on tour.
MC House (born Dan Howse) marvels that it has all come this far. Inspired by his piano-teacher mother, he started out playing cello before graduating to more contemporary collaborations and the band’s fusion of singing and rapping. Most of his rhymes for The Orange Album were carefully considered but he still injects spontaneity into the proceedings
“We’re excited to find out what happens when 10 people that share this music hit the road.”