Posted by Dave Obenour
Brooklyn's power/funk 9-piece, Turkuaz, will be playing their new CD local release show on Thurs. March 27 at Putnam Den. Utilizing almost as many instruments as influences, a Turkuaz show is an explosive experience. Even with nine people on the stage, many of the band's members pull double duty by pounding on a keyboard, adding back-up vocals or just keeping the energy going with some onstage dancing. Their new album, Future 86 is a great collection of studio renditions.
Turkuaz's third studio album, Future 86 is best bought with a few sweaty and crumpled up dollar bills fished out of your pocket directly after stepping off the dance floor. These eleven songs are the closest studio renditions of what fans have come to know and love from the band's live shows - big and brassy horn arrangements, guitar licks in spades, funky synths, and playful lyrics, all held down by a rhythm section as solid as the Brooklyn Bridge's foundation.
It was these live performances that actually delayed the release of Future 86. Hiring a new booking agent, Turkuaz has been hitting the Eastern US with much more regularity over the last year. With every show the band's cohesiveness grew and a number of songs were scrapped or rerecorded in favor of the sound being developed out on the road.
Within that improved sound are echoes of some classic LPs by artists like Parliament/Funkadelic, Talking Heads, Zapp, Rick James and maybe even a few select cuts from Motown's or Stax's back-catalogue. These may not be the touching points of a lot of the current "what's old is new" cool bands, but that suits Turkuaz just fine.
"In a way, I really like that our style is so closely tied to those types of classic artists and styles," says vocalist and guitarist, Dave Brandwein. "We certainly don't feel that we ride any trends or worry too much about staying modern or relevant in any particular way. We just play what we love."
Future 86 is the culmination of a recent creative outpouring from Turkuaz and it is their third release since just last November. The band has also released A Live Affair, a live download-only album and Covers Vol. 1, featuring renditions of classic songs by Jackie Wilson, Sly & The Family Stone and many more.
With no end in sight, the band is looking forward to heading down South and out West in support of the new CD and has already started working on a few new songs for an upcoming EP.
63A Putnam Street Saratoga Springs, NY | 518-584-8066 | 8:30pm | Ages 18+ | $8 ADV / $12 DOS | $5 surcharge if under 21