Formed in 2008, RED BARAAT is a pioneering eight-piece band from Brooklyn, New York. Conceived by Sunny Jain, the group has drawn worldwide praise for its singular sound -- a merging of hard driving North Indian bhangra rhythms with elements of jazz, go-go, brass funk, and hip-hop. Created with no less a purposeful agenda than manifesting joy and unity in all people, Red Baraat’s spirit is worn brightly on its sweaty and hard-worked sleeve. And is being returned to them in cities all over the world, as word spreads of the band’s incredibly powerful live performances. In 2013 Red Baraat released Shruggy Ji, their second full length and first properly distributed record. It debuted at #1 on the Billboard World Music Charts. An even more estimable feat, considering the band chose to self-release the record on their own Sinj Records imprint. At the same time, Red Baraat occupied three of the top ten selling records on ITunes North American world music sales charts. In June, Red Baraat issued Big Talk, a platter of songs recorded during the Shruggy Ji sessions, which also includes remixes by friends and bandmates in TV on the Radio and Antibalas.
To those who have seen the California Honeydrops and heard Lech Wierzynski sing and play it may come as a shock that the young frontman was born in Warsaw, Poland. The son of Polish political refugees raised in Chicago and Washington DC, Lech was exposed to wide range of musical influences. “When my dad was growing up in communist Poland in the 40’s and 50’s, old American music was illegal and therefore very cool,” he says. “He passed on the love of old stuff to me: everything from Louis Armstrong to Sam Cooke.” Like his early influences, Lech has the unique ability to carry a tune casually, conversationally and powerfully as well. But the California Honeydrops are not just another throwback band. “My brother and I had to assimilate to modern American society,” Wierzynski explains, “so we loved all the popular stuff on the radio too, especially Hip-Hop, R&B. Knowing music was our way of proving we were American.” After studying ethno-musicology at Oberlin College, Wierzynski arrived in the Oakland California in 2004. There, he couldn’t help but to continue expanding his musical horizons. “At first,” he recalls, “I played mostly on the street, and then as I got more established I started playing a lot of blues and soul music in clubs and touring. There is a rich heritage of that music here in the Bay, and was lucky enough to play with a lot of older musicians who taught me what it was all about.”