TOPAZ

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$Rollin\' (Mudphonic)$

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Rollin\' (Mudphonic)

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Released: Jan 1, 2009

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Rollin\' (Mudphonic)
9:55
970 plays
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Euclid Street (Mudphonic)
2:55
4,257 plays
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Twin Oaks
4:29
5,329 plays
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Slipping Back (Mudphonic)
3:48
1,048 plays
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Fly w Me (Mudphonic)
4:02
1,013 plays

Total Plays: 58,687 / Plays Today: 1See All Featured ►

General Info

Genre: Indie / Jazz / Psychedelic
Location AUSTIN, Texas, Un
Profile Views: 134225
Last Login: 3/8/2011
Member Since 4/9/2005
Type of Label Unsigned
Bio
Evolution. Applying the term to Topaz McGarrigle’s career as a professional musician provides a fascinating case study with more twists and turns than a Colorado River water moccasin. And its end result is more satisfying than a heaping plate of Texas barbecue washed down by an ice cold beer. .. Topaz, a native Texan, took up saxophone at an early age and was classically trained in jazz principles while attending the Duke Ellington School for the Arts in Washington D.C. Armed with a vast set of skills at a young age, Topaz further honed his chops on the horn with a move to New York City and landed a record deal with the Velour label in the mid 1990s. In the Big City, Topaz enjoyed a decade of remarkable success as a jazz saxophonist – performing on national networks such as BET, and sharing stages with internationally known artists including Norah Jones, TV on the Radio, and Widespread Panic. .. As time progressed, the need to do more, to grow – to evolve – burned deep inside the musician. Often the first step toward eventual maturity in any spirit is a return to roots, and that’s where Topaz headed with a return to his hometown of Austin. Reconnecting with Austin’s free-flowing organism of sound, Topaz felt compelled to explore and add more to his traditional jazz/funk sax-only repertoire. .. Vocals came first, and – despite initial anxiety – taking the mic felt right. Next harmonica, and eventually guitar were incorporated into his musical persona. With these new sets of developing skills came a new accompanying sound that brought out new emotions and gave the listener an experience that felt more … raw … dirty … real. .. In the pursuit of band mates to add layers of sound and depth, Topaz first encountered bassist Bobby Perkins at a house jam session. Perkins, a native of Italy, Texas and veteran of Carolyn Wonderland, laid the foundation for Topaz’s roots-oriented vision. .. Alex Marrero, lead singer of the alternative Latin group Ghandaia – provided the next piece to the puzzle. Having perfected his front-man charisma and vocal skills, Marrero was experiencing his own musical evolution by moving to the drums with a style as diverse as his former band’s Reggae, Afro-Cuban, and Brazilian influences suggest. Marrero, in turn, helped lead his fellow musicians to the final ingredient of what would become a most intoxicating brew. Guitarist John Branch, much like Topaz, had left behind a jazz background in the Bay Area to return home to Texas. Branch had recently turned his considerable skills toward perfecting sweet southern-drenched bottleneck guitar licks – a wonderful and mesmerizing way to tie this foursome together to form one dynamic, succinct unit. .. Thus was born Mudphonic. .. A new, sweaty, dance-your-ass off sound that fuses gritty blues and groove with the collective band history of jazz and Latin sounds. After a month spent recording in a barn on the river, Mudphonic has emerged with their debut album ‘Music for Dorothy.’ .. .. PRESS: .. “While other bands have taken the templates of Americana and Southern rock widescreen since its halcyon days in the ‘60s and ‘70s, few have had any meat on their sonic bones. Not so with Topaz & Mudphonic, who like their peers in the Black Keys bring muscle to old-fashioned, head-bobbing anthems. In an age of digital dilettantes, the rural funk of this crew is refreshing—and much needed.” .. -Metromix .. “A torrid affair of percolating psychedelic funk and raunchy backwoods Texas blues produces Topaz & Mudphonic, a bastard child that could just as easily rock platforms on the streets of New York City as it could let its bare feet dangle in the Colorado River.”.. -Jambase .. “Music For Dorothy is Topaz and Mudphonic’s first studio release. It was reported to be recorded in an old barn on the banks of the Colorado River - a terribly fitting setting to produce such an organic, boggy Texan euphony. Calling this album gritty doesn’t do it justice. It’s dirty. A good dirty. Like a humid Texas summer night, dripping greasy fried chicken down your shirt and licking your fingers, canned beer, dancing with your shoes off on a sticky bar room floor and not giving a happy damn dirty.” .. -Austin Sound .. "Topaz & Mudphonic is canned Southern heat, a hooch brew of dirty bayou funk and redneck rock... bottling the down home soul of Bill Withers. " .. - The Austin Chronicle .. "This dusky, riff based Southern rock falls somewhere between Little Feat, Tony Joe White and the North Mississippi Allstars... - All Music Guide .. ..
Members
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Influences
James Brown, Dead Weather, Allman Brothers, Billie Holiday, Mississippi John Hurt, The White Stripes, Bill Frisell, Fela Kuti, R.L. Burnside, Donny Hathaway, Miles Davis, Black Sabbath, John Coltrane, Pink Floyd, Prince, Bjork, Outcast, Maceo Parker, Johnny Cash, Funkadelic, Meters, ZZ Top, Townes Van Zandt, Charlie Parker, Augustus Pablo, Queens of the Stone Age, Pharaoh Sanders, Jackie Mattoo, Tortoise, God Speed You Black Emperor, Tony Allen, Willie Nelson, Radiohead, My Morning Jacket, Cal Tjader, Flaming Lips, Emmylou Harris, Rolling Stones, Sonny Rollins, Otha Turner, Led Zeppelin, Manu Chao, Michael Jackson, Neil Young, Joe Henderson, Chris Whitley, Robert Randolph, Muddy Waters, The Wailers, Charles Mingus, Sly and the Family Stone, Ornette Coleman, Fred Wesley Dewey Redman, Shuggie Otis Elvin Jones, King Tubby, Dexter Gordon, Donald Byrd, Stanley Turrentine, Big Bill Broonzy, Charlie Musselwhite, The Black Angels, James Cotton, Tom Waits, Derek Trucks, Soulive, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Kirk Whalum, Hamza El Din, Al Green, Aretha Franklin, Melvin Sparks, Trouble Funk, Howlin' Wolf, Pong, Betty Davis, Zuco 103, Sun Ra, Sigur Ros, Brownout, Arcade Fire, Mofro, Morphine, Tony Joe White, The National, Gil Scott Heron, Black Keys, Cinematic Orchestra, Gogol Bordello, Peter Tosh, North Mississippi Allstars, Velvet Underground, Cold War Kids
Sounds Like
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