If one were to criminally oversimplify Slavic Soul Party’s stylistic influences, one might describe them as a Balkan-Funk ensemble playing in a New Orleans marching band during Mardi Gras. With accordion. In 11/8 time. When they mentioned that last bit, I let out an audible “oh man,” which could have described the sheer virtuosity of the band’s instrumentalists, their choice of music, and, yes, their odd and wonderful choice of time signatures. (That one happened to be inspired by a Bulgarian wedding song.)

I had the opportunity last night to see Slavic Soul Party at Barbes, a Brooklyn bar and performance space. The New York Times characterizes them as “fiery Balkan brass, throbbing funk grooves, Gypsy accordion wizardry, and virtuoso jazz chops.” (If they do say so themselves.) They’re right on. Slavic Soul Party boasts a classic, New Orleans funk infused horn section that’s comfortable effusing collectively, and bursting out in their individual instruments.

Standouts of the sets I attended included, among others, the trumpeter, who was electric, and the tuba player, who reminded me that you don’t need a baritone saxophone to add a full, satisfying horn texture to a bass line. (It did, in fact, successfully act as the ensemble’s only bass line.) There was an effective blend between what seemed to be an authentic ear for Eastern European music and what American listeners, so attuned to bombastic funk strains, desire in a performance.

In a more technical sense, this ensemble is more than just a funk band with the occasional tritone and raised harmonic seventh to make it sound as if they’re playing in a stereotypically “gypsy” tonality – as nebulous a term that is to use. They’re at the cutting edge of what it means today to fuse different genres of music together, both in terms of the harmonies and rhythms they use, and in the instrumentation they choose to express themselves in. Though the terms they use to characterize themselves in are simplistic and accurate – “Slavic Soul Party,” in this sense, is an appropriate term –  they represent the cutting edge of what it means to use older styles to generate truly new, original music.

Here’s a couple classics, off their album Bigger. The first track, “Juan Colorado,” has a distinct Mexican flavor, and the second, “Indinski,” features more traditionally Balkan harmonies:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.