Retro funk and soul band The Excitements have lined up a UK visit for March 19 at London’s Jazz Café and a British release for their album Sometimes Too Much Ain’t Enough – March 17, via Penniman Records.
Further shows in their UK itinerary are:
Brighton, Komedia [March 20]; Newcastle, Cluny [21]; Manchester, Band On The Wall [22]; and Glasgow, Broadcast [23].
Guitarist Adrià Gual and bassist Daniel Segura co-founded the band in Barcelona in 2010 and were quickly joined by Pere Puertas [lead guitar], Xavi Ayala [drums], Nico Rodríguez Jauregui [baritone sax] and Marc Lloret [alto sax]. They discovered, quite by accident, their dream vocalist in Koko-Jean Davis, who gave the band a voice, an identity and a name to hang it all on – The Excitements.
Koko-Jean was born and has lived in Mozambique for most of her life. Her adoptive Catalan parents inspired her to explore the world, which saw the young singer pile up influence and experience from the American mid-west, down to Brazil and back to the Catalan capital in Spain.
Snapped up by Barcelona-based independent rhythm & soul label Penniman Records, The Excitements released their eponymous debut LP in 2011. It featured 12 R&B covers from the likes of Little Gigi, Jimmy Dee, The Falcons, Barbara Stephens and Little Richard. Sometimes Too Much Ain’t Enough goes a step further, the group writing original new songs that hold their own beside their inspirations.
As Adria explains: “It’s hard to play a song by Otis Redding and not look ridiculous side-by-side with him. The songs we did on the first album are very cool obscure cuts that we love. The difference on the second album is that we’re writing our own stuff. We try to do originals that are at the same level as the covers.”
Working with American producer and garage rock legend Mike Mariconda, Sometimes Too Much Ain’t Enough/ was recorded in 10 days in Barcelona’s Red Bell Studio.
http://mamacolive.com/thejazzcafe/listings/date/2014/3/19/
http://www.junction2music.com/2014/02/the-excitements-uk-march-tour/
