This long-awaited debut CD is a uniquely intercontinental sonic collage encompassing a tremendous range of instrumental, vocal, and conceptual originality--all with a lot of soul and groove. Like the mythological beast of its title track, HAZMAT Modine's BAHAMUT holds the world in it's eye. Its fourteen songs are steeped deep in American roots but merge influences as diverse as Romanian brass, Middle Eastern fable, Jamaican Calypso, and Tuvan-Mongolian ballad. Wade Schuman's velvet-in-sand vocals are backed by a core ensemble that includes electric and steel guitar, sparring harmonicas, trumpet, drums, and mutant tuba, and joined by the likes of Romanian cimbalom, electric banjitar, contrabass sax, claviola, and bass marimba. BAHAMUT's musical range is genuinely singular and innovative: On one track, ghostly guitar accompanied by the nocturnal baying of Indonesian street dogs morphs into explosive late night R&B in a New York club; on another, a Balkan instrumental leads into pulsating western swing; the CD even features three uncanny collaborations with Huun-Hur-Tu, the virtuoso Throat Singers of Tuva.
"One of New York’s most original bands, HAZMAT MODINE delivers a rustic, deliriously Dionysian blend of whorehouse Blues, Reggae, Klezmer, Country and Gypsy-tinged music. The band features the dueling harmonicas of front-man Wade Schuman and his sparring partner Randy Weinstein, funky tuba powerhouse Joseph Daly, virtuoso guitarists Pete Smith and Michael Gomez, and drummer Rich Huntley. Schuman is one of the most dynamic performers on the New York scene, and HAZMAT holds down a smoldering groove behind Schuman’s raspy, bluesy voice and passionately energetic stage presence. Their playful blend of genres also extends to their use of instrumentation, including the Chinese mouthorgan, the claviola, and sometimes cimbalom (Romanian hammered dulcimer). While they play mostly originals, their cover versions are choice and eclectic, including songs by Slim Gaillard, Jimmy Rogers, Jaybird Coleman, and Irving Berlin. Their live show frequently features guest artists from the crème de la crème of the New York music scene, including cult-favorite singer/accordionist Rachelle Garniez, Moonlighters steel guitarist extraordinaire Henry Bogdan and the great cimbalomist Alex Federiouk. With their sly musical wit, expert musicianship and completely unique sound, HAZMAT MODINE has built a wide and devoted following, drawing crowds to shows at venues as diverse as the Knitting Factory, Terra Blues, the Fez, Satalla, Joe's Pub and Galapagos Art Space." Alan Young - Trifecta, NYC
"HAZMAT MODINE plays the kind of Blues one might have found in a whorehouse in New Orleans had the city been built on the Black Sea somewhere alongside Macao and inhabited by Gypsies. The band is driven by a pair harmonicas, backed by tuba, drums, guitars, and trumpet, with the addition of special guests playing exotic instruments such as the claviola, the cimbalom or the Chinese mouth-organ, the bass sax and the Sarusaphone. Wade Schuman has the appropriately throaty voice of someone who has both hopped freight trains and collaborated with the Throat Singers of Tuva (really...). " Olivier Conan - Barbès, NYC
"From the moment he stepped out onto the tiny Joe's Pub stage tonight, Wade Schuman wasted no time in asserting his credentials as a musician to be reckoned with. Pulling out a harmonica, Schuman played an unaccompanied solo of stunning imagination and skill. He made the tiny instrument sing and growl; he blew multiphonic lines punctuated by sharp, percussive pops. During one stretch, he created a doppler-like effect; the closest comparison I could make would be a speeding train winding through a hilly countryside, the sound shuttered by trees and swallowed by the occasional tunnel." Steve Smith - Night After Night, New York City
"They’re a calypso/alt-country/blues/gypsy band . . . which is obviously what the world needs most" Dafydd Goff - Times of London
"Here's a welcome clash of musical assumptions: blues, reggae, klezmer, country and gypsy flourishes-pulled off by musicians with considerable chops on guitars, tuba, mouthorgan, and other assorted instruments. Further pluses: lead singer Wade Schuman's velvet-in-sand vocals and kinetic presence." Oumano - VOICE CHOICE The Village Voice 2004
"The singer and harmonica player Wade Schuman's musical vision sounds like something out of Dr. Suess. His group augments Mr. Schumans own avant-blues stylings with a contra-bass, a banjitar, tuba, flugel, trumpet, sheng and, most important, Tuvan throat singing. " Sinagra - The New York Times
"Wittily Funky Music" The New York Times, 2005
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