Formed on the south side of Chicago in 1986 as a family group known as ‘the Phil Cohran Youth Ensemble’, the group consisted of eight horn-playing blood brothers led by their father and teacher Kelan Phil Cohran (Sun Ra’s lead trumpeter). After years of honing their technique on stage andstreet, the brothers combined their efforts in 1999 and began performing a new style of brass music they called ‘Hypnotic’ – an insurrectionary fusion of hip-hop, jazz and funk. Their debut album was a massive independent hit, released by Blur’s Damon Albarn on his Honest Jon’s record label.
They came to prominent UK notoriety following a performance on Later With Jools Holland, and collaborations with The Gorillaz, Mos Def and Talib Kweli have helped to keep their star shining bright in the musical sky. The last few years have seen constant touring and countless festival shows – performance is in their blood, and to see them live is a real privilege for any music fan.