East London’s Hackney Colliery Band continue to reinvent the brass band sound for the 21st century with new ‘LP Sharpener’. A tour de force of trumpets, trombones, saxes, sousaphone, marching percussion and electronics, the band are as inspired by contemporary rock and electronica as they are New Orleans marching bands and the traditional British brass bands to which their name pays homage.
Formed in 2008 out of a desire to play music that appealed to the feet as much as to the ears, the band has rapidly gained an army of loyal supporters, including radio support from Lauren Laverne, Gilles Peterson, Craig Charles, Huey Morgan, Jamie Cullum, Rob Da Bank and John Kennedy. Since the release of their eponymous debut in 2011, the 9-piece have blown their way into the public consciousness with their energetic and passionate live shows, amassing fans worldwide and reinventing the brass band sound for the modern age.
New LP Sharpener shows the band on fine form and more confident than ever, with powerful new electronic elements and a dance floor sensibility adding to the jazz, rock and soul for which they are known. Building on the strength of their critically-acclaimed original writing, Sharpener has a powerful set of originals at its core, alongside a trio of leftfield covers in the shape of Nirvana’s Heart-Shaped Box, Kwabs’ Wrong or Right and Three Trapped Tigers’ Cramm. It’s a record that resounds with humour, charm and the hum of the glorious variety of musical genres that emanate from their hometown.
Alongside their critically-acclaimed releases, Hackney Colliery Band have really stormed the live circuit, selling out two-night runs at Wilton’s Music Hall and the Jazz Café in London, playing main stages of festivals including Field Day, Love Supreme, Wilderness, Cheltenham Jazz Festival and many more, and even performing a 45-minute set in the Olympic stadium as part of the Closing Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics. On the international circuit they’ve performed in clubs and festivals from Sziget in Hungary to G! Festival in the Faroe Islands, and in countries including Slovenia, Montenegro, Italy, Kosovo, France, Austria, Holland, Germany and Ireland.
“Reinventing the brass-band format for the 21st century’” THE TIMES
“This is the most enjoyable, fun music that I know of” THE OBSERVER
“One of the greatest live bands we have in this country” BBC RADIO 2
“I love these guys!” HUEY MORGAN, BBC 6MUSIC
