After their tenth album , with the American jazz funk ensemble Snarky Puppy operating as an accompaniment band for a selection of vocalists, it was time for a real studio record again. Most of the time, the band records their songs at live concerts that were carefully captured on film. This time they went to Sonic Ranch Studios in Texas, a five-minute walk from the Mexican border. Strangely enough,
… the musical influences of this area are nowhere to be found on Culcha Vulcha. The working method of Snarky Puppy's instrumental work may be known by now. The band makes a minimal effort to degenerate into magisterial, bombastic climaxes through complicated arrangements that remain accessible at all times. Whether they start with afrobeat, light fusion funk, dark blues or silly lift music, everything is optimally developed. All this on a carpet of fat bass lines and rousing percussion parts. Culcha Vulcha is one of the most adventurous jazz albums of 2016. (AD)more