Vancouver party funk band Five Alarm Funk are set to release ‘Abandon Earth’, the band’s fifth studio album, on Tuesday, June 10th and will celebrate with an Album Release Party at The Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver on June 7th. The concept album, describing the destruction of planet Earth by a giant robot, is the culmination of 10 years of relentless touring and the 10 musicians’ love for high octane, delirium-inducing dance music. And Five Alarm Funk plan to keep it going! They’ll spend Summer 2014 touring Canada coast to coast and playing a number of shows in the United States in support of ‘Abandon Earth’. For a full listing of summer tour dates, see below.
‘Abandon Earth’ was recorded at the Farm Studios in Vancouver, BC. The album was produced by Ben Kaplan, whose recent credits include fellow Vancouverites Mother Mother and UK superstars Biffy Clyro. On their fifth album, Five Alarm Funk use gruff funk vocals, psychedelic rock guitars, Balkan-inspired horns, intricate arrangements, and a few well-timed explosions to tell the tale of a technological behemoth rising from the center of the Earth and unleashing a torrent of natural disasters and monsters on humanity. Although to some, the idea of doing a concept album may seem daunting, Five Alarm Funk fully embraced the challenge.
“We wanted to try out a new writing process where it wasn’t us all in the rehearsal space kind of jamming stuff out but we had a whole master plan to work with”, explains vocalist Tayo Branston. “We wanted to make the music tell a story, to create images in people’s heads. Once the whole concept of the album was formed we saw the different parts that we had to write music for. So then, for example, we had to come up with a way to musically represent a robot rising from the center of the Earth, bursting through to the surface, and people being terrified. Those images are what inspired the writing of ‘Horrible Sound.’“
Five Alarm Funk’s critically acclaimed fourth album, ‘Rock the Sky’, was released in May 2012 and was nominated for ‘Instrumental Album of the Year’ at the 2013 Juno Awards and ‘Instrumental Recording of the Year’ at the 2013 WCMAs. The band released the video for the ‘Abandon Earth’ track ‘ We All Scream’ in June 2013 and it quickly became an online hit with over 23K views to date. In November 2013, Five Alarm Funk celebrated its 10-year anniversary as a band with two sold-out shows at The Imperial in Vancouver, BC.
On stage, Five Alarm Funk is an unstoppable orgy of energy. Ten musicians perform intricate and airtight arrangements with delirious dance moves and full-on head banging. Choreographed arm movements coincide with melodic climaxes, while the four percussionists create a true spectacle, not to be missed. This horn powered, percussion fuelled sonic and visual assault has brought their relentless and unforgettable live show to clubs and major festivals across Canada and the United States for over a decade. Touring around in their trusty 15-passenger van numerous times, they have built their fan base from the ground up with over 500 shows under their belt. Some upcoming highlights this summer include stops at the Ottawa Jazz Festival, Saskatoon Jazz Festival, Sunfest in London, Ontario, North Country Fair in Alberta, and Summer Meltdown in Washington State.
Don’t miss out on the dance party! Be sure to catch Five Alarm Funk at The Commodore Ballroom onJune 7th in Vancouver and on the road across Canada all summer long. Look for Five Alarm Funk’s 5th album ‘Abandon Earth’ on iTunes & all other digital retailers on Tuesday, June 10th. For the most up-to-date tour schedule, please visit: www.fivealarmfunk.com.
FIVE ALARM FUNK – ABANDON EARTH
RELEASE DATE: JUNE 10th, 2014 (Independent)
1. We All Scream
2. Newscast 1
3. Journey To The Center Of The Earth
4. Robot
5. Horrible Sound
6. Erupt
7. Newscast 2
8. ATTAAACK!!
9. Higgs Boson
10. Prest-O Chang-O
FIVE ALARM FUNK UPCOMING TOUR DATES
June 7 – Vancouver, BC – Commodore Ballroom
June 20 – Kelowna, BC – Sapphire
June 21-22 – Driftpile, AB – North Country Fair
June 24th – Banff, AB – Wild Bill’s
June 25th – Calgary, AB – Dickens Pub
June 26th – Edmonton, AB – Pawn Shop
June 27th – Ottawa, ON – Ottawa Jazz Fest
June 28th – Saskatoon, SK – Sask Jazz Fest
June 29th – Saskatoon, SK – Sask Jazz Fest
June 30 / July 1 – Winnipeg, MB – The Pyramid
July 2 – Thunder Bay, ON – Crock’s
July 4 – Sarnia, ON – Paddy Flaherty’s
July 5-6 – London, ON – SUNFEST
July 31st – Revelstoke, BC – The Traverse
Aug 1-3 – Penticton, BC – Boonstock
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