Kicking it Euro-style

These are epic times for the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble. After having enraptured already-loyal crowds and made new fans all over England and Ireland over the last month, the brothers now prepare to wrap up the first half of their 2009 European Summer Tour, with a quick succession of dates in France (Paris, June 3), the Netherlands (Amsterdam on June 4, Rotterdam June 5) and Italy (Navarra, June 6), all before they fly back to the U.S. of A. for some well-deserved R&R at the new Brooklyn pad. The tour will then get back on track in early July, when Hypnotic Brass hits the stage with Blur for a big blowout in Hyde Park, London.



The first stretch of the tour has been brothers hustling hard and getting a lot more props than beauty sleep. Traditional European media has been paying close attention to the eight brothers from Chicago, who were showcased in an episode of the celebrated television show Later with Jools Holland on BBC Two (watch their live performance in the BBC courtyard here). Hey, HBE even has its own artist page on the BBC website now. Innit bossy?



Social media networks have also been spreading the Hypnotic love through Twitter and other such sites. A quality 30-minute recording, courtesy of Paris DJs, has surfaced in the Twitterverse and basically gone viral. This is what the guys over at Paris DJs ("Our Music is a Secret Order") had to say:

"This Hypnotic Brass Ensemble blew my mind the first time I heard them. I had seen some videos on YouTube but was finally able to grab two copy of their War/Mercury 10 inch at a local record store (thank you to the kind people selling Jazz and World @ Gibert Joseph in Paris!)... The spare one went into the hands of Pierre from Souljazz Orchestra who got to see them onstage a few days after, opening for Mos Def in Amsterdam. He told me they totally stole the show, which I'm sure they did! Listening to their rare self-released albums (on CDR you can buy at their shows) or concert that are circulating on the Internet (you gotta check the one with Tony Allen!) can only mean one thing: the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble is currently one of the few killer live bands out there!! They'll be playing next Wednesday in Paris at the New Morning and we have 10 tickets to offer - be there or be square!"

So stay tuned for more highlights, pics and vids as the season heats up. This here summer is poised to go down in history. Peace.