Broadcast Live
Albany, New York, United States | INDIE
Music
Press
...it is clear why their voice must be heard, and it is remarkable how deftly they blend strong political ideals with melodies that never overpower their message.
"[Gaetano Vaccaro and Jory Leanza] display remarkable dexterity while playing guitar, drums, bass, cello, saxophone, keys and synthesizers. The duo provides a rich blend of R&B and jazz that is both mellow and mind-opening. Their arrangemenst could stand up by themselves, but it is interesting how the melodies put the listener in a trance-like state..." - State of Mind Music Magazine - Vermont
Broadcast Live takes its positive hip-hop music to another level with its powerful live performance. - Cin Weekly - Cincinnati, OH
"The activist mission that’s at the heart of Broadcast Live becomes immediately apparent on both "Underground" and during their honest, energetic live shows..." - Schenectady Daily Gazette - Schenectady, NY
You know you're in for a good ride when a band namechecks influences like the Last Poets, Public Enemy and Rage Against the Machine and follows them with Emma Goldman, Malcolm X and Steve Biko. Broadcast Live is a Hip Hop collective out of Albany with a social agenda every bit as impassioned and revolutionary as their musical imperative. Dance and think. - Citybeat - Cincinnati, OH
Best Of the Capital Region 2009
We’ve always maintained that the best boom-bap comes from a live kick and snare. These guys go the distance, though, with a full band that’ll make heads roll as soon as they’ll make them bob. This year’s Boomerang Metropolis is a bold political statement that also brings the party. - Metroland
Stylistically, the album meanders from stoned rhymes and lazy beats to Casio-and-sax-laden 808 grooves, incorporating the titular anger of Rage Against the Machine, the coffehouse funk of Ani DiFranco, and the by-any-means-necessary political bent of The Coup. The title track envisions what it might sound like if Wyclef Jean covered Neil Young's "After the Gold Rush"; "Universal Thoughts" fountains positivity over a laid-back R&B groove; "Slow Songs" pairs reflective free-verse with a washed-out Modest Mouse-like chorus. - Metroland - Albany, NY
The album’s radio success may owe something to the catchiness of tracks like “Underground,” with a poignant chorus that backs up Reyes’ spoken meditations on justice, and “Universal Thoughts,” a jazz-inflected slow-burner in the vein of the groove-oriented, live- instrumentation hip-hop of Philadelphia’s the Roots. - Kristen Ferguson, Metroland - Albany, NY
Few local acts get slapped with the modifier “socially conscious” more frequently, or more appropriately, than Broadcast Live (pictured). The band have been spreading their politically charged mix of rock, funk, hip-hop, and spoken word for several years now (we picked them as the area’s Best Political Hip-Hop Band in 2006), but it’s been a while since their 2005 album, Underground, made a dent in national airplay charts. The wait is over: Broadcast Live return later this month with a second album, Boomerang Metropolis (due Jan. 27), and a lengthy tour to follow. The tour kicks off with a CD-release party at Red Square on Feb. 6, but in case you can’t possibly wait that long—and why should you?—you can preorder the disc right now at broad castlive.org. - Metroland
Discography
Boomerang Metropolis (2009)
Underground (2006)
Photos
Bio
Broadcast Live is a three-piece band born out of the activist community in Albany, New York. Their blend of indie rock and hip-hop is both accessible and danceable, while remaining heavily influenced by their collective commitment to social justice. In January 2009 they introduced their sophomore album, Boomerang Metropolis. Shortly after its release, Boomerang reached #25 on the College Music Journal (CMJ) Hip Hop Charts just below, the Wu Tang Clan.
Broadcast Live, formed five years ago, consists of Seantel Chamberlain (drums, bass, guitar, vocals), Jory Leanza-Carey (drums, guitar, vocals), and lead singer Victorio Reyes (vocals). Victorio considers himself a poet first and foremost. “Lyrics are very important to me,” he explains, listing influences as varied as Bob Dylan, KRS-One, Bob Marley, Tracy Chapman, and Dead Prez. Over the course of three major tours (and a recently-completed nationwide trek), Broadcast Live has had the opportunity to open for many influential acts, including Immortal Technique, Talib Kweli, Dead Prez, Spearhead, and Hamell on Trial.
Boomerang Metropolis is Broadcast Live’s second album, following their successful debut Underground, which also charted on the CMJ Hip Hop Charts alongside Public Enemy and Ghostface Killa. This sophomore effort was recorded over two years in a homemade studio in upstate New York, and was produced, engineered, recorded, and mixed by Jory himself. “With tracks like ‘Semiautomatic’ and ‘Hell Hot’, I made a deliberate attempt to have a seamless fusion between electronic hip-hop and acoustic instruments,” Jory explains. “When we first started Broadcast Live, I joined with one particular stipulation: I didn't want it to be another college boy funk/jazz group with an emcee up front.” He continues: “When I was younger, my primary music influence was alternative rock. I wanted to take the sonic richness of groups like the Smashing Pumpkins and apply it to a hip-hop format.” All three members have various influences, but when they came together to form Broadcast Live, Seantel says it best: “I fell in love with the passion.”
“The message of our music is more important than anything else,” explains Victorio. “Our music reflects our anger about the many injustices that exist in the world today.” The result is an indie/hip-hop blend, with their political convictions serving as the underlying, cohesive factor.
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