Nomo - New Tones(2006)(Ubiquity)/afrobeat,funky,jazzy

On New Tones home-made Detroit electronics and huge horn sections blast big band funk and riotous jazz. NOMO’s roots are firmly planted in the fertile soil of African polyrhythm and American free jazz, and bandleader Elliot Bergman’s tracks draw inspiration from cultures and generations wildly different than his home setting. In many ways (at least geographically and sonically) NOMO are a distant relative of the TRIBE collective. Undoubtedly they carry the spirit of the legendary Detroit-label’s creative output.

NOMO were signed to Ubiquity through interest in their self-titled debut album, and on the back of an onslaught of persuasive emails from their fans (including Sam Valenti IV of Ghostly fame) that the band puts on a must-see live show. Raw propulsive rhythms and infectious melodies are propel a big horn section and multilayered percussion that is part Tom Ze, M.I.A., Philip Cohran, P-Funk, Antibalas, Tortoise and Harry Partch. Enigmatic Detroit producer Warn DeFever was charged with capturing the band’s live energy, and he shaped the sounds for maximum impact. New Tones is a full-color, spiritual sound scape that marries the exotic with the gritty. NOMO’s New Tones moves beyond the ecstatic to approach Bergman’s vision of a transcendent, elemental sound—one that aims to move both bodies and spirits.

In 2004 Ypsilanti Records released NOMO’s debut album and the band sold a few thousand copies (in the USA), mostly based on the strength of their live set. Later in the Fall of 2005 P-vine would give the debut album a Japanese domestic release. Following that, Ghostly International released a Dabrye remix of "Not Wisely/Too Well", from the debut, on the "Additional Productions vol.1" EP. In the Spring of 2006 Kindred Spirits will include "Better Than That" on a spiritual jazz compilation and release a four song 12" in March prior to the New Tones album release in May.

“The New Tones recordings are more intricate and nuanced than anything we’ve released,” says Bergman. “The record features an arsenal of homemade percussion including the “electric sawblade-gamelan”, “no-tone” shakers, and the “Nu-Tone cymbals”,” he adds.