Established in Boston in 2007, The Macrotones are a 10-piece unit steeped in off-beat funk & soul rhythms from all over the globe. Blazing horns meet mighty hooks for a progressive mix fit to fill any dancefloor.
The band’s tightly-honed grooves and infectious sound has shared the stage with likeminded practitioners such as Lee Fields & the Expressions, Durand Jones & the Indications, the Budos Band, Grupo Fantasma, Orgone, Ikebe Shakedown, and Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars. Since typical genre descriptions fail to fully capture the scope of the Macrotones sound, new monikers need exploration: imperial funk, astrobeat, or even “a soundtrack for spies” all fit.
After self-recording their first record, 2008’s Wayne Manor, the Macrotones followed up with two studio albums: First Signs of Danger, released on Young Cub Records in 2010 and produced by Craig Welsh (John Brown’s Body, 10 Ft Ganja Plant), and Darvaza, released on Music ADD Records in 2012 and produced by Sean Slade (Radiohead, Morphine).
2016 saw the release of Macro’s 3rd full length, Unknown Outpost, with Boston Music Award-wInner and Cramm-nominated engineer/producer Benny Grotto at the helm.
The LP was also their first to feature guest vocalists on a number of songs, including emerging star Iyeoka. Several members of the band toured internationally with Iyeoka, performing some of their original tunes to large crowds across Europe.
In the fall of 2017, the band released two back-to-back EP’s; The Prisoner Flees & The Shark Eats on Music ADD Records. The first was tracked at Converse Rubber Tracks Boston studio and mixed by Dan Cardinal, while the second was done with Benny Grotto at Mad Oak Studios in Allston MA.
A new era for the band began in 2019 when friend and occasional guest vocalist Phil Desisto joined full time. Phil’s commanding and gritty vocals, drawing comparisons to Bobby Womack, saw the band embrace more classic soul sounds from the ‘6os and ‘705, while retaining their edgy funk. Just before the Covid-19 pandemic hit, they tracked a 4-songEP and released Bloody Hands on Music ADD in May 2020.
Ghost Funk Orchestra is the brainchild of composer/multi-instrumentalist Seth Applebaum.
What started as a one-man recording project has now evolved into a powerhouse live band.
It’s a sonic kaleidoscope that defies genre specification, but draws heavy influence from the worlds of soul, psych rock, salsa, and beyond.
Their unique blend of genres has attracted praise from the likes of NPR, Bandcamp, KUTX, Brooklyn Vegan, Earmilk, and more.
Over the years they’ve had the honor of sharing the stage with the likes of Os Mutantes, Marco Benevento, La Luz, Monophonics, The Nude Party, and The Jack Moves,
as well as playing such legendary festivals as Montreal Jazz, Treefort, Telluride Jazz, Otis Mountain Get Down, and BRIC’s NYC Winter Jazz.
Local NY blog Post-Trash described their sound as a ‘psych odyssey of traditional sounds delivered in a non-traditional fashion.’
Bandcamp’s Editorial Director J. Edward Keyes praised the band’s ability to ‘leave no funk-adjacent genre unexplored.’
Experimentation is the key, and unpredictability is what has been attracting folks from all corners of the globe to see what GFO pulls off next…
