11/26/15

Show Preview: Illphonics at Kranzberg Arts Center 11/27/15

“We always take it to heart and give 100%. Like athletes playing a sport, we like to perform.” - Larry “Fallout” Morris

illphonics6copyEarlier this week I caught up with St. Louis hip-hop fusion band Illphonics as they crashed a University City basement to breeze through their last set of 2015 for this Friday’s show at Kranzberg Arts Center. The event promises a career-spanning setlist in chronological order, starting with their earliest demos and ending with a few unreleased tracks from their upcoming album, Gone With The Trends.

Emcee Larry “Fallout” Morris will be joined with U City High School buds Chaz Brew and Keith Moore on drums and keys respectfully, as well as Simon Chervitz on bass and Kevin Koehler (Obviously Offbeat) on guitar.

Their various musical upbringings mesh into a mishmash of style, a steady rhythm section to keep a groove for rapping but with rock and jazz influencers like Pink Floyd, Shuggie Otis, and Pat Metheny. The band calls it the “Illphonics Sound” and it’s become easily recognizable over their near decade of party rocking.

When the band isn’t busy dodging tornadoes and winning over new cities, they’re working on new Illphonics tunes for their latest Gone With The Trends, due out early next year. The band’s called on neo-soul multi-instrumentalist and past collaborator Lamar Harris (DJ Nune) for a memorable appearance on the album’s opening track that I guarantee you’ll be bobbing for apples over. “We usually genre-jump a lot but this one is definitely the most musically cohesive of all our albums,” Keith Moore admits while on the topic of the upcoming album.

“Our listeners won’t expect what’s on this one but they’re definitely going to be pleased,” notes Chaz Brew.

Gone With The Trends was recorded at Smith Lee in Maplewood with engineer Justin Fisher and will be released on KC label The Record Machine in March of 2016. Hear new tracks from the album performed live for the first time this Friday November 27th at Kranzberg Arts Center in Grand Center. Show’s 8 till late, and ten gets you in.

Illphonics

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The above video was captured during Bill Streeter’s annual Lo-Fi Cherokee event.