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Nomadic Massive Dossier de presse 2016 NOMADIC MASSIVE THE BIG BAND THEORY AFTER ALMOST 3 YEARS OF SILENCE, THE UNIQUE AND ABLE MONTREAL 8-PIECE UNVEILS THE BIG BAND THEORY, AN EXTENSIVE 16-TRACK ALBUM SURFING THE LINE BETWEEN OLD-SCHOOL HIP-HOP AND NEW GUARD RAP, AVAILABLE NOW UNDER LES FAUX- MONNAYEURS NOMADIC MASSIVE is an incredible stage behemoth that has seen a fascinating evolution since its inception. With performances around the globe ranging from the Vancouver International Jazz Festival in British Columbia to the Rudolstadt Festival in Germany, by way of the Festival International de Louisiane and the Grand Performances in Los Angeles, the band has made its mark as an essential Canadian band. The collective delivers an unbounded hip-hop that skilfully combines live instrumentation with sampling and a wide range of vocals. Created between 2013 and 2016 – three years of touring, writing and exploration – The Big Band Theory, NOMADIC MASSIVE’s third album, is as original and authentic as they come. A vast polyglot work, it stands somewhere between the rebellious and suave rhythms of seventies soul, the crossbred sound of contemporary cosmopolitan cities and the sharp and vivid approach of avant-garde rap. With its electronic sounds over which warm brass are laid, “Apollo”, the opening track, sets the tone for the album, undeniably festive and raw. This wide-ranging scope of sound is further established through the essential pieces that are “Pan Am”, “Duty”, “Konba”, “Fade to Grey” and “Any Sound”, which are sure to resonate loud and clear through the summer of 2016. Speaking of heat, the band will play major events this summer, including the Montreal international Jazz Festival, the Toronto Celebrates Canada! event and the Festival Nuits d'Afrique. While most of the tracks are based on samples, which are often taken from soundtracks, they nonetheless unfold through numerous layers and lush arrangements, a signature sound of the band that composed all of the album’s music. The latter’s breadth is expansive, and is as rich as its members’ backgrounds, which allow them to move swiftly from one universe to another. And while no piece quite resembles the others, the whole stays coherent, tied strongly together through a skilful mix of influences. The result, while not attempting to be entirely new, is all the more impressive and nonconformist, driven by power in numbers and the undeniable sum of experience brought together by the elite musicians and performers behind NOMADIC MASSIVE. NOMADIC MASSIVE, ON TOUR... Saturday, June 5th – FeelsGood Folly Fest, Gagetown (NB) Friday, July 1st – Harboutfront Centre, Toronto (ON) Tuesday, July 5th – Festival international de jazz de Montréal, Montréal (QC) Wednesday, July 6th – Festival international de jazz de Montréal, Montréal (QC) Sunday, July 10th — Les Week-ends du Monde, Montréal (QC) Saturday, July 16th – South Country Fair, Fort Macleod (AB) Wednesday, July 20th – Festival international Nuits d'Afrique (QC) Wednesday, July 29th — MEG, Montréal (QC) Friday, August 20th — FALLA (Tohu), Montréal (QC) “Duty” video www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qRv1XQ_i7M www.nomadicmassive.com www.facebook.com/NomadicMassive Marilyse Senécal [email protected] Nomadic Massive’s distinct sound is music with a conscience. No borders, no pretense—just raw rhythms with multilingual voices that speak truth in sole-lifting melodies. Influenced by world beats, reggae, funk, and soul, this 8-piece Montreal band challenges the affectations of mainstream hip-hop by bringing it back to its intelligent, communal roots. Singing and rapping in English, French, Haitian Creole, Jamaican Patois, Spanish and Arabic, the group has been playing to sold-out shows all over the world—from Sao Paulo, Havana and Cayenne to Canada, Connecticut, Boston, New York, and D.C.—sharing the stage with Wycelf Jean, Mos Def, Antibalas, K’naan, Guru’s Jazzmatazz, and Digable Planets. The group has been heralded at the Montreal International Jazz Festival, Manifesto Festival, Halifax Jazz Festival, and LuminaTO, to name a few. Their rich musical diversity and passion for energetic, crowd-moving beats have received accolades such as the Galaxy Prize for Best Performance (Mundial Montreal), Best Hip Hop Group (Montreal Mirror, Best of Montreal), and Best EP of the year (Montreal Underground Awards, Nomad’s Land). They have also received distinguished nominations from the Gala Alternatif de la Musique Independente du Quebec, Festival Nuits d’Afrique, and Montreal International Music Initiative. Functioning as musical ambassadors, Nomadic Massive continues to redefine what hiphop can achieve on a global level. Nomadic Massive’s commitment to social development has led to international projects in Cuba and Brazil. These projects resulted in the creation of their mixtape series, Get Down, featuring work from their educational and musical workshops, concerts and studio collaborations with Cuban and Brazilian artists. The group also travelled to Haiti, hosting music workshops designed to give voice to Haitian youth following the January 2010 earthquake. In collaboration with New York’s Nomadic Wax, the group wrote music for the documentary, Democracy in Haiti. A mixtape featuring KRS-One and Haitian hip-hop artists was released in tandem with the film. www.nomadicmassive.com @nomadicmassive BIOGRAPHY – BAND MEMBERS Vox Sambou Vox Sambou was born and raised in Limbe, Northern Haiti. He has been writing and performing since age 14 and is a founding member of Nomadic Massive. Fluent in Haitian, Creole, French, and English, he highlights worldwide injustices, especially on Haiti’s suffering. His rich and unique cultural heritage is evident in his musicality and individualism. Vox holds a BA in Psychology and Anthropology and is a strong believer in the importance of finding concrete solutions to problems. He has exercised this credo daily for the past 6 years as director of La Maison des Jeunes de Côte- des-Neiges, a non-profit youth organization whose mandate is to prevent crime among teenagers in the neighborhood of Côte-des-Neiges. He is also a founding member of Solid’Ayiti, a social justice initiative working towards long-term solidarity between Montreal and Haiti. More about Vox: www.nomadicmassive.com/author/voxsambou/ Waahli A guitarist, producer and MC, Waahli’s parents escaped Haiti’s political instability in the early 70s by immigrating to Quebec. Born and raised in Saint-Michel, he experienced social injustice first hand. He discovered hip-hop culture at a very early age, and was inspired by various hip-hop artists that created socially conscious music. Waahli has shared the stage with artists such as Guru, Yasiin Bey (Mos Def), Blackalicious, K’naan and Wyclef Jean and has captivated audiences with explosive performances ranging in styles from traditional, to soul, funk and Jazz. Fluent in Haitian, Creole, French and English, he earned degrees in communications, art and theatre, and paralegal technology. He is a legal coordinator at the Head and Hands medical, social and legal services clinic in Notre Dame de Grâce, Montreal where he empowers youth with harm reductive resources to make informed decisions toward solving legal issues. Waahli is also a proud father, a grassroots youth worker and soap maker. More about Waahli: www.nomadicmassive.com/author/waahli/ Tali Tali studied literature at the University of Ottawa, and received a graduate certificate in journalism from Humber College. She is a regular contributor to Community Contact, Quebec’s English- language black community newspaper and is an alternative educator who uses hip-hop culture as a contemporary educational tool. She is also a researcher/writer-broadcaster at CBC Radio Montreal. As the co-founder of Hip Hop No Pop, Tali has toured high-schools and CEGEP campuses to teach youth workshops on the non-violent origins of hip-hop and how to use this culture as a tool for social change. Her goal for these workshops is to confront mainstream interpretations of hip- hop and to encourage critical thinking among youth by contextualizing hip- hop. Tali is currently on the governing board of the Maison des Jeunes de la Côte-des-Neiges and is pursuing her graduate degree in Education at McGill University. More about Tali: www.nomadicmassive.com/author/nantali/ Lou Piensa Born in France and raised in Ecuador, Algeria, Canada and Cuba, Lou Piensa has been active in the international hip-hop scene since his teenage years and helped form Nomadic Massive in 2004. As a multi-lingual artist, he raps in French, English, Spanish and Portuguese—a for his multicultural neighborhood, Côte-des-Neiges in Montreal. He has shared the stage with artists such as Common, K’Naan, Julian Marley and Jean Grey and has a decade long tie with Cuban duo, Obsesion. His musicality reflects his eclectic upbringing, finding inspiration from rhythms around the world. When he is not teaching high schoolers or working on a project, he can be found making beats and writing rhymes in preparation for travelling the world with music. More about Lou: www.nomadicmassive.com/author/loupiensa/ www.nomadicmassive.com @nomadicmassive Ali Sepu Born in Ottawa, Ali was influenced by the traditional music of the Andes, as well as the blues and the psychadelic music of the seventies. He studied classical guitar when he was 12 and discovered an innate talent for melodic and rhythmic improvisation. He became involved in many Chilean cultural events which served as a training ground for his unique guitar style. His first music group and travel experiences were through the folkloric ensemble, Ramada, alongside his sister Sayen. Hip Hop expanded his musical repertoire as he explored new styles emanating from the diverse cultures of the Montreal music scene. He found his unique playing style melded well with Hip Hop rythms. Although his original loops were done on the same classical guitar he received as a child, he prefers to play his Japanese Stratocaster for Nomadic Massive’s live Performances.

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