Turbo charged rocked out and funked up live dance act from the UK featuring the soulful vocals of singer Pat Fulgoni, Matt Bond guitar, Martin Chung bass, Chris Corrigan drums, Steve Davies and Ian Bailey horn section ... vocals, guitars, electronica, brass, strings and beats. Have played clubs and festivals all over Europe, in the States and in China (see pics from Beijing Midi Festival):
KAVA KAVA are based in Huddersfield - that's in Yorkshire, UK originally starting out as a 4 piece live psychedelic funk outfit with heavy George Clinton influences. We started out on the underground festival/party scene, had a few independent record deals out there. The NME has described us as "gorgeous new psychedelic funk" and we had a No 1 in their CLUB GUIDE CHART. We've expanded into a six/seven piece and have been punting our self produced album MAUI out on the CHOCOLATE FIREGUARD label.
Getting a load of radio and press here and there recently a feature in BILLBOARD MAGAZINE (check out the blog and review section below) In the States 300 college radio stations have been playing our latest CD MAUI (check it out!) and spins include Nic Harcourt's show 'MORNING BECOMES ECLECTIC' on KCRW and Sat Bisla's PASSPORT APPROVED radio show .... our music is featured in new cult US Showtime TV series WEEDS featuring Mary Louise Parker as a pot dealer. Mary Louise has won a Golden Globe for her excellent performance. 'Don't Stop The Music' was featured heavily in the very first episode. Other TV/film slots include LA RIDING CLUB, JOHN FROM CINCINNATI ('Tic' is in that one), Hollywood movie BOYS AND GIRLS GUIDE TO GETTING DOWN
(Sicfuck, Bank Job, Terrorists etc) and FX series DIRT featuring Courtney Cox (NFA, Tic) ....
ONLINE STORES INCLUDE: Amazon Amazon UK CD Baby and Chocolate Fireguard
NEW MP3/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD STORE HERE: (click this link) Chocolate Fireguard
Kava Kava have been profiled as one of THE bands from the Yorkshire area of the UK to look out for via the New Yorkshire project (Yorkshire? think Corrine Bailey Rae/Kaiser Chiefs/Arctic Monkeys etc), track 'Bank Job' being featured on the Music Week magazine (MIDEM edition) cover mount CD with a glowing write up on the band and initiative. www.newyorkshire.net. The band also performed three gigs at SXSW Festival, Austin, Texas (March 2007), the dance village at Glastonbury Festival 2007 and toured China including a slot at the Beijing Midi Festival
Played clubs and festivals in the US, China and right across Europe too .... from France, Holland, Belgium, Hungary, Switzerland and the Czech Republic, to Austria, Germany, Poland and Italy. In the UK played Glastonbury Festival a few times. Along the way we have played with all kinds of bands from Asian Dub Foundation, Gil Scott Heron, Embrace, The Damned, Zion Train, Surreal Madrid, Fingathing, Freestylers, The Bays, Vadim's Oneself etc etc........ Style wise, guess we are either a rock band or cutting edge live dance act, depending where you are coming from.....we like to mix old school psychedelic and soul influences with bleeps, rocked out live funk, big beats and horns. Its been referred to as Disco Funk Rock, Space Funk and Nu School Big Beat.
There's a few versions of the MAUI album out there. A special US edition (with parental advisory sticker!!) and a version released in Russia and CIS countries thats got loads of cool Russian language on the artwork. Some of the tracks have been licensed to some great compilations - covermounted CDs from mags like DJ magazine (UK) Ultramix and Report (both Czech Republic) and on such labels as IRMA (Italy) Sonic (Poland) that one features Michael Stipe, Koop and Zero 7 ....... and quite a few comps on Pat's Chocolate Fireguard label.. Check out the photo page for artwork.....
KAVA KAVA PRESS :
BILLBOARD MAGAZINE (US) Despite a hard rock appearance, Kava Kava creates party-worthy music by combining rock, funk, dance and soul.......Kava Kava has already been heard on Showtime series "Weeds" and has been spun by Nic Harcourt on noncommercial KCRW Los Angeles
MUSIC WEEK MAGAZINE (UK) "quietly pricking the ears of the international music community with their rollicking psychedelic dance....look out!"
DJ MAGAZINE (UK) should be on every funk and disco playlist,
period!.....Love it!" (4.5/5)
BLUES AND SOUL (UK) "It's not often that a debut artist album grips me on first listening but the organic vibe, inspired songwriting and
impeccable production of "Maui" is a jaw-dropping phenomenon" (5/5)
M8 MAGAZINE (UK) "A bit of an undiscovered gem, this album has a glut of deep soulful grooves and funk-driven songs with a vinyl album sampler to suit many different moods..........check this out for your more laid back gatherings and some essential summer listening." (M7/M8)
FUTURE MUSIC (UK) "the future of dance .......... you can hear why they are an essential live experience...."
ALT.CULTURE.GUIDE (US) "Kava Kava has created a musical chimera that is equal parts P-Funk and Roxy Music, as indebted to Stax soul and the Philly sound as it is to the Manchester beat and Brian Eno. Maui is a strong antidote to the bland, lifeless music you'll hear on the radio, an energetic blend of heart and soul that will have you shuffling your feet in spite of your bad self"
COSMIK DEBRIS (US) "What sets Kava Kava apart from other trancey, vibey electronica is the vocals of Pat Fulgoni. He's got a soulful, powerful voice that is also pretty hypnotic on its own"
STYLUS (US) Every song in this collection has a nice clean club sound that is distinct and different from anything else on the market. Definitely the hottest dance album in quite some time"
SPLENDID (US) If you're in the mood for social commentary or introspection, keep searching. But if you dig on pretty sounds and funky beats (and I think you do), look no further.
NEUFUTUR (US) ...intense dance-music (intense as in Junior-Senior, not the 300bpm dance marathon tracks)...rich instrumentation and solid production ensure for a tremendous experience"
HYBRID MAGAZINE (US) "Cool grooves, phat beats, funky sounds. Awesome feel-good music...Funky, heavy synth, Brit R&B Hip-Hop dance vibe.
1340 MAG (US) ...a funky, soulful, bluesy feel with a dance house (almost break beat) rhythm. Kava Kava really raises the bar on dance music with Maui. The energy level is through the roof.
LIVE REACTION:
Our BBC Raw Talent gig in 2005 was voted gig of the year by BBC Radio Raw Talent listeners!!
Live review of Scarborough Beached Festival 2006 from BBC.CO.UK:
"Kava Kava is another mixed bag not afraid to experiment in what they do. They are a concoction of electric soul, funk, blues and rock. On this evidence you can tell why they’ve been round Europe, played Glastonbury and been praised by DJ magazines worldwide. The Huddersfield group are the most eclectic band of the weekend for me, which is why I liked them so much. The fact one minute they would dabble in bleeps, big beats and even horns and the next brass and strings were apparent, left the audience guessing all day long. Each song has about a zillion different phases in and these rare oddities do sound like nothing I’ve heard before"
We have four tracks in this movie:
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KAVA KAVA FOOTAGE :
Kava Kava Bank Job video:
Kava Kava 'NFA' one of 3 featured in US TV series DIRT (Courtney Cox):
Kava Kava 'Tic' featured in TV series John From Cincinnati:
Kava Kava cam footage from Beijing Midi Music Festival May 2007:
KAVA KAVA MERCHANDISE :
ONLINE STORES INCLUDE: Amazon Amazon UK CD Baby and Chocolate Fireguard
NEW MP3/DIGITAL DOWNLOAD STORE HERE: Chocolate Fireguard
just click the links!
