• Austin Music Awards: Best Latin Rock (2012)
• CONGRATS to Brownout for placing in top 25 of the 2012 CMJ New World Music Chart
If ever a band could boast having a complex genealogical tree, that band is Brownout. The eight-piece, Latin funk ensemble based in Austin, Texas, is both offspring and germinating seed to Grammy award winning Latin ensemble Grupo Fantasma. The latter in turn traces its roots to when Austin based Blue Noise Band and The Blimp, from booming border town of Laredo, Texas, converged in its conception.
Brownout may well be Grupo Fantasma’s psychedelic Latin funk alter-ego, an offshoot of the collective that regularly backs Prince, its latest incarnation, or even its alter ego. What they are not is the sprawling conjunto’s side project. Brownout has taken Grupo Fantasma’s funk roots and blown them up. In the process they’ve taken on a life and developed a unique sound all their own.
The band member’s musical journey began as a revolt against the Mexican cumbias and Tejano music of their hometown. Opting instead to immerse themselves in the worlds of Sly Stone, James Brown, and Mandrill, they were nurtured by soulful staccato drums, deep-in-the-pocket guitar riffs, and bawdy bass lines, elements that would provide the overriding arch for their sundry musical explorations. Eventually they migrated out of the garage and flocked four hours north into Austin's thriving music scene. Away from home they embraced their Latino heritage and explore the cumbia rhythms they shunned as teenagers.
For over eight years Brownout has forged its own truly greasy, unparalleled path on the Latin psych-funk frontier. Brownout has become an independent creature of its own. Now they're back with a fresh batch of stick-to-the-roof-of-your-mouth Latin funk with Oozy, their third full-length album and their debut on the Nat Geo Music label.
www.brownoutmusic.com
