August 30, 2003

World Music for World Funk Dance Party at MASS MoCA

(North Adams, Mass.)MASS MoCA hosts a World Funk Dance Party on Saturday, October 4, at 7:30 P.M. with the music of Atlas Soul, a six-piece band singing in English, Arabic, French and Hebrew, and playing African and Mediterranean music that propels dancers to the floor. As The Boston Herald described their music: "Stir together North African pop sounds like rai and shaabi with some funk, reggae, soca and West African hi life and you get close to what Atlas Soul is laying down. It's world music with a party edge." The Boston Phoenix opines, "There is a great wisdom in a world-music outfit that embraces divergent genres (but not so many that the sound loses its identity)."

Boston-based Atlas Soul's lyrics speak of natural wonders spanning the globe as well as oppression, poverty, love, and the longing of immigrants for their homelands. "Music is really a common denominator," vocalist/saxophonist Jacques Pardo said of the band's slogan "World music towards world peace." Like all the members, French-born Pardo, of Algerian and Greek descent, represents several musical cultures and languages and a positive genuine fusion of traditions and inspirations. The other members include Lotfi Tiken who handles vocals and guitar, Brahim Fribgan who plays oud and percussion, and Andreas Brades who covers drums.

The group formed when the remaining members of two bands in transition, Cosmos Factor and Casablanca 6/8, merged. In the mid '90s Cosmos Factor was one of the few exemplary world-music bands that played a true hybrid incorporating the sounds of the Middle East, Africa, and the Caribbean into a cohesive and multilingual whole. Casablanca 6/8 was an all-Moroccan jazz-fusion band. The two groups had long collaborated, featuring each other's members as guest musicians on their own records, and decided to officially merge forming Atlas Soul a few years ago releasing their debut album, Chamsa or "Give Me Five" in 2001.

The World Funk Dance Party is co-sponsored by Berkshire Gas and Holiday Inn. Doors will open at 6:30 for dinner and drinks before the party. Dance instruction is provided by Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival.

Tickets for World Funk Dance Party with Atlas Soul are $12 for adults or $6 for kids. MASS MoCA members receive a 10% discount. Tickets are available through the MASS MoCA Box Office located off Marshall Street in North Adams from 11 A.M. until 5 P.M. Wednesday through Monday (closed Tuesdays). Tickets can also be charged by phone by calling 413.662.2111 during Box Office hours or purchased on line at www.massmoca.org.

The largest center for contemporary visual and performing arts in the country, MASS MoCA is housed on a sprawling 19th-century factory campus. MASS MoCA is located on Marshall Street in North Adams, Massachusetts. MASS MoCA's galleries are open 11- 5, closed Tues-days. For additional information, call 413 662 2111 or visit www.massmoca.org.

For Immediate Release
Contact: Katherine Myers
(413) 664-4481 x8113
katherine@massmoca.org