LIVE LAUNCH AT THE CURTIN, MELBOURNE, JANUARY 31
“Bells Are Ringing” is an introduction to the peerless Funk of Melbourne 10 piece band Mondo Freaks.
The band was formed and revolves around the rhythm section of Luke Hodgson and Graeme Pogson. Hodgson is one of Australia’s most in demand session bass players and Pogson was one half of acclaimed futuristic Boogie duo GL and has been the long term drummer in The Bamboos.
They were formed originally as a conceptual band with an ever evolving setlist of late ‘70s and early ‘80s Funk classics and deep cuts curated specifically to connect the dots between those original recordings and highly coveted samples in Hip Hop, RnB and Pop songs. Over 10 years of sporadic residencies in Melbourne and various festival appearances at Australian festival institutions Meredith, Golden Plains as well as Panama, a cult-like following was formed.
They’ll be launching the single at The Curtin in Melbourne on Friday, January 31. Special guest on the night will be Zan, who sang with ‘80s Australian Pop Funk pioneers, I’m Talking.
The players in Mondo Freaks are some of Melbourne’s finest, with five incredible vocalists including Jade McRae, Susie Goble (who share vocals on “Bells Are Ringing”), Francisco Tavares, Aaron Mendoza and Jason Heerah.
In a pivot a few years ago, Mondo Freaks were asked to be a house band of sorts for two of the very artists that they were covering. They were invited to tour Australia as the backing band for the Boogie King himself, producer and artist, Leroy Burgess (who was behind Disco and Boogie acts Black Ivory / Logg / Aleem / Inner Life / Universal Robot Band). Following that were two tours with the inimitable Evelyn “Champagne” King. Both artists found that they didn’t need to school the band on the set – Mondo Freaks had already been worshipping and playing their music for years.
With the last Evelyn “Champagne” King tour running into the worldwide lockdown in March 2020 the band needed to keep productive. So an album’s worth of songs was written and recorded in-between snap lockdowns.
After a cold call email the tracks ended up being mixed by Grammy winner Michael Brauer, who has mixed (literally) some of the biggest names in music history, including The Rolling Stones, Coldplay, Paul McCartney and Tony Bennet.
But the Mondos album inspired him more than any project he’d been asked to mix in a long time as it reminded him of the music that he started his career working on: Change, Luther Vandross, Aretha Franklin and Grace Jones and so many more classics of the late ‘70s and through the ‘80s.
The band are very much inspired by the crisp Funk sounds of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s as it eased out of Disco. Some may now call that sound Boogie but to Mondo Freaks it’s simply the approach to Funk that they love to play. That era has continued to inspire many artists, but what sets Mondo Freaks apart is their full live instrumentation plus a focus on vocals and great songwriting, creating something beyond simply instrumental grooves. In the studio and in their full live lineup Mondo Freaks are a formidable ensemble who take their sound beyond mere homage, without a hint of irony or any knowing winks. Mondo Freaks simply breathe life into a timeless sound and make it feel more relevant than ever.
Mondo Freaks will launch “Bells Are Ringing” in Melbourne on Jan 31th at The Curtin Hotel, with special guest, Zan and DJ Oscar O’Bryan. Tickets and details at https://linktr.ee/mondofreaks
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