Artist Profile

The Phenomenal Handclap Band

Label: Tummy Touch Records
Agent: Greg Lowe

Daniel Collás and Sean Marquand started their friendship hanging out late nights as 2 New York club DJs. Both dabbled (and still occasionally do) in experimental funk, soul, Brazilian beat, obscure electronic and psyc rock and both became somewhat restless with the concept of playing other people's music.

Having been involved with the New York rock and roll & underground funk & DJ scenes, they became friends who often toyed around with the idea of producing a new sound of electronic, disco rock, similar to that of Justice & Daft Punk but not as DJs, as leaders of a full-on huge live band doing away with the use of samplers & computers and using real, live players & instruments.          

The two friends started producing as a team a few years back and found critically acclaimed success with their first few projects that resuscitated the respective careers of two veteran soul acts (New York's Joe Bataan and Brazil's União Black) The team have now set their sights on their own band, The Phenomenal Handclap Band, a supergroup comprised of a "who's who" of the indie rock and avant-guard soul scenes.       

As recording started, many of Daniel & Sean's friends came by Phenomenal Handclap sessions and the group grew in to a pretty impressive cast, with members of such diverse bands as TV on the Radio, L'Trimm, Calla, Mooney Suzuki, Sí Se, Antibalis, The Dap Kings, The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion & Honeycut... all who contribute their individualistic talents to the album. The Lady Tigra (L'Trimm) rhymes on the soon-to-be classic "15 to 20", while Jon Spencer tells an unfaithful lover to "Give it a Rest". On the brooding "Testimony", Jaleel Bunton (TV on the Radio) provides a fiery psychedelic guitar backdrop for Aurelio Valle's (Calla) voodoo incantations.

Carol C (Sí Se) lends her considerable vocal skills to the cosmic disco of "You'll Disappear" and Reno Bo (Mooney Suzuki) harmonizes on the hippie celebration "I Been Born Again". Bart Davenport (Honeycut) preaches the ways of finding true love to the unconvinced in "All of the Above" using his amazing soul soaked voice and harmonica licks.          

The Phenomenal Handclap Band's sound is an anthemic, dancefloor-oriented blend of progressive rock, disco, electro, and '60s soul with sprinklings of hip hop-styled orchestral breakbeats and moody, synth-soaked & heavy hooks. Using live instrumentation to evoke the intricate arrangements of Norman Whitfield, Quincy Jones and Phil Spector as well as the pared down beats of contemporaries like The Neptunes and Danger Mouse. Live they are a core band of 8 all of whom participated on the album, being Daniel Collás (organ / vox), Sean Marquand (keys/effects), Quinn Luke (guitar / vox), Luke O’Malley (guitar / vox), Nick Movshon (bass), Patrick Wood (drums / vox) Amanda Tomme (lead vox), Laura Marin (lead vox) with special guest from the album popping in all of the time. Don’t be surprised to find a 15 piece psychedelic, disco-matic, get down, groovy, hippy cult, rock spectacle-supergroup that really is not to be missed!