- Artist: The Budos Band
- Title: The Budos Band EP
- Label: Daptone Records
- Release date: Jun 23, 09 (digital and vinyl only)
click to download CD cover- Track Listing:
- 1. Hidden Hand
- 2. Mas O Menos
- 3. The Proposition
- 4. Ephra
- 5. Nobody's Bulletproof
- 6. Smoke Gets In
- 7. Bonus Track
- Artist: The Budos Band
- Title: The Budos Band II
- Label: Daptone Records
- Release date: Aug 07, 07
click to download CD cover- Track Listing:
- Chicago Falcon: (download)
- Budos Rising: (stream)
- Ride Or Die
- Mas O Menos
- Adeniji: (stream)
- King Cobra
- His Girl
- Origin Of Man
- Scorpion
- Deep In The Sand
From the vaults of Daptone Records comes a collection of unreleased tracks from the infamous Budos Band. Recorded after The Budos Band I sessions, but before those for the second full-length, this EP is a fascinating glimpse into the group's evolution as musicians and recording artists.
Listeners may be familiar with two songs previously released and universally recognized as “Budos classics.” “The Proposition,” a hit single released on 7-inch by Daptone Records, incorporates the style, now known worldwide as Budos swing, responsible for drawing so many a listener onto the sweaty dancefloor. “Mas O Menos,” included on the band's smash album, The Budos Band II, exemplifies the group's feel for soul with its infectious bass, tightly intertwined guitar and organ, and soaring horns.
“Smoke Gets In,” created on the anniversary of the six hundred sixty-sixth rotation of the Budonian lunar calendar, finds the band returning to its dusty roots, and it is both sonically and literally otherworldly. The psycho-tropic venom found on The Budos Band II may have originated in this very session. Is this actually happening or are your ears melting?
Named for the goddess said to have bestowed powers upon the knights of old Budonia, “Ephra” juxtaposes rollicking guitars with haunting horns and pervasive highlife rhythms. The existence of such complexity within a seemingly simple tune is the truest metaphor for the Budonian knight himself.
“Nobody's Bulletproof” references the ever-evolving relationship of the Budos Band with their ancestors and predecessors. The stabbing horns and break-neck percussive pace hearken back to the band's Afrobeat roots. The near-militaristic cadence is a constant reminder that no one is safe from the scorpion's sting. As the greater warrior has said, “The sword cometh and hath not yet purged the depths of thine soul.”
The Budos Band EP is a must-have for Budos and Daptone fans alike. It stands as a vital account of the band's movement between musical styles and records a singular moment in the group's existence. It will indeed stand the test of time and remain a bedrock of Budos lore.