When I first heard of the New Deal I didnt quite know what to expect. All I knew about them was that they were a band that played live electronic music. A friend of mine told me that they put an amazing live performance. So I decided to make my way down to Richards on Richards to see what all the hype was about.
They are a 3 member band that plays live music that ranges from house, and techno, to breakbeat, and drum N bass. They meld it all together into something that is truly unique. When asked about there sound they called it Progressive Breakbeat House. I think that that is a fairly accurate description. With the 3 of them together on stage they create a certain energy that you cant help but notice. Rather than staying within the boundaries set by the music industry, they have just done what they want to do. And it works.
I got to the club a bit early so I had a chance to relax and a have a few drinks before the show. The club seemed to be at capacity or pretty close to it. The New Deal was scheduled to play at 11:00 so they had a DJ warming things up beforehand. Luke Mckeehan was laying down some nice grooves ranging from deep house to stuff a little more on the tribal side. Finally, TND stepped on stage and the crowd was a cheering, eager for the show to get underway. I personally was fairly excited to see what they were all about.
When they started playing the crowd started going nuts. Everyone rushed to the dance floor until was filled. The people that couldnt fit on the floor were dancing wherever they could find room. It seemed that everyone was dancing, not casually swaying while sipping a Heineken, they were really going at it. I took refuge from the mayhem at the back near the DJ booth where I could still see the show. They played long sets that that flowed similar to how a DJ set would go. The main difference is that they have complete control. They mix house, breaks, dnb, funk and down tempo with seamless transitions that only come with a live performance. They conduct the crowd with the grace of a symphony composer. They can really bang it out one moment then take it in a whole new direction the next. The New Deal makes music up on the spot where a DJ just plays pre-recorded music. This gives their performances a real vibey intimate feel.
The members of The New Deal as individual artists are absolutely amazing. You gotta give it to them, it is not easy to do what they do. Especially the drummer, I mean live Drum n Bass, cmon thats insane! He even beat boxes some of the beats as well. I was really impressed. They are always talking and signaling to each other during their show to keep coordinated and to tell where they will take their set next. Their sets arent short either they play hard for hours at a time. They definitely work their asses off up there thats for sure. I would strongly recommend the New Deal to anyone that is up for a good time. Its one of those thing that you have to see live to fully experience it.
They can be found via the web @
http://www.thenewdeal.ca. They have a really good website that has everything from video, to mp3 downloads. So give it a look and see when they might be stopping by your town. They are constantly touring so it might be sooner than you think.
Reviewed by Graham Robinson for DJVIBE.com
http://www.djvibe.com
