Co-incidentally I discovered this band whilst searching for “The xx” another band. (there will be a future blog post about them or maybe not)
The Phenomenal Handclap Band (PHB) is a tightly knit group of musicians and artists from Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn. The band started to take shape when DJ and production partners Daniel Collás and Sean Marquand began writing songs together in their studio while simultaneously producing other artists’ records. With their involvement in the thriving nightlife scene, the partners had an almost encyclopedic knowledge of esoteric music ranging from Brazilian soul to vintage psych-rock & proto-disco, along with a wide range of musician friends to help them cultivate their vision for their own album.
This Phenomenal Handclap Band album did not come to life in the most traditional of ways. During the recording process, Collás and Marquand called upon various friends from the indie rock and underground soul scene to perform on the album. As the band itself progressed, PHB was distilled into an eight-member harmonious collective. The self-titled debut PHB album was released in the summer of 2009 and their first single, 15 to 20 hit the radio and controlled the dance floor instantaneously. (Youtube)
BBC Music described them as “Unremarkable psychedelic retro soul from New York” and really there isn’t another way of describing them.
15 to 20
Their latest single is;
Baby
Off to continue listening to their album.
Their myspace page is http://www.myspace.com/phenomenalhandclap