About
The members of Breakdown Brass stay busy – touring and recording with Antibalas, Lee Fields, Brasstracks, The Duke Ellington Orchestra, Ikebe Shakedown and many others. Led by Nadav Nirenberg on trombone, their unique combination of heavy funk with the sizzle of balkan brass has caught the ear of Netflix, VICE, Gilles Peterson, NPR, BBC and DJ’s worldwide.
Recently, their latest single Harrow (video) was featured in Flaked, a Netflix original series starring Will Arnett (video). They are also featured in the theme song to the new VICE / Munchies show “Moltissimo” starring Mario Batali (video)
“Brooklyn’s Breakdown Brass drop yet another killer slab of wax! They’ve unleashed an original juggernaut entitled “Harrow” b/w “Nautilus (Hijacked”, a follow-up to their smash debut 45 “Monmouth b/w Next Episode” (Kept Records) and sophomore 45 “The Horseman b/w Mary Jane” (Mixto Music). Driving, dirty horns are punctuated by intense trombone and baritone sax solos – prepare your stank face.” – Kept Records
Their second monstrous 45, “Mary Jane / The Horseman” was released on Mixto Music. The vinyl single leads with a massive cover of the Rick James classic “Mary Jane”, blending their trademark heavy sound with the strolling soul vibe of the original. (music video). “The Horseman”, the groups debut digital single, was recorded at Dunham Studios by Thomas Brenneck (Amy Winehouse, Sharon Jones, Budos Band, Jay-Z, etc.) and has received acclaim from NPR, BBC and many more (studio video)
“The debut vinyl single from Brooklyn’s Breakdown Brass is a monster and masterful mix of Afro‐funk meets Balkan brass, with a dash of hip‐hop simmering in the flow. The a‐side Monmouth is a driving original with razor sharp horns and a rumbling sousaphone bassline and was recently featured by Bandcamp and Gilles Peterson’s ‘Track Of The Day’, while the flipside is an instrumental brass‐infused cover of Dr. Dre’s Next Episode” (studio video). – Kept Records
“Looks like the Budos have some serious competition at their doorstep” – Craig Charles, BBC
“Good, Funky Music!” – Gilles Peterson
“Afrofunk AND Balkan Brass AND something distinctly Brooklyn’s own” – John Schaefer, WNYC
“That’s Heavy!” – Andrew Jervis, Bandcamp Weekly
“Monster, monster horn section!” – Shawn Lee, Ubiquity Records, Soho Radio
“A prime example of what we would like to call ‘unfuckablewith’ music” – Flea Market Funk
