I had the great fortune to stumble across a Turkuaz show a couple of months ago. I was leaving another, frankly disappointing show and had my spirits lifted when I stepped on the street and heard some glorious funk coming from the bar a few doors down. These folks know how to start a party:Mostly (if not all) Berklee alumni (now relocated to Brooklyn), they've got serious musical chops all around, and they back it up with some serious personality: a professorial, Col. Bruce Hampton–esque frontman; a charismatic horn section dressed like the Super Mario Bros.; and two sexy female "backup" singers stationed front and center, perpetually in motion.
Some of Turkuaz's members pull double duty in Dopapod (pictured at the top of this post), a jammy, instrumental group that is still based in Boston. They also frequently dip into trippier, electronic territory with some dancefloor-ready burners reminiscent of the New Deal. Both flavors are represented in the two live tracks below, drawn from a show they performed here in New York a couple of months ago.
You can get the full show and several others at the Live Music Archive, and their album Radar is available on iTunes. They're also playing a good number of shows in the northeast this summer, including several festivals. Tour dates are available at their MySpace page.
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