New Tones

NOMO | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 9, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Ubiquity
• ASIN: B000EXZILE
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #242,135 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

PITCHFORK

"Bergman has taken NOMO well to the next level on its sophomore effort, forging a clattering, vital sound."

Product Description

On New Tones home-made Detroit electronics and huge horn sections blast big band funk and riotous jazz. NOMO’s roots are firmly planted in the fertile soil of African polyrhythm and American free jazz, and bandleader Elliot Bergman’s tracks draw inspiration from cultures and generations wildly different than his home setting. In many ways (at least geographically and sonically) NOMO are a distant relative of the TRIBE collective. Undoubtedly they carry the spirit of the legendary Detroit-label’s creative output.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Smokin' Afrobeat, May 30, 2006

By 

Geoff P - See all my reviews

This review is from: New Tones (Audio CD)

This album is pure smokin' afrobeat. Just throw this disc in and party. Newtones captures the raw energy of their live shows and gives it to you in a convenient package that you can listen to whenever you want. It's my favorite cd right now.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Music for car chases, January 25, 2008

By 

C. W. Hall "http://www.chriscospins.com" (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: New Tones (Audio CD)

Nomo is funky, frantic music. As such it is the perfect soundtrack for chase scenes and montages of Shaft walking down the street. Before you get offended and start to snap off an angry letter, you can't imagine what high praise that soundtrack sentence is meant to be.

The percussion wades neck deep into polyrhythms that call to mind generations of African drummers, the bass-lines rest firmly in the tradition of American funk, and everything else sticks closely to the basics of big band jazz. Nomo hit the ground already at full sprint and top quality with "Nu Tone." No build-up here, just right into things, and we hope you catch up. A deep Detroit electro-style bass line sets the pace and the horn players expend every ounce of their strength in keeping up.

The horns and other instrumentation are excellent, but it's really the rhythm section that drives New Tones. By the time the percussion and bass lines are established, it would take an assortment of miserable artists to mess up the songs presented here. Need proof? Listen to the bass line on "We Do We Go" or the absolute grime of the rhythm on "Fourth Ward." Occasionally add a funky rhythm guitar to the mix like Nomo does on "If You Want" and it becomes clear which side of the rhythm vs. melody spectrum this group butters its bread on.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New Tones: Great Sounds, May 4, 2009

By 

S. Finefrock (Raleigh, NC) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: New Tones (Audio CD)

Ann Arbor's Nomo creates a sound that sounds like the JB's horn section jamming with Can, with Tony Allen on loan from Fela sitting in on drums. If that sounds good to you, it's worth checking out this band. Funky polyrhythm's wound tightly together and bathed in tight, unison horn charts with snaky keyboards and guitars skittering about, creates a tasty musical stew. One can hear influences ranging from African sounds, funk, dub, to big band and free jazz incorporated into their music. NEW TONES is my first adventure with this talented group and I'll be certain to dig deeper into their catalog.