Thievery Corporation AfterParty

Friday Aug. 16 at Tropicalia

Tomorrow night following Thievery Corporation’s show at 9:30 club, drummer Jeff Franca will be keep the party going into the late hours at Tropicalia with his new project Congo Sanchez. In addition, Gianmaria Conti will be performing a DJ set following the show as well.Special Guest Rex Riddem (Nappy Riddem) will be holdin it down while Thievery rocks 9:30 Club. 8fatfat8 ( Frank Orrall ) will also be bringing his Chicago vibes for a last minute announced DJ slot.

Musician and Selecta extraordinaire, Congo can generally be found in one of two places. If he’s not on the road drumming with DC’s own, Thievery Corporation or See-I: he’s jamming out to fresh vibes at the mysterious Lillypad studios. He is developing a unique blend of Afro-Latin Dub, as he evolves in to his own on the DC music scene. This EP-his first solo outing-proves that the sound is here, and Congo Sanchez is the ambassador. His over-all taste, and musical personality are a delight, with a superlative sense of rhythm and a musicianly approach to arrangements and melody.

“I embodied Afro-Cuban and Haitian rhythms while accompanying for world dance classes, and began composing pieces for Solo Percussion and Chamber Jazz Ensembles….built a DIY home studio and started to produce my own beats with these ideals in mind.”

Congo produces and performs everything on the EP, with two notable exceptions. Karen Joy McCoy plays shimmering violin on “Democrazy,” the opening track, while the horn section from Ikebe Shakedown – Morgan Price, sax; Jason Colby, trumpet; Nadav Nirenberg, trombone – add their blazing ensemble work to “T.E.T.O. (strut)” . Congo lays down subtle keyboard textures and multi-layered percussion tracks throughout, giving the music an otherworldly vibe rooted by his earthy backbeat.

“During college, I took interest world music. I learned of the Yoruba and Fon traditions of West Africa and how they remained vital throughout colonialization in the Western Hemisphere. All the time re-discovering these rhythms and melodies in music that I listened to growing up in suburban America.”

Congo Sanchez knows his roots and leads the listener on a fascinating journey along the vibrations of DC’s outernational sound.