Gypsyphonic Disko

Let me be honest. There are moments when I listen to the first track on an album and decide right then and there, if I think it’s good or bad. I know, this is isn’t always the best way to gather an informed opinion about something, but there is value in thin slicing -- in using a sample of something to determine the quality of its whole. And that’s what I did when listening to Gypsyphonic Disko’s, NoLAPhonic Volume 2, my initial reaction being one of confusion and dislike. Simply put, I thought the sound was corny. But. By the middle of the album, I wasn’t so sure.

Gypsyphonic Disko is made up of Ben Ellman, from New Orleans funk band, Galactic, and producer, Quickie Mart, and on this particular project, the two mash up New Orleans’s native, Bounce, Klezmer, and balkan music, to create a sound...unheard. Just from the first track, the one that threw me for a loop the most, they take Juvenile’s “Set It Off,” and mash it with “Hava Nagila,” which is awfully creative, but came across as trite and forced. Not to mention the intricate horn over the already bass-heavy and synthesized beat just seemed to muddy the song.

But I listened on, past “Siki Siki Freedia,” to “Aint My Fault,” featuring Mos Def, and what I realized somewhere around, “Pussy Phonic,” featuring Ms. Tee, is that my head was nodding -- almost violently -- which helped me put things in perspective. Though Gypsyphonic Disko are creative--and apparently like to create ironic, and far-fetched mash-ups--what the music is actually made for, is partying. Plain and simple. Through my headphones, the bass in the Bounce music, and the horn stabs in the Klezmer are nowhere near as prominent as they would be if I heard this music in a club over a sound system. Then, I’d probably be spazzing out, or making out with some random girl in the corner. And even though some songs work better than others on NoLAPhonic Volume 2, the songs that work, thump. DJ’s everywhere: play this at your next party or club night -- it’ll be a shocker at first, and you may even lose the crowd and spin for an empty floor for a few minutes. But stay the course. The crowd, like me, will catch on, and the party will get live. Guarantee.

- Jason Reynolds