Gangstagrass can be found ripping up stages and blowing minds wherever they appear with their unique hybrid of bluegrass and hip-hop.
Head along to Perthshire’s Inchyra Arts Club tomorrow night and enjoy an explosive performance from the New York City fusion band, which mixes up rapping with banjo-twiddling, fiddle and guitar playing.
The six-piece outfit recently finished a US tour and were also on the bill at the South By South West (SXSW) festival in Texas.
The band is made up of singers Rench, R-SON and Dolio, dobro player Landry McMeans, banjo player Dan Whitener and fiddle player Melody Berger.
Rench said: “Fans in the UK have been clamouring for us to tour and we’re so excited for it to finally come together. It’s our first time in the UK.
“We know this sound breaks down boundaries and borders and we are going to be having wild bluegrass-hip-hop parties that will blow the minds of UK fans.
“We’re confident people in Perth are going to have the same euphoric reaction to seeing a banjo player and rapper get down together that folks in the US have.”
The seeds for Gangstagrass were planted back in 2007 when Rench had a musical itch that needed scratching.
“I’d been listening to everything from Johnny Cash to Willie Nelson and I’d been producing a lot of hip-hop, as well as listening to the likes of Run DMC.
“Then one day, I was listening to the 1970s recordings of Ralph Stanley and The Clinch Mountain Boys and couldn’t help imagining what classic bluegrass would sound like with rap vocals and beats.
“It seemed like a natural thing; I could clearly envision bringing these styles together. The hip-hop beats fitted well with the plucking, twanging and strumming. And doing live gigs opens up a whole new level of possibilities.
“There’s the improvisational aspect; you can’t always predict what you’re going to create on stage as it’s very interactive.”
Though it began as an isolated experiment, Gangstagrass has since grown into a critically acclaimed success.
“There are a lot more people out there with Jay-Z and Johnny Cash on their iPod playlists than you think,” said Rench, who previously made a name for himself as an in-demand Brooklyn country and hip-hop producer, and solo artist.
When he shared his first bluegrass/hip-hop experiment, Rench Presents: Gangstagrass for free on the internet, the buzz occurred instantly and unexpectedly.
Rench’s unique vision combined hip-hop MCs and beats in sync with banjos, fiddles, and dobros, and made the combination feel seamless, natural, and authentic.
As a consequence, Rench Presents: Gangstagrass received hundreds of thousands of downloads and blog features.
Rench said he’s excited to be playing Inchyra. “A lot of ‘regular’ clubs don’t know what to do with us, so it’s great when you find somewhere that’s more open-minded.
“I’m confident the response is going to be great. The way I see it, we bridge a cultural divide and free people up to enjoy the music. It’s about celebrating the openness of it, really.”
Gangstagrass has been touring nationally and earning rave reviews of their incendiary live performances at everything from major festivals to motorway rest stops.
Expect the influence and stature of these pioneers of a new American sound to continue growing.
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Gangagrass play Inchyra Arts Club, Glencarse, Perth, on November 19.
www.inchyraartsclub.co.uk
