Description
The Means of Production is a meeting point for six of Brooklyn’s most fearless young musicians with musical backgrounds as divergent as you’ll find in any modern outfit. Comprised by Matt Gibbs, Ben Pirani, Tre D’Ambrocia, Rafferty Swink, Pat Carr and Jay Mumford, their individual resumes weave through the credits of artists like Evolfo, Sinkane, Lizzie No, Ralph Weeks, Madlib and Brian Jackson.
Originally formed as the backing band for vocalist Ben Pirani in 2016, The Means Of Production would forge a tight musical bond over years of touring, rehearsing and embracing 1960s “no edits” style recording sessions for Pirani’s Colemine Records’ output. Initially, the six musicians focused solely on purposeful session work where there was clearly a means to an end. A natural evolution took place, however, as the kinetic chemistry between the sextet lead to a blossoming of musical experimentation. While warming up to record as the studio band for artists like Ralph Weeks and Lizzie No, The Means of Production would improvise and explore. Those fleeting and urgent live instrumental takes became the album that sits before you.
Inspired by Teo Macero’s use of tape editing on early ‘70s Miles Davis’ records, the band’s resident mixologist Rafferty Swink was entrusted with the job of arranging these group improvised moments. The result is a potent, genre-defying kaleidoscope of electric jazz, psych, and soul. With musical pedigrees as wide ranging as these six musicians, there was no other potential outcome, but to reverberate like nothing else. As lofty as it may sound, The Means Of Production can be described as nothing less than the raw and adventurous sound of NOW.
