Galactic shared a new single, “Ready For Me,” featuring Cimafunk and Anjelika ‘Jelly’ Joseph. The track is set to land on the New Orleans funk outfit’s upcoming EP, Tchoupitoulas, due out on January 20 via Tchuop-Zilla Records.
Galactic previously shared the Tchoupitoulas instrumental “Big Whiskers.” Bassist Rob Mercurio detailed the new EP.
“In the true collaborative spirit of Galactic, we approached this EP as a way to connect with some of our new favorite singers and rappers including our new(Ish) singer Anjelika ‘Jelly’ Joseph,” Mercurio said. “Recording with a different artist influences our songwriting and can bring out some exciting results. This also gets our creative juices flowing.”
Rob also spoke about working with Cimafunk:
“Last year Cimafunk had a couple of days off in NOLA, so he stopped by our studio and we were working on a new demo. He immediately came up with his verses and idea for the hook. He hit the vocal booth and just killed his parts. We all agreed it would be cool to add some English to his Spanish verses, so we mentioned getting Jelly in to sing with him and he was thinking the exact same thing. Today, the release date of this single, we are heading to Cuba to perform and hang with him. We are very much looking forward to continuing our collaborations with Cimafunk – he is a force of funk!”
Mercurio is speaking of Havana Funk Expedition in cooperation with NOLA’s own Trombone Shorty and hosted by Cimafunk where “the New Orleans travelers will join Cuban music students and local artists to create a musical experience capturing the long-standing cultural ties between the cities with the goal of supporting young musicians in Cuba and New Orleans,” as per a press release. Find out more on the Havana Funk Expedition.
Cimafunk also detailed the Havana Funk Expedition and the new collaborative single:
“I love the connection that Cuba and New Orleans share musically and culturally – it’s so FUNKY! Galactic and Jelly have become brothers and sisters to me and you can feel that connection on the track, that love comes out in the groove. We had a lot of fun in the studio, but also walking the streets on New Orleans together and jamming out from time to time. Now I got them coming to see me in Havana and I’m going to return the favor and how special to release the track and perform together on a Havana rooftop the same day!”
Listen to “Ready For Me” below:
Galactic is also gearing up for a guest-filled residency at The Blue Note in New York City. Check out the band’s itinerary:
