Red Baraat – ‘Bhangra Pirates’ (album stream) (premiere)

Today we reviewed New York ensemble Red Baraat‘s new album Bhangra Pirates and said “Bhangra Pirates is the most successful attempt to package that energy yet for Red Baraat, ecstatic and frenzied, turning each individual listening at home into a full audience.” In our book, that makes the record a PopMatters Pick as Red Baraat has finally managed to capture their astounding energy and virtuosity as performance artists on record.

The band tells us that “Bhangra Pirates is a documentation and reflection of who and what the band is now, a re-imagination of our adventurous nature that embodies the free spirit, rebelliousness, community, tradition, and new journeys.”

“Jazz, funk, and rock and roll all play important parts on Bhangra Pirates, and it’s clear early on the album, even to newcomers, that Red Baraat is less about sticking to a genre than to doing what makes the whole band — and the whole audience — have a genuinely great time.” If you haven’t hopped aboard the Red Baraat train yet, now’s the time.

Red Baraat’s Bhangra Pirates releases 24 March via Rhyme and Reason.