Barabass & The Happy Few was a musical collective from Bergen, Norway. Now defunct, the band consisted of a standard DJ-keyboard-drums-bass-guitar line-up, but they could easily be fronted by a bluegrass-guitarist one moment and a jazz trumpet player the next. Barabass & The Happy Few’s aim was to make instrumental music where humor goes along with improvisation, while keeping things funky and focused on the dance floor, especially in their wild live shows.
The Arizona EP was originally released on very limited vinyl in 2002 and has been unearthed and unleashed digitally for the ears of 2018. The tunes combine laid back instrumentation with cool breakbeat rhythms and heaps of melody. The title track is jazzy and smooth, featuring falsetto vocal phrases and a spell of human beatboxing. “Hobbies” is more upbeat, containing sweet keys, cool drum programming, and stoner dialogue snippets. “Whole Lotta Beats” is a cheeky affair, made to instantly enliven the limpest of parties. And “Get U Gone” meshes big retro beats with fun synthesizer and organ riffs, imagining a lysergic roller rink escapade.
Murray Richardson (Electrica Salsa) – “Nice EP, perfect for my upcoming tour.”
Rory Hoy (Super Hi-Fi) – “Anyone who loves the likes of Mr. Scruff will really dig this release - Highly recommended!”
DJ T-Bird (Los Chicos Altos) – “Norway’s gone Funky!”
Double-D (Funky Fresh Radio Show) – “Get U Gone rocks.”
ALTZ (Altzmusica) – “I love the groove on Hobbies.”
DJ Wash (Funk The System) – “Great release, all of these tracks are tight!”
Zach Van Lue (91X) – “Refreshing and Groovy.”
Clairvo (Tilos Radio 90.3) – “These tracks show some serious creativity. Full support.”
Jeannie Hopper (WBAI FM, NYC) – “Funky bad ass vibes.”
Jon Fugler (XLNT Radio Show) – “Well, this has certainly stood the test of time. Sounding unmistakably old school, but still current.”
Available Now From: Bandcamp, Juno Download, Spotify, And Apple Music.