From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Mondo Garaj
Mondo Garaj
Mondo Garaj "sitar guitar," takes center stage and infuses an East In-
dian feel to songs like "Beware My Ethnic Heart." But
Studio album by Garaj Mahal he leaves plenty of solo space for Levy, whose fleet-fin-
Released November 18, 2003 gered synthesizer work — reminiscent of Jan Hammer
— trades licks with speed and precision on the opening
Recorded October 8, 2000-May 8, 2001
funky workout "Mondo Garaj." Michael Kang (musician)
Genre jazz/rock fusion of The String Cheese Incident is featured as are DJ Fly
Agaric 23 and DJ Roto (a.k.a. musician/journalist James
Length 47:22
Rotondi) who add turntable scratching, loops, and sam-
Label Harmonized Records ples to keep the sound contemporary, but this is really a
Professional reviews showcase for the jaw-dropping talents of the four band-
members. The band gels on all the tracks, but shows what
The reviews parameter has been deprecated. it can do on "Hindi Gumbo," which features Haque’s
Please move reviews into the “Reception” section acoustic sitar/guitar solo. Nothing takes the place of see-
of the article. See Moving reviews into article ing the band pull this off live, but Mondo Garaj provides a
space.
snapshot of how these four gifted individuals — each of
• Allmusic link whom could be a band leader in his own right — combine
• Guitar 9 Records link
into a fine-tuned unit.
Garaj Mahal chronology
Live Vol. 3 Mondo Garaj Blueberry Cave
(2003) (2003) (2005) Track listing
• Mondo Garaj (Eckhardt) - 5:33
Mondo Garaj is the debut studio album and fourth album • Hindi Gumbo (Haque) - 5:31
by the jazz/rock/funk/fusion/jam band Garaj Mahal. • Be Dope (Hertz, Levy) - 6:11
Recorded in late 2000 and early 2001 at In The Pocket • Junct (Haque) - 6:22
Studio in Sonoma County, CA, then subsequently mixed/ • Poodle Factory (Hertz) - 3:51
mastered over 2001 and 2002 at Talcott Mountain Studio • The Big Smack Down (Eckhardt) - 0:35
in Simsbury, CT, The Plant Studios in Sausalito, CA, • New Meeting (Hertz) - 8:04
Phelps Studios in San Francisco, CA, and Fluffland Studio • Beware My Ethnic Heart (Haque) - 9:11
in San Anselmo, CA, and finally released in 2003 on Har- • Madagascar (Hertz, Levy) - 5:21
monized Records as the band’s first studio effort (after • Gulam Sabri (Haque) - 7:47
three live discs), Mondo Garaj captures Garaj Mahal in • Bajo (Hertz) - 7:07
its relative infancy. Keyboardist Eric Levy had recently • Milk Carton Blues (Levy) - 3:06
joined, and although he’s prominent on these songs, his
contributions have grown considerably since. In fact, on-
ly two songs from this album appeared on any of the
Personnel
subsequent live discs. But with musicians of the caliber
and experience of bassist Kai Eckhardt, drummer Alan Musical
Hertz, and Fareed Haque on guitars, there is nothing ten- • Fareed Haque - Guitar, Guitar (Electric), Guitar
tative about this recording. Sounding like a combination (Steel), Sitar (Electric)
of Return to Forever and the Mahavishnu Orchestra in • Alan Hertz - Drums, Art Direction, Mixing,
their ’70s heyday, Garaj’s jazz-rock fusion requires chops Photography, Cover Photo, Roland Synthesizer
and innovation to stay interesting and avoid aimless • Eric Levy - Keyboards, Organ (Hammond), Clavinet,
noodling. They succeed, and even though the primarily Fender Rhodes, Mini Moog, Oberheim OB8, Prophet
instrumental cuts average seven minutes each, they nev- 5, Sequential Circuits
er become repetitious or overstay their welcome. All four • Kai Eckhardt - Bass
musicians are extraordinarily talented, but each adds his • Michael Kang - Fiddle, Mandolin
own instrumental prowess without hogging the spot- • DJ Fly - Agaric 23 Turntables
light. Not surprisingly, Haque’s guitar, especially his • DJ Roto - Turntables, Sampling, Effects
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Mondo Garaj
Technical External links
• Garaj Mahal - Arranger, Producer, Art Direction,
• Garaj Mahal official website
Mixing
• Fareed Haque official website
• Christian Weyers - Producer, Executive Producer
• Kai Eckhardt official website
• Toni Fishman - Executive Producer
• Eric Levy official website
• Justin Phelps - Engineer
• Harmonized Records official website
• John Cuniberti - Mastering Engineer
• In The Pocket Studio official website
• Jason Andrew - Assistant Engineer
• Justin Phelps webpage
• Mark Fassler - Assistant Engineer
• John Cuniberti official website
• Theresa Reed - Photography
• David "Hot Rod" Shuman - Mixing Assistant
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mondo_Garaj&oldid=410065639"
Categories:
• 2003 albums
• Garaj Mahal albums
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