GANGI

Originally posted at Octopus Windmill on October 10, 2011:

It’s been a few years since Glendale, California’s Gangi (aka DIY master Matt Gangi) released his excellent debut, A, but the band (now a duo with the addition of multi-instrumentalist Eric Chramosta) is preparing their mighty return with a new album, Gesture Is. “Outside Ones”, a grandiose cut from the upcoming record, bubbles with an ominous overture before thick, speaker-deteriorating beats drop in like a judge’s gavel and demand your undivided attention. All rise.

Gangi – “Outside Ones”

Gangi is currently in the midst of an extensive US tour, the dates of which you can check out here. While the release details for Gesture Is are finalized, be sure to snag one of the limited copies of A on vinyl from White Noise and get caught by the catchiness of “Animals” from said album below.

Originally posted at LA Weekly on May 26, 2011:

Matt Gangi’s music is a bit disorienting, a fact he blames on all the bright lights and loud noises that mess with our little minds as we try to go about our daily business here in the city of angels and demons. Gangi and drum buddy Eric Chramosta drag in a thousand genre sources that can shift without notice within the same song, then they rain it down with ambient/musique concrète eff ects atop an otherwise ethereal big-beat pop and decidedly heavy-duty psychedelic rock. SFV Acid’s wobbly funksonic spew makes for a seriously ill take on West Coast hip-hop, among other things; post-postsynth- pop king Baron von Luxxury has done wicked things on the underground disco scene via remixes for Glass Candy, Health, Little Boots and Hilary Duff . Video artist Miko Revereza supplies the eye candy. —John Payne

Also playing: MOUNT EERIE at Center for the Arts, Eagle Rock; JON BRION at Largo; RED PONY CLOCK, WOUNDED LION, FATTY DEAREST at the Smell; DUSTIN O’HALLORAN at Masonic Lodge.

Originally posted at Evil Monito on April 1, 2011:

Gangi + Dreamtapes Perform on April Fool’s Day
Origami Vinyl – Echo Park, CA
4/1/11

April Fool’s Days begins and ends with good music. Come and celebrate the local LA music scene with Echo Park’s beloved record store, Origami Vinyl. There will be a free show tonight, Friday, April 1st with GANGI and Dreamtapes.

For all those April prankster, the folks at the Office of Analogue and Digital recommend getting there about 6:30pm as Dreamtapes will play at 7pm sharp with the headlining band, GANGI going on shortly thereafter.

LOCATION:
Origami Vinyl
1816 W Sunset Blvd.
Echo Park, CA

Originally posted at A Different Kitchen on February 10, 2011:

From Matt and Eric of the group, Gangi:

“Our band was inspired by the events in Egypt and we made a video collage & remixed a cover of “Fire in Cairo” in order to attempt to raise awareness.”

[Note: the video made with images from Democracy Now and other internet new sources.]

Originally posted at LA Record on January 13, 2011:

Matt Gangi has to be some sort of genius, or better yet, a time traveler. Beaming back and forth between today and the 1970s, sampling tracks at will. Gangi released an impressing debut album in 2009, A, an eclectic mix of Jethro Tull meeting a drum machine with a soul. Following their roots, Gangi and new drummer, Eric Chromate, played some retooled tracks and new material to a packed crowd, Wednesday night at the Echo. The band opened with “The Outside Ones,” a new track from their upcoming album that made everyone clamoring for a drink, quickly turn and look as Gangi riffed a killer hook over Chromate’s relentless backbeat. As Chromate laid the tempo, Gangi stood hunched over his sequencer, operating dials like a chemist at work. The atmosphere this band creates as a two piece rivals bands twice their size, proving that less is more. They followed with “Gold,” another new track which sounds to be their diamond in the rough and a contender for radio play. As I stood there and watched Gangi belt out soulful lyrics while managing to play guitar and control a sampler at the same time, I began to wonder if I needed to review old film stock from the ’70s and see if I could spot a a familiar face.

—Carlos Villarreal

Originally posted at LAist on October 5, 2010:

This past Saturday, the Third Annual Manimal Festival was held at Pappy and Harriet’s Palace in Pioneertown near Yucca Valley, with performances by Diva (BlackBlack, Pocahaunted), Halloween Swim Team, Religious Girls, Gangi, Kenneth Pattengale, Sister Crayon, Dreamtapes, Love Grenades, Dante vs. Zombies, Afghan Raiders, Papercranes, Swahili Blonde, Aska (Moonrats), The Like, Amanda Jo Williams, Juliette Commagere, St. Clair Board, TEARIST, and Jeffertiti’s Nile. Despite the mild weather, attendance was unfortunately down from last year, perhaps due to the threat of thunderstorms in the daytime, not to mention the multitude of weekend music options like the Eagle Rock Music Festival and Matador at 21 in Las Vegas. But those who were adventurous enough to make the journey were rewarded with twelve hours of eclectic music befitting the Highland Park-based Manimal Vinyl label.

Originally posted at BeatCrave on September 14, 2010:

Gangi, which shares the namesake with founder and lead vocalist, Matt Gangi, has been a favorite of ours ever since they debuted their album, A, back in 2008. As a band who has taken multi-media to a beautiful level in the past, they shared some new songs that spanned across several different genres. The grinding beats were still there but it sounded like they turned the psychedelia and folk one notch up – making them a suitable opening act for The Clientele. Bits and pieces of real news and literacy still made their way into new Gangi songs (that also still stand firmly on top of an electronic foundation) but there are now more obvious melodies that float atop the layers of metaphors. It was also nice to hear classics such as “Animals” and “Commonplace Feathers” in the mix especially when they always bump the first of the two with slower and grittier beats underneath the vocals.

 

Photo by Carl Pocket for BeatCrave

 

Originally posted at My Poproks on July 26, 2010:

I am a bit late onto the Gangi bandwagon, but the Los Angeles band’s cover of The Cure’s “Fire in Cairo” most definitely falls into the ‘better late than never’ category. I came across their track, “Commonplace Feathers” (from their 2008 debut, A), with a mention of their show last night at Bootleg Theater on LAist, which was followed by an immediate Google.

“Fire in Cairo” comes from the recent Cure tribute album, Perfect as Cats, featuring contributions from Bat For Lashes, The Muslims The Soft Pack, Jesu, and Indian Jewelry. You can also stream 6 tracks from the band’s debut at their Myspace.

“Fire in Cairo” by Gangi

Jul 25: 21+. 8p-12a, $8.

Gangi’s electroacoustic spaghetti Western stylings, counterintuitive song forms, and borderline whiney vocals could very well turn some listeners off but their unapologetic wall-of-energy is wicked endearing and makes for a fun show. See them at the Bootleg on Sunday.

Originally posted at Los Angeles Times on July 20, 2010:

Born in a Brooklyn apartment, Gangi is the eponymous brainchild of Matt Gangi, whose unique brand of psych-folk combines dusty guitars and twangy vocals with electronic samples and programmed beats. He’ll be joined by the avant-garde art-and-music collective Lucky Dragons and the experimental band Swahili Blonde.