“Coming through on their locomotive of love, spreading positivity through communal dance and music that encourages rays of sunshine from people of all ages and backgrounds. This 10-piece band, who will be heading out on tour next month, is getting those sweet, irie sounds directly to us with a new video for “Seeing The Bigger Picture” from their fourth full-length studio album.”

- Okayplayer

 

“Known for throwing some of the sweatiest dance parties in the Northeast, Big Mean Sound Machine has been ambitiously touring and working hard to welcome new followers with no plans of slowing down.  The new fan-funded album, Runnin’ for the Ghost, is just one example of how relentless experimentation on the road can lead to something positive and fruitful in the studio.”

- NYS Music

 

“Runnin' For The Ghost is the fourth full-length studio album from Big Mean Sound Machine. An instrumental album that defies genres for a unique soundscape - certain tracks were learned, arranged, and recorded in a single day, and reflect the spontaneity and freedom of their origins. Runnin' For The Ghost surges with creative fervor, and is especially recommended for connoisseurs of fresh, original sound.”

- Midwest Book Review

 

“Every track is anchored by flittering, relentless drums and rock-solid bass work. The horns swap solos and come together to wring out booming melodic lines, while the guitar pounds out a rhythm line like a typewriter, content with quick solos in the song’s back end.”

- Afropop Worldwide

 

“Their music is a one-of-a kind, experimental take on the genre. This band always finds a good groove you can dance tune.”

- Funkish

 

“I’ll tell you how infectious this music is. When I looked at their tour schedule and saw that they were playing a bar over 300 miles away in a couple weeks, I seriously thought about taking a road trip to see them. The reality of the show being on a weeknight, I have a day job and limited funds killed that idea, … but I really wish I coulda pulled it off.”

- Ink 19

 

“The 13 member Big Mean Sound Machine mixes soul based funk with latin grooves on this album recorded “live” in studio and the Enfield Baptist Church...Earthy, funky and ready to make you dance.”

- Jazz Weekly

 

“All at once familiar and new, this crew gets the joint jumping with something that feels like funk, or feels like afrobeat or feels like__________ (fill in the blank), while turning your head to the different direction that's coming around the next bend. A super fine way to get the party started even if the set list has to change as the sun goes down.”

- Midwest Record

 

“More fine tunes from this Ithaca, NY based Afrobeat-jazz-space band. More than a dozen musicians, with an amazing percussion, a blazing brass section, bass you can feel in your stomach, layers of synthesizer & other embellishments, exciting compositions… Don’t miss this!”

- WRUV FM Blog

 

“A polyrhythmic monster with a crisp, constant, unrelenting groove, the band brings together many musical traditions in a unique blend that reinterprets and reanimates live dance music unlike any other band playing today.”

- Afrobeat Music

 

“This sort of collective can sometimes allow itself to get too diffuse. That's no problem with these folks. These are tight, joyous excursions into the diverse flow of life. If you aren't shaking your ass after a minute, you need to have your glutes examined.”

- Aiding and Abetting