Today I found a new band I really like. It’s original, the songs are diverse and dealing with complicated topics like science, religion, television… The band is called The Great Game and they just released a self-titled debut album, that I can honestly say is one of the most original ones I’ve heard coming from the indie scene this year. I also love how they picked their name – “The Great Game” was the strategic rivalry and conflict between the British Empire and the Russian Empire for supremacy in Central Asia spanning through the whole 19th century.
Few words about the history of the band. The Great Game was founded by Mounzer Sarraf – a Belgian/Lebanese composer. The first compositions were played on the streets of Glasgow with Martin Fell on Saxophone. The band consider itself a democratic entity and the compositions are influenced by each member’s mastery of their own instrument, while the band members themselves are from all over Europe, The Middle East and US.
With its debut album The Great Game set a high goal – the music genre they play they call New World Music.
“When we speak of world music, we think of a musical category encompassing many different styles of music from around the world, including traditional music, nontraditional music, and music where more than one cultural tradition intermingle. World music’s inclusive nature and elasticity as a musical category pose obstacles to a universal definition, but its ethic of interest. On the other hand it seems like world music has been frozen in time for many years and the evolution of music has not. Can we not say today that musical styles such as blues, jazz, rock, latin american, eastern european fusions and even Metal should be considered ethnic of interest. If so, The Great Game certainly is New World Music.”, the band says on its Soundcloud page.
Well I have to say I’m intrigued – I feel a little something from System Of A Down, Morphine, Gogol Bordello, The Cat Empire inside… however, the band sounds totally different from all of them. Which is the best! I love bands that are not afraid to sound like nothing else and find its own niche! And The Great Game are definitely one of them!
Favorite songs: “The turning of the wheel of Dhamma” and “Television”
The Great Game are on Soundcloud, YouTube and the official website www.the-great-game.com, where you can download the album for FREE!
