'Organic electro grooves'
Wassabi Collective breaks down the borders between genres allowing everything from tribal/electronic dance to hip hop, rock to reggae, latin jazz to funk to move the listener leaving them feeling elevated but wanting more.

6 MP3 Songs
ROCK: Jam-band, WORLD: Reggae



Details:
People often say Wassabi Collective plays into the crowd, or rides the wave. This high-energy, progressive world beat group was created to deliver non-stop grooves to packed dance floors, headlining major festivals across Canada with unprecedented success. The band has performed alongside high-level players such as Michael Franti and Spearhead, Doc Martin, Garaj Mahal,The Jungle Brothers, Hot Hot Heat, Ras Trillos and Randy Bachman. Audience members and promoters have often said that this Five-piece band is the best high-energy show to come out of B.C. in many years. The Wassabi Collective has thrived in the music scene because of positive attitude, solid musicianship, and creative approach. People feel inspired by the Wassabi atmosphere. The music is uplifting and soulful, and the crowd is treated as a part of the show. Lyrics and themes are designed to empower and enlighten people, and the overall vibe is simple and pure. The members of Wassabi embrace interaction with the audience as a fundamental principal, and will spend a good portion of the show improvising to the mood of the dance floor. The mood of a Wassabi show is further enhanced by their resident hoopdancer, hulagirl. The latest incarnation of the band is it's most potent yet. Long time members Scott Milne (bass) and Melissa Meretsky (vocals and percussion) welcomed Brent 'Gisto' Hongisto (vocals and guitar) to the fold in 2003. In the spring of 2004 the band relocated to Nelson,BC, where they found Jimmy Lewis on the Drums (and vocals) and Rahj Levinson (keys). Despite being only available at their live shows, sales of their first two albums "The Masquerade Sessions" and "Blue" topped over 5500 units before going out of print. A series of live shows recorded in 2004 continue to sell, with now over 1000 copies in circulation and numerous downloadable shows on the web. Feeling the need to document the new lineups' direction and sound, the five members went into pre-production in Febuary 2005, rearranging some old standards and writing new songs at a feverish pace. The results emerged in March; a five song album entitled "Cato", lasting over forty minutes and engaging the listener from start to finish. Smooth jazzy textures, trip hop, reggae, house, and percussion all naturally collide in a beautiful and singular vision, at last capturing Wassabi at its present incarnation in beautiful high fidelity. The band continues to tour behind "Cato", selling over a 2000 copies to date, and have begun pre-production on a new full length album, slated for release in summer 2006.