The Hi Tops Brass Band brings the responding sounds of New Orleans to Sydney, Australia. For the past couple years the nine-piece band has been playing their own unique blend of New Orleans brass music with home grown hip-hop lyrics and beats. They will be gracing WOMADelaide with two performances this year. Glam Adelaide writer Nicola Woolford talked with front man Justin Fermino on Wednesday.
Fermino first discovered jazz while studying at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, which inspired him to travel to New Orleans. He recalls: “I was lucky enough to spend quite a lot of time actually staying in one of the clubs there in New Orleans. So it’s quite an invaluable experience just having musicians waltzing into your hotel everyday and playing and really getting amongst the feel of the town… You can’t quite get a sense of what it’s all about listening to it on a record. You really have to see it live, because it’s supposed to be a party when that music is playing… I just really loved it, and I noticed there wasn’t much of that stuff going on in Sydney at the time. I figured we might as well put a band together and give it a go.”
He describes his band mates in relaxed tones: “Everyone in the band is quite an accomplished musician here in Sydney, we all work professionally. And yeah, just through playing and meeting people we all sort of got together in a round about kind of way.” Though it was not until the band became involved with Big Village Records, and Fermino was introduced to several hip-hop MCs eager to jump on board, that the Hi Tops’ distinctive style was born. The band has since collaborated with several Sydney rappers, including MC Shazzam, Shazza T, and Ellis Squire.
This will be the Hi Tops’ first time performing at WOMADelaide, also marking their reunion after a three-month break. When asked how he feels about open-air events, Fermino said playfully: “Well it suits us great, because we’re bloody loud. So it’s nice not to have your ears ringing by the end of the gig.”
If you would like to hear something resounding and fresh, irresistibly reminiscent of New Orleans grass roots, then be sure to catch the Hi Tops Brass Band at WOMADelaide in March.
They will be playing Saturday 7th Mar at 1pm on Stage 3, and Sunday 8th Mar at 7pm on the Zoo Stage.
Interview by Nicola Woolford.
http://www.womadelaide.com.au/program/hi-tops-brass-band-feat-shazza-t
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