It’s a beautiful thing when musicians come together and collaborate. A fusion of two sounds to create something fresh, something new, and something wildly exotic. And that’s just what happened at Le Poisson Rouge with Kneedelus.
Kneedelus is a musical marriage between experimental hip-hop and electronic producer Daedelus, and instrumental avant-garde jazz quintet Kneebody. Le Poisson Rouge was filled with a tight-knit crowd in the heart of lower Manhattan. The place is known for its extensive array of bookings all throughout the week, so LPR was the perfect venue choice for this new collaborative project. A packed house with respectful participants solely there for the music, the crowd was engaging and receptive (as always) to the MC of the night, which happened to be Kneebody’s bass guitarist. He spoke in Italian to the crowd when he could remember the right words. Daedelus set up shop in the back with his suit, tie, and electronic wizard set. The rest of Kneebody, the trumpeter, saxophonist, bass guitarist, drummer, and keyboard player, systematically placed themselves around in a semi-circle.
The Set
They started their set off with “Loops,” the first song on their debut self-titled album, and got the crowd amped up from the very start. This led into their single “Drum Battle” which got the crowd very excited, and as you looked around, there were nothing but smiles on everyone in attendance.
The night was a down-meets-uptempo sonic fusion, with nothing but high energy and brilliant talent. Kneedelus is a baroque-jazz instrumental-electronic whirlwind of sound. You could think of them as something like a prohibition era jam band. We can’t wait until they’re back. Until then, check out the app for more shows at Le Poisson Rouge!
