Calcutta’s native tongues: Func Spec releases THE SPICE
Groundbreaking new project from Brooklyn Shanti endeavors to set the pace for Global Bass

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK – Inspired by “Calcutta rickshaws, Bombay paanwallas, Delhi disco dives,
diwali riddims + multicolored bindis”, Func Spec’s 12-song debut offers selections directed toward fans of the continually evolving Global Bass genre. Textured with hip-hop grooves, tabla and dhol percussion, guitars, synths and sitars; THE SPICE’s sonic backdrop sets the stage for narrators Sho ‘Nuff, Marko “’Ko” Dutta, and Shanti to provide a listening experience which travels through the Indian subcontinent as deftly as the MTA subway system does through New York’s five boroughs.

Striving to fill a void in music’s current landscape, the Brooklyn-based trio felt the need to, “speak on behalf of kids who can relate to but don’t live in crack culture,” says ‘Ko, “so we focused on the happy times and the heartbreaks we go through as people, with a distinctively Indian perspective.” Each member, having been raised between India and North America, desired to make an optimistic and positively charged album in the face of the light popular culture casts upon the negative aspects of Western society. The resulting work is a colorful tapestry of the Bengali-American experience with nods to Jungian psychology, sci-fi author Frank Herbert’s ideologies, and the existential qualities of today’s digital generation.

THE SPICE, written and produced by Nabin, is the artist’s third album release since 2006’s India Bambaataa. The One Shanti is available as a re-release via Soulspazm International, previously released by the now defunct Rawkus Records. As a member of pioneering group, the Dum Dum Project, Nabin helped usher in the fusion of hip-hop and traditional Indian music with the landmark releases Export Quality (X Square) and Spiritual Bling (Universal) throughout Europe and Asia. With MTV and BBC accolades in addition to Afrika Bambaataa’s recognition of the young artist’s cultural leadership role, in releasing THE SPICE, Nabin continues his ongoing mission to provide listeners with high impact sonic experiences.