The title of the new album by the band "Koka Mass Jazz" may remind you of an older album by the "Black Eyed Peas" ("Elephunk") , but in terms of sound it has nothing to do with it. This playful play on words reveals a lot about the style itself, as well as the approach of the band members to music. In fact, the styles that sound on the album and flow into their songs can be felt as elements of Funk, Nu jazz (also known as Jazztronica), Soul music and even a certain Afro sound. Something that would be highly appreciated by all those open to the new and eagerly waiting for a new musical experiment. In this case, the experiment turns out to be very successful, because the band already has quite a few projects behind it and enjoys an audience all over the world.
The beginning…
It all started with Konstantin Katsarski, as a solo project. A musician, songwriter, composer and DJ, he was for a long time part of the formation "Bluba Lu" , which was strongly distinguished by its experimental searches. Faithful to this, Konstantin created his own project ( "Koka Mazz Jazz" ) and soon his first album was released with the American label "Cold Busted" . The songs immediately ranked in leading world charts, such as that of the BBC.
In 2013, Konstantin quickly included several musicians in his concept and “Koka Mazz Jazz” became a band. The music and arrangements were by Katsarski, and the lyrics were written by Denitsa Georgieva, Kristina Kokorska, Rachel Roll, Tiffany Blue and Boyan Levchev. For the recordings, Konstantin worked with the best Bulgarian jazz musicians, as well as international artists from all over the world.
When the spotlight shines...
In September 2014, the American label Cold Busted released their debut single, Smile , which immediately climbed to #2 on the iTunes (Funk and R&B) chart . The song was named one of the best of 2014 and 2015 by three English radio stations, CSRfm, Barricade Radio and Ideal Clubworld Radio . Upon its release in 2015, Groovy Jam Shoes became the best-selling album on Juno Records ' Funk Music Chart. The album stayed in the Top 20 for 6 months and reached #5 on Beatport 's Top 10 (the largest American music store).
"Groovy Jam Shoes" was named album of the week by Barricade radio in the UK, and album of the month by Amazing Radio , again on the island. And as often happens with Bulgarian artists, they are first recognized in the West, and only then in our country. Konstantin Katsarski's music has long been heard in the USA, England, Japan, New Zealand and is part of the charts of BBC Radio, BBC Radio 2, BBC 6Music, Ibiza Sonica, KCRW Radio, Amazing Radio and others.
The new album…
© Miroslava Mircheva
© Miroslava Mircheva
On September 14th of this year, the band's new album was released by the label "Time Warp Music" . For this project, Konstantin collaborated with singers Krista Kokorska and Tiffany Blue (USA), as well as rapper Boyan Levchev, who has been living in America for a long time. The team also includes Milen Kukosharov - piano, Martin Tashev - trumpet, Dimitar Lyolev - saxophone and guitarists Georgi Yanev and Evden Dimitrov. With its 7 songs, one of which is an instrumental, the album offers a modern R&B and nu funk sound at a world level.
Konstantin Katsarski says that in the last few months they have had the opportunity to present their music at three festivals in Bulgaria. The audience's reaction was impressive and very energizing. Krista adds that there are fans of this music in our country, which makes her sincerely happy. Konstantin is categorical that in Bulgaria the audience does not always share when they really like something, and their enthusiastic attitude at festivals is a real triumph.
