MUDFUNK

Artist Information

Biography

"... If you truly love NEW music and artists that are pushing boundaries then you will love Mudfunk. Seriously, this is probably the most unique sound I’ve heard in many, many years. It’s a throwback to an era that no longer exists in the music business. Thank you Mudfunk! ..."
[UNSIGNED MUSIC MAGAZINE - March 2005]

Mudfunk is an unusual two-piece funk and soul collaboration headquartered in Albany NY. Born from a sequence of fortunate coincidences which came together in the late spring of 2004, the duo actualizes the compositions and lyrics of Sean Rowe -- pairing his gravelly voice and vibrant guitar playing with the avant-garde percussion work of Marco Haber. The result is a union which, although rooted in the traditions of funk and soul, sports tendrils which stretch outwards, taking listeners on a sonic journey beyond the conventional.

In January of 2006, Mudfunk released their debut album - 'Live at the Grind'. The duo went on a fully sponsored 3 week tour of the UK during the Autumn of 2005, recently had their music played on the Travel Channel, and continually performs at listening venues in the Northeast and beyond.

To view a complete listing of news and events, please visit: www.mudfunk.com.

Instrumentation

Sean Rowe: Vocals and Guitar

Marco Haber: Percussion

Discography

MUDFUNK'S debut album - 'Live at the Grind' - was released on January 21, 2006.

(Sean Rowe's 2004 release of "27" includes 9 original songs, 2 of which feature Mudfunk's percussionist - Marco Haber.)

Audio

Lyrics

• Snake in the Grass
• Let's not let it Waste

Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• Center Stage - Mudfunk [+ Show ]
  

  "... What do you get when you cross a bluesy-funky gritty singer with a Middle Eastern influenced ...
  "... What do you get when you cross a bluesy-funky gritty singer with a Middle Eastern influenced percussionist? You get the awesome sounds of our center stage artist for November - Mudfunk. Straight from New York state, Sean Rowe and Marco Haber have developed one of the most unique and engaging sounds UNSIGNED has heard. We caught up with the duo right before they departed on their European tour."
  
  "... Before Mudfunk there was the Sean Rowe Project. Sean was already writing and performing some of the best tunes in New York State. His voice is a cross between Barry White, Gil-Scott Heron, and any number of cigar wielding, blues singing, seventy-year old black men from Mississippi. Then through a chance meeting, Rowe meets this cat that plays percussion. Not just any cat, but Marco Haber. Marco Haber is beyond a doubt one of the most skilled percussionists in the world today. When they combined Marco’s eclectic percussion style - a mix of Middle Eastern, Latin and Afro-Cuban influences - with Sean’s gritty vocal textures and percussive guitar playing, Mudfunk was born!"

• Mudfunk UK Bound [+ Show ]
  

  "... Mudfunk - the acoustic duo of Rowe on guitar and vocals, and Marco Haber on percussion - was ...
  "... Mudfunk - the acoustic duo of Rowe on guitar and vocals, and Marco Haber on percussion - was chosen from more than 1,000 musical acts to join two others on a fully-sponsored UK tour in October. 'I thought it was some prankster,' Rowe said of the late-night caller. After he realized he was talking to an official from the Contemporary Music Events and Artists Services, an international organization, he called his musical partner Haber. 'Sean called me around 1:30 in the morning,' Haber said. 'Needless to say, I didn't sleep well that night.'"
  
  "... 'I've never seen two musicians compliment each other like these two,' said Jim Barrett of the Beat Shop. 'The combination of these two guys is simply dazzling. Mudfunk is one of the most amazing live acts I've ever seen,' he raved."

• MUDFUNK gets XPOSED [+ Show ]
  

  This duo formerly known as 'The Sean Rowe Project' is unique. The grainy, raspy voice of Sean Rowe...
  This duo formerly known as 'The Sean Rowe Project' is unique. The grainy, raspy voice of Sean Rowe combined with the impressive percussion work of Marco Haber give Mudfunk a totally different vibe. I love Sean Rowe’s voice; it’s raw, edgy, soulful, and deep. Kind of like an old black blues singer that smoked way too many cigarettes. Sean’s unique voice, writing talents and soulful guitar playing are some of the elements that make Mudfunk so damn good. Upon first listen you might say, “What the hell is this?” I urge you to listen deeper. If you truly love NEW music and artists that are pushing boundaries then you will love Mudfunk. Seriously, this is probably the most unique sound I’ve heard in many, many years. It’s a throwback to an era that no longer exists in the music business. Thank you Mudfunk! Peep them at www.mudfunk.com

• A Band By Any Other Name [+ Show ]
  

  First there was Sean Rowe, a terrific singer-songwriter with great catchy songs like “A Snake in t...
  First there was Sean Rowe, a terrific singer-songwriter with great catchy songs like “A Snake in the Grass” that made his numerous live shows extremely popular. Then Sean Rowe met Marco Haber, a percussionist whose instruments of choice are the djembe and the doumbek—you gotta see this guy in action—and the two like performing together so much that they combined forces to become the Sean Rowe Project. Well, that name stuck for a while, but now the duo have decided to change their name once again. The new name—drumroll, please—is Mudfunk. In addition to their active gig schedule, Rowe and Haber will heed the numerous requests from their fans and hole themselves up in the studio through next month to record a new full-length album. They have yet to come up with a title, but speculation on their Web site is that the CD will be self-titled. They hope to have it ready for public consumption by early summer. In the meantime, you can listen to some live tracks recently recorded for a 104.9 radio show by visiting www.mudfunk.com.

• Naturally [+ Show ]
  

  "... One place that journey has landed [Rowe] is at the Lark Tavern, where he performs every other...
  "... One place that journey has landed [Rowe] is at the Lark Tavern, where he performs every other Monday night as [Mudfunk], which is actually a duo with Marco Haber on percussion. A recent Monday eve performance found the two playing to a packed room of followers, many of them quite vocal, yelling out requests for Rowe’s songs."
  
  "... Hooking up with percussionist Haber has been an important recent step in getting his music across. It’s a fruitful combination, in that the two musicians both have vast individual capacities. Rowe has those resonant pipes, ornately groovy tunes and busy guitar work, while Haber has a uniquely AfroLatin- and Middle Eastern-influenced style of hand drumming that makes one drum sound like, well, a bunch of drums."
  
  "... At the time, Rowe was content doing the solo thing, away from the headaches of dealing with other members. But as soon as he heard Haber he knew it would work."

Setlist

Sets are typically 45 minutes in length and feature original music. Depending on the particular venue/event being played, sets may also include a smattering of interpreted covers drawing from artists such as: Marvin Gaye, Iggy Pop, Bobby Womack, Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen, The Temptations, Sly and the Family Stone and others.

Basic Requirements

Calendar