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It snowed like rain today and tucked away in a small Jersey club (Whiskey Bar), a little grunge, a little alternative, I saw the light of BluNation. This young band had all the ingredients of an outfit nearly three times their age. The energy was high and the audience diverse, an amalgamation of Portugal, New York and South Africa. It was clear that this was their night. The attention-dripping from the audience was well deserved as the
lead singer, Herk, poured his heart out in an engergetic singspiel
unparalled. His band: Pedro (bass), Scott(percussion), and Eddie (guitar) part jam, part alternative played their acoustic instruments powerfully, leaving no dynamic untouched.
Just when you thought they could give no more, the festivity was just
beginning. This music was happy, pulsating and light-hearted inspite of the heartbreak. BluNation had something to say and something to prove. They are not touching the charts at this moment, but when they do, there will be a movement. Songs like Resemblance, brought atmospheric change. Then Pulse had the entire audience whistling with a smile, and Skies, Pearls was a crowd favorite. Not only did they sing along but Herk made his way into the audience to show the love eye to eye.
I left the performance wishing I could whistle. The songs stayed with me and I called everyone I knew to try and revamp all that I experienced. And just for a moment, I was lost in those great summer nights and perpetual
happiness often forgotten in a New York winter.
-Jeremiah (Recording Artist)
- Jeremiah (Recording Artist) www.jmiah.com
Review by: Jeff Clutterbuck
Originally published: November 4, 2005
I've heard a lot of American and British music. It's pretty much all that gets played on the ol' iPod. Lately, though, regrets have started to seep into my one-track mind. After all, there are more countries besides the USA and the UK out there. So when these indie releases come my way, and they happen to sound a little different than the usual, I've sworn to give them more attention. Good thing I did.
Blunation offers up a variety of different styles and genres fused together to create a unique sound. At times, their approach reminded me of how Stevie Wonder does things. If you gather up good music, it's going to be good music no matter what.
For the most part, this is a Latin-sounding album, meaning the EP is heavy on the acoustic guitar and conga. As a result, Blunation most certainly cannot be accused of crafting sterile, studio driven songs. These are tracks that would be just as good live as they are in the studio.
Things get cracking with the opener, "Life…" The dueling guitars trade excellent riffs back and forth. Take a metal song where you've got a distinguishable three-chord progression; the problem is that most of the time, the song beats you over the head with those same sounds. Not the case with Latin music and not with Blunation.
Life… gets a little funky with "Beauty Of Nature," which further cemented the Stevie Wonder connection I made earlier. The keyboards used on the track sound remarkably like those on "Maybe Your Baby," or "Superstition." Here I shall make mention of the lead vocals from Herk Serrano. They work within the context of the Life…in that there are no jarring moments that make you wonder "what the hell just happened?" On the same token, Serrano isn't the most amazing singer in the world. "Average" is plastered over the entire EP when he sings. But, the important point is someone else's vocals would not fit in well with the band's sound.
"Sky Pearls" locks into a pleasant reggae beat. While most attempts at reggae from non-reggae artists are poorly conceived and contrived, here the reggae sound blends into what the listener has already heard. Things close out with a live rendition of "Dream Away." Blunation gets major props from me for including this track, because it sounds live. The audience is into it, singing along, and the band feeds off that energy. While the weakest link of the EP can be found here, it still was a fun listen.
This is the sort of music I'd play during a barbecue in the summer. No artistic pretensions, just fun music. I've said this of other artists and every time it's true. We don't listen to music to analyze it, we listen primarily to enjoy it and have some fun. My advice; just go along for the ride.
RATING: B+
- Jeff Clutterbuck (The Daily Vault)
Discography
Life... EP
featuring "Beauty of Nature" and "Sky's Pearls"
Emotions
will be released June 25th 2006.
Featuting "Glory"
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
Childhood friends Herc (vocals), Eddie (guitar), Pedro (bass), Nelson
(percussion), Tony (drums) have been playing in area bands since they were
in their youth in Ironbound Newark, a cultural
melting pot. They woke up their community with a new sound and hope to do
the same throughout the world.
Herk, Eddie and Pedro joined in October of 1999 to form Blunation. Nelson
was handling Blunation’s promotions since 2004 and began playing
percussion for Blunation in late 2005. As Blunation expanded their sound
and horizons they decided to add drums to their music, bringing in long
time friend Tony C. in late 2005 to add the edge the guys were looking
for.
Blunation’s style of music and performance is unique and revolutionary.
Their melodic tones and powerful lyrics are sure to appeal fans of any
genre of music. They have an alternative sound with hints of reggae, rock,
blues, bossanova, gipsy and folk. Blunation’s original sound is rooted in
their multi cultural heritage and provides for a set like no other. Their
songs vary in theme from love to pain, the earth and trials of life.
Throughout recent years, Blunation has continued to attract a cult
following, which gains in strength as they hold more shows and compose
more songs. In 2005 Blunation initiated U-nation (street team), released
their EP ‘LIFE…’, distributed over 1,000 cd’s in a two month period and
performed for over 750,000 people. They have performed in coffee shops,
hosted private parties, played in bars, such as the Whiskey Bar and
Mexicali Blues in NJ, Don Hill’s and Bowery Poetry Club in NY, Bloomingdale’s
in River Side Square Mall, performed in the O’neil pro surf ’04 and Rip Curl
’05 in Belmar beach, NJ, The Monopole in Plattsburgh, NY just to name a few.
Blunation also performed at Café Improv with live broadcast for a local TV
station. They were part of a group of artists that held a Tsunami relief
concert that was broadcasted worldwide by SPT television. In June 2005
Blunation performed in the Portugal Day Parade which attracted over 750,000
people. In early 2006 Blunation went back into the studio (Visionary Music Group) to record their second, 'Emotions' set to be released on June 25th at the Guitar Bar in Newark, NJ.
As you can see Blunation can cater any crowd. Blunation hopes to continue
surpassing their musical boundaries and become full time performers. They
want to reach out to the masses to share their innovative ground breaking
style of music.
blunation would like to thank you for your time and efforts on helping us
along this road.
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