Music
Press
The Beastie Boys. At the Drive In. Fugazi. Red Hot Chili Peppers. Illimanjaro? It just may be that the annals of great punk/rage/rap has a new member. Illimanjaro bring incredible energy and musicianship to their brand of power trio punk–whether it’s the dub “Twisted Babe” (reminiscent of Sublime’s trippier numbers) or the streetwriter anthem “Feel My Graffiti” (recalling Rage Against the Machine in sound, if not in lyrical content) the band is showing chops I rarely see in a self-produced, unknown and unsigned band. - Berkeley Place
“Drinking and driving you crazy.” Cool tag line to a wake-me-up it’s Monday rocker. The story centers around a “problem you can’t fix,” but that’s okay – the music keeps us boppin’ with a coffee beat, just enough of a garage sound to keep the total excitement swinging me through the house getting ready for work without the need for caffeine. It’s all built in. Shoutouts goes to the different rhythms of Twisted Babe and The Illest Of Men. A versatile band worth seeking out. I can’t find them in the usual hotspots, but here’s a link to their myspace page so you can contact them about release dates, etc: Illimanjaro
- Eartaste.blogspot.com
Illimanjaro is a band that knows what kind of sound they want to produce and what message they want to convey. Illimanjaro is Noah Penn on vocals and drums, Joe Pepe on guitar and Liam Baum on bass and vocals. If The Beastie Boys mashed with Phish, add a touch of Frank Zappa and elements of pop dissidence you might have the brash, confident and unique sound that is Illimanjaro. The three piece bands new CD called A Problem is full of musical twists and turns that could not be pulled off by anyone without the instrumental skill and fearlessness of a band on a rise.
Feel My Graffiti starts the album off with a quick one two punch that leads into Backyard Reality. A less daring band might have made Backyard Reality the closing track but the ills are just starting to reel you in. Cocktails and Twisted Babe keep the set moving along and there’s even a surprise guest appearance by a well known New York City female harmony trio on Footsteps the sixth track that could have been the grooving love child of one of those great Herbie Hancock seventies tracks. The album sounds great; powerful, clean, well mixed. This ain’t no basement demo. You too can see and hear Illimanjaro when they play Fat Baby in NYC on February 24 and The Trash Bar in Brooklyn on March 26! www.myspace.com/illimanjaromusic
www.fishaltieri.com Rock on! Rock out! Stop the Gentrification of Humanity!’ - Fish Altieri
Discography
'A Problem' (2007) - Full Length LP (Independent)
Available on iTunes
'Not Invited' EP (2008) - 4 Songs (Independent)
Free Download at myspace.com/illimanjaromusic
Photos
Bio
Forming in the fall of 2004 and based in Astoria, Queens, Illimanjaro have built a reputation as a nasty, noisy, three-man onslaught - combining punchy riffs and distorted noise with hard-hitting rap/spoken word vocals. Following the February 2007 release of their well-received debut album ‘A Problem,’ the power trio returned to the studio to record the four-song EP ‘Not Invited.’ Released in February 2008, ‘Not Invited’ captures the edge and electricity of the band’s live sound while infusing a colorful combination of sonic textures, bouncing beats, and thumping bass lines. The frantic guitars and driving backbeat of the opening title track, followed by the alt-rock inspired “No Win Situation” provide a powerful one-two punch to begin the album. Then - in true Illimanjaro fashion - they completely switch gears to the sexy, spacey soul and rapid-fire rhyming of “No Means No”, and the eerily psychedelic “Still”. Together, these four songs highlight perhaps the trio’s greatest attribute: to take risks and always keep the listener guessing.
Illimanjaro pride themselves on their versatility, but not in a sense that they’re out to prove how many different styles of music they can play. They just hold a deep love and appreciation for so many different genres and it feels natural to them to mix and match and see what happens. Illimanjaro see no boundaries, whether in the studio or onstage, and they possess a certain confidence that comes across in their music. As if with every note they’re trying to take over the city, one block at a time.
For booking contact: Noah Penn (631)-793-7868 e-mail: illimanjaro@hotmail.com
Links
