Occidental Brothers Dance Band International

Posted on Saturday, April 10, 2010 at 05:47PM

Last fall we spoke with Chicago's Occidental Brothers Dance Band International. Composed of members Nathanial Braddock, Makaya McCraven, Joshua Ramos, and Greg Ward, OBDBI  brings a mix of classic Central and West African dance music—specializing in soukous, Highlife, Rumba, Dry Guitar.

Flier Arts: What are you guys' names and where are you all from?

Makaya McCraven: My name is Makaya McCraven.  Grew up in Massachusetts. Live in Chicago. Born in Paris, France.

Greg Ward: I’m Greg Ward. I’m from Peoria, Illinois. Lived in Chicago. Now I live in New York.

Joshua Ramos: I’m Joshua Ramos. I’m from the United States. I’m Puerto Rican, but I was born in Chicago.

Flier Arts: What is important about the way that you all see, hear, or experience the world… That you bring to your work?

Greg: I think for me.. I’m very focused on music.  And everything around I take it in as adding or taking away or just being an experience to that, adding to my music. I feel like for all of us music is our life. It’s our passion, so everything around effects. What’s happening in our economy. What’s happening politically. What’s happening with our family. That’s all effecting us. We’re interpreting it. Internalizing it. And saying something about it hopefully, in our music or our art or whatever.

Flier Arts: Who is one artist you believe people should experience  during their lifetime?

Ramos: I think people have to experience artists that aren’t on the radio. You should be able to discern what is real horrible music that’s on the radio. I will say that most of it is the urban music of today. I like some of the good urban music that comes out today, but they don’t play that on the radio. They need to turn off the radio and go find some.. Trace their roots somehow. Search for some good music that’s not  on the radio.

Ward:  Wayne Shorter. Master composer. Saxophonist. He’s doing something that he invented, [that] he made. The way that he plays and interprets music. People need to experience that before he goes. He’s in his seventies now. He’s played with everybody: Miles Davis, Art Blakey, Weather Report. It’s important for people to see. A master composer, a master improviser, a master musician period.

McCraven: I think people should find that for themselves. Because as you say it’s a very personal thing. So do I think there’s any musician that I believe everybody should experience? I don’t necessarily feel that way. For me personally I don’t think I have that person.  I love Wayne Shorter and Coltrane..

Ramos: Who’s that African band that I like that they play real fast?

McCraven: It’s like Ghanaian people playing Juju music. [ Canadoes ]

Nathaniel Braddock: It’s these Ghana musicians living in Nigeria which of course is really close . The ethnic groups there.. Similar, but different music. That bands killer.

Ramos: Everyone should check out Isaac Delgado.

 Flier Arts:  What is your definition of flight or anti-gravity?

McCraven: Anti-gravity? Metaphorically? Musically?  That’s that place when you’re playing and the music. I don’t feel like you’re always creating the music as the music is happening.  It's a vehicle. And you get lost. And the music is coming out. To me the music is bigger than all the musicians on stage.

That’s when I feel like I’m flying and I’m not in gravity. I’m just going. And that’s the ultimate place, where I don’t feel like I’m playing, but I’m channeling. I’m channeling something. If we’re talking about music and anti-gravity we could get technical. We could go to outer-space quite literally.

Ramos: It’s like when music becomes a world that is clear to you. You channeled it like he said and you’re able to walk into that world. It’s no longer stuff that you’re just coming up with from your head. But it’s a visible world that you can see. It’s like an adventure. And it’s very exciting. Because no longer are you just trying to play your parts correctly with the rest of the band. It becomes something..

McCraven: Like an out of body experience. You can look at the music happening and see it without being outside. You can hear the whole thing. I’m not thinking.. This. I gotta play that. This section is coming.. It’s all just happening and it’s channeling through and the subtleties. And wherever the music can go, it can take you in any way. Sometimes if the energy get’s too out of hand and you’re not focused, you don’t have control, you can lose that. And you come crashing down to earth and it could all fall apart or you miss the cue or something. 

Ramos: Oscar Peterson was able to get a lot of that anti-gravity I think. When he’s swinging real hard that’s like levitation to me.

Ward: I would think of gravity as any set rules in life. Anytime where those things are defied or broken. That would be anti-gravity. Flight would maybe just be.. It would just be flowing in the moment.

Flight is.. Everybody’s tuned in.. whatever it is.. Music. Art. A gathering of people. Just whatever. Watching a movie. People are unified in some kind of moment. That’s what I think.