It’s been five years since nine-piece funk band Turkuaz released their futuristic, glittering 24-song album, Digitonium, and to celebrate, the band has released exclusive, never-before-seen footage of the recording process, as well as a newly pressed vinyl LP.
Pre-order Digitonum on vinyl LP here: turkuazband.themerchcollective.com
After creating synth-heavy, innovative, unique sounds, frontman Dave Brandwein explains the idea for the title was inspired by “presti-digitonium,” a phrase in “Higitus Figitus” from Disney’s animated classic, The Sword in the Stone.
For three straight weeks, the band grew closer than ever before, holed up in an apartment attached to More Sound Studios in Syracuse, NY where the band’s commanding fourth studio album took shape. Brandwein recalls the chaotic, thrilling experience of recording in studios on separate floors. “We all remember times running up and down the stairs listening to what the other room was working on to make sure we weren’t creating any conflicting parts. The horns would be downstairs recording, while Craig and I were upstairs doing overdubs on guitar and keys. If we were all playing together downstairs, our engineer, Jocko, would be upstairs doing some mixing and editing through takes.”
He continues, “I can’t believe it’s been 5 years, but until the pandemic hit, we hadn’t taken a real break from touring or recording since then,” nodding to Turkuaz’s expansive growth over the last half-decade, which has seen the band headline venues coast-to-coast, crawl up major music festival billings, and most recently, international dates in Japan and Australia. “Though I wish the country, our industry, and all families and businesses a speedy recovery from this horrible pandemic, it has strangely allowed me to sit back and really appreciate the past, and once again make some ambitious plans for the future.”
Upon release, the 2015 record was well received, with Relix Magazine lauding, “Just listening to standout track ‘Nightswimming,’ with its saturated synth line and bubbling bass, makes the listener half expect George Clinton to come on the mic,” and JamBase remarked, “[Digitonium is] a major progression for the group.”
Celebrate five years of Digitonium with new footage available on YouTube and a newly-pressed vinyl available for pre-order here. Keep up with the band via their Facebook and YouTube channels, with more content on the way.
