Unsigned Bands: ArtOfficial

ArtOfficial:

The setup alone begs the questions “What does a live band with two emcees sound like?” Well, envision blending your favorite groups from hip-hop’s golden era and replacing their sampled beats with jazz musicians. Now, what if those jazz musicians had a knack for creating that boom-bap sound that made us all fall in love with hip-hop in the first place? Such a mixture doesn’t have to be imagined. It exists. It’s a living, breathing entity that lives in Miami, but thinks universally. It speaks in a language that is both familiar and unknown. Its name is ArtOfficial and it’s here to make you remember the past and embrace the future.

Created from the remains of two bands, one jazz and one hip-hop, ArtOfficial has taken the music scene by storm, implementing their previous musical experiences to achieve quick results. In the words of keyboardist Danny Perez, “After having minor success in our other bands we were able to use all those years of experience to get the outcome we wanted out of this one.” Part of that experience is seen in their stage shows. ArtOfficial’s live performances have earned them a reputation as extraordinary showmen who, according to the Miami New Times, “get butts moving!” ArtOfficial has shared the stage with the likes of KRS-One, The Sugarhill Gang, Pharoahe Monch, and Buckshot as well as performing at 2007’s Rock the Bells festival headlined by Wu-Tang and Nas. In 2008 ArtOfficial was chosen as a semi-finalist in the Florida Grammy Showcase and also beat out 1000+ bands to earn second runner-up in Lollapalooza’s Last Band Standing.

ArtOfficial has recorded a full-length follow-up to their much praised and independently released EP, Stranger. The album, titled Fist Fights and Foot Races is distributed in Japan via Goon Trax/Media Factory and is proving to be a hot seller since its release in early April 2008, peaking at #4 on the Tower Records Charts.

Today ArtOfficial is constantly performing and expanding on an already growing fan base. Currently ArtOfficial is working on their US release and according to the band, it’s everything you’d expect from their energetic live shows, but expanded and executed to perfection. When asked about their run-ins with record execs the DIY band says, “We’ve been very successful at handling ourselves so far. We’re going to plot our next move like a game of chess.”

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