If It's Too Loud...

Big D and the Kids Table bassist Ben Basile has a new solo instrumental ska single out that is perfect for fans of both ska and jazz. "Cacao Knibb" has a ska style beat and ska guitar paired with a more jazz style saxophone and piano. Ska tends to get looked down upon as a genre, possibly because so many people have a ska phase in their formative years. But "Cacao Knibb" is ska meant for grown ups and fans of more serious music. Ska and jazz get paired together a lot, and Basile's latest does it in such a seamless and perfect way. This is a terrific song, and his best solo single so far. Ben Basile says of his new solo single: “'Cacao Knibb' has been in development for a long time and took years to find its final form which appears on the album. The title is a play on words with two of my favorite things: Ska music and Dark Chocolate. Cacao Nib being a piece of a dried cacao bean and Lloyd Knibb was the original drummer with The Skatalites who pretty muc...

Bassist Ben Basile (Big D and the Kids Table) has a new single out that's an instrumental tribute to the old Knitting Factory in New York City. While previous single "Mountain Road" was along the lines of classic ska, "74 Leonard Street" sounds more like a jazz song to me. It's heavy on horn solos, and while it does have that classic ska guitar strum, I hear more jazz on this one. Basile is making smooth jazz sound cool and hip on "74 Leonard Street," but that could also be the dalliance into ska. Either way, this is a great single and one of the more captivating instrumental tracks we've heard so far this year. Plus, something about this one makes me desperate to be driving around in warmer weather. Ben Basile says of his latest single: “I wrote this as a tribute to the old Knitting Factory when it was still in Manhattan in the early 2000s.  It was at this venue that my love and appreciation for the genre grew even deeper. This was where I fir...

There seems to be a trend lately of bass players from Boston based ska punk bands releasing solo music. (Two is a trend, ok?!??!) The latest is Big D and The Kids Table's Ben Basile, who recently released "Mountain Road." This new song is an instrumental that is a throwback to classic ska, just with modern production values. It's smooth while being both laid back and energetic. This is a truly fun keyboard heavy song that is undeniably catchy even without lyrics. At the very least, it's going to inspire you to search for first wave ska playlists on Spotify, and that's hardly a band thing. Ben Basile says of his new solo single: "'Mountain Road' was written to represent where I am now in life... It's literally the road I live on currently." You can listen to "Mountain Road" below. Benergy is due out this spring on Sleep Walk Sounds, which is an imprint of Wiretap Records. For more on Ben Basile, check out the artist's website...