The Voodoo Trombone Quartet
THE VTQ (as they are sometimes known) are a London band whose unique sound skillfully blends the flavor of old ska 45s, lounge and exotica with a wry sense of humor and contemporary dance floor beats. The result is somehow much more modern than the sum of its parts might imply and has earned them a fast growing reputation and a cult following.Formed in 2004 by producer, record collector and multi instrumentalist, Paul Thorpe, the bands first tracks were made freely available on the net as supposedly 'rediscovered' originals. The joke soon backfired however when they became immensely popular in their own right as each one clocked up thousands of downloads. The newly formed Freshly Squeezed took note and duly signed Paul for the bands self-titled debut album in 2005.
An all-live 8- piece band, half of which consisted of brass section, were subsequently kitted out in white shirts, skinny black ties, matching black suits and red fezzes to spread The VTQ message. Dates swiftly followed through 2006 at clubs and festivals across Europe. This culminated in near disaster when their summer single, Medium Wave, almost blew their cult credentials by skimming the fringes of the official UK download charts! It missed by a couple of places and the band enjoyed a collective sigh of relief at remaining a carefully kept underground secret. For the moment at least...
The Voodoo Trombone Quartet continue to win fans with their superb live shows at the best UK clubs and festivals including Bestival, Glastonbury, The Brighton Festival Speigeltent, Pussy Parlure, Lost Vagueness and many more. Their music is also featured in hit shows like Ugly Betty and Medium Wave has recently been the theme to MTV's new series The Paper.
“For a band that started as an internet message board fantasy, then became a couple of jokey mp3 bootlegs to have progressed as far as an album could be seen as a step too far. Your worries would be ill-founded though, because The Voodoo Trombone Quartet have taken their concept and run with it to produce a superb collection of lounge-funk-ska tunes you'd be mad not to like.” *****Amazon
“The Lost Vagueness ballroom is a trippy mirage... the perfect venue should you wish to see fez-topped musicians making joyful whoopee with brass and guitars... The band serve up slice after slice of tight, bouncy happiness with occasional skank. To get a sober and welly-booted crowd dancing is no mean feat but they pull it off... Stomping good fun to open the festival.” http://playlouder.com/ - Glastonbury 2007 Highlights
“The Voodoo Trombone Quartet were outstanding across their hour-long set...” Bearded Magazine Glastonbury review 2007