• For Immediate Release:

     

    Shot in Eight European & U.S. Cities

    Rebel Babel Ensemble
    Possibly The World’s Largest Collective Big Band
    Gifts “Tribute to DJ Premier” Epic Music Video
    To the Hip Hop Legend as a Surprise Birthday Present
    Spreading Its Global Message of Unity
     

    POLAND/UNITED STATES – March 30, 2020 [UPDATED: April 6, 2020] – The latest project of the Rebel Babel Ensemble is a universal tribute to hip hop pioneer DJ Premier. The transcultural international big band, perhaps the world’s largest (currently boasting over 11,000 members from sixteen countries), unleashed “Tribute to DJ Premier,” its herculean video “gift” to Preemo and the world, on the legend’s birthday, March 21, 2020. For this particular orchestration and video project, Rebel Babel and its conductor and co-founder Łukasz “L.U.C.” Rostkowski arranged samples from DJ Premier’s work for a jazz big band collaboration that was recorded in eight European and U.S. cities with just under 100 musicians involved.

    Visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHnSNGMNsWY to watch “Tribute to DJ Premier.” Find scores to the arrangements published on Rebel Babel’s Compositions page.

     

    Shot in eight U.S. & Polish cities, the latest project of the Rebel Babel Ensemble is a universal tribute to hip hop pioneer DJ Premier.

    From inception to completion, the project took over a year, and in the end, gathered almost 100 musicians from Europe and the U.S. to participate collectively in the tribute. The bands were recorded in New York and Los Angeles as well as in Austin, New Orleans and in Connecticut’s New Britain, plus the Polish cities of Gdańsk, Warsaw, Sopot and Wrocław. Multi award-winning battle turntablist DJ Eprom (IDA World Champion among other titles and honors) was instrumental in the project.
     
    As a global ambassador, Rebel Babel connects musicians, rappers and composers from different regions of the world combining cultures, languages and stylistic genres. The ensemble travels around the world organizing surreal performances—flash mobs and parades combining live music with the sounds of nature or technology—as well as micro- and macro-concerts. The mission of the project is to build dialogue and understanding through music.
     
    L.U.C., the originator of the tribute, said that one of the factors that inspired him to create this arrangement was due to the generosity of DJ Premier himself. “Our orchestra is trying to make positive surprises. Sometimes it’s a concert with car horns for those drivers who are tired of the morning drive to work, sometimes it’s playing for sick children in a hospice and sometimes almost 500 days of work and a birthday present for a hip-hop icon,” declared L.U.C. “We really appreciate how DJ Premier takes time to remember and honor other artists, and makes sure that their work is not forgotten. This tribute is our expression of gratitude and respect, and a surprise birthday gift!”
     
    Participating Bands:
    • Austin – Bunch of Dudes Ensemble
    • Los Angeles – Final Boss Brass Band
    • New Britain, CT – Red Satin
    • New Orleans – Slow Rollas Brass Band
    • New York – Shag Horns
    • Warszawa – DJ Eprom
    • Wrocław – Wojtek Buliński
    • Gdańsk – Tubicinatores Gedanenses
     
    Source Material:
    1. DJ Premier – I’m Legend (Instrumental)
    2. Gang Starr – Full Clip
    3. Gang Starr – Battle
    4. KRS-One – MC’s Act Like They Don’t Know
    5. The Four Owls – Think Twice
    6. M.O.P – Follow Instructions
    7. DJ Premier, Rakim, Nas & KRS-One – Classic
    8. Gang Starr – Battle
    9. Nas – N.Y. State of Mind
    10. ROYCE DA 5’9 – Boom DJ Premier
     
    Partial credits for this project include:
    • Production – L.U.C.
    • Music – DJ Premier
    • Arrangement and music production – L.U.C. & Rebel Babel Ensemble, Paweł Hulisz, DJ Eprom
    • Rebel Babel Commanders – Jakub Klemensiewicz, Paweł Hulisz, Maciej Stromski, Mikołaj, Basiukiewicz, Piotr Hałaj, Mateusz Mendyka, Michał Lasota, Wojtek Buliński
    • Editing and postproduction – Dominik Werner – Aerolab, L.U.C.
    • Mix – L.U.C.
    • Mastering – DJ Eprom
     
    See YouTube page for complete credits.
     
    DJ Eprom adds – “DJ Premier is a unique producer for me. I grew up on his sounds, listening to GangStarr, KRS ONE, Jeru The Damaja, MOP, Group Home over and over again, as well as recordings of many others who were touched by Premier’s talent. His work set a very important direction in hip hop and left a strong mark on all those brought up during the Golden Era. This tribute is my personal salute to him.”
     
     
    ABOUT:
     
    REBEL BABEL ENSEMBLE –
    Rebel Babel Ensemble (RBE) is a transcultural, international collective of brass bands and languages cross pollinating jazz, hip hop, folk, funk, classical and other genres with multilingual rap and singing. The global ensemble boasts over 11,000 musicians, and counting, from sixteen countries with musical hubs in Poland, Germany, Slovakia, Sweden, Portugal, Czech Republic, Spain and beyond. This unique BIG band connects musicians, rappers and composers from different regions of the world crossing cultures, languages and stylistic genres. RBE hopes to create a dialogue through musical and linguistic understanding. Concerts are performed with RBE’s seasoned members collaborating with local brass bands who bring their own cultural traditions to the performance.
     
    The collective of professional musicians travels around the world organizing surreal performances as well as micro- and macro-concerts. Musicians from local orchestras, music schools and established big bands— including outstanding soloists—are invited to join. Meetings and workshops lead to grand gala concerts, many presented at festivals, as well as crazy flash mobs and parades combining live music with the sounds of nature or technology. They have performed to the rhythm of an escalator in Barcelona’s metro, assembled a flash mob concert with car horns at a Madrid intersection, organized a brass band bike parade and even performed a song with a ship’s siren in San Francisco Bay. Rebel Babel combines contemporary with local traditional music; high culture with street culture.
     
    The ensemble has recorded the album DIALOG I, combining rap with world music. It also has a very active film and jazz project, Polish Hollywood Film Composers, under the Rebel Babel umbrella. L.U.C. and Rebel Babel Film Orchestra embarked on a tour last year, hitting the U.S. in October with shows in New Britain, CT, Queens, NY, Austin, TX and Los Angeles, CA. They created reinterpretations of world renowned film music composers including Krzysztof Komeda, Karol Rathaus and Academy Award-winners Bronisław Kaper and Jan A.P. Kaczmarek. See Komeda’s Rosemary’s Baby score performed here by Pawbeats with Rebel Babel’s support.
     
    Rebel Babel Ensemble joins professionals with enthusiasts, colliding folksy with futurism. Throughout its performing and recording schedule, RBE works to fulfill the dreams of young musicians wanting to connect with professionals through performances and various educational opportunities.
     
    L.U.C. –

    Rebel Babel Co-founder Łukasz “L.U.C.” Rostkowski is an innovative producer, music composer, performer, songwriter and Polish rapper. In 2015, along with Jan Eleński aka John Feat., he founded Rebel Babel Ensemble, a transcultural, international big band which has grown to over 11,000 global members. He is also a well respected concert and video director. A lover of music, film, and graphics, he combines nu jazz, trip-hop and hip-hop with classical and electronic music in his many layered projects and collaborations. He has released fifteen albums since 2002 as well as many soundtracks, spectacles and videos. His song “Sleepoholic” was chosen for the soundtrack to Alejandro Inarritu and Emmanuel Lubezki’s VR project Carne y Arena that premiered at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, and was awarded a Special Achievement Academy Award.

    Rostkowski has received many awards and recognitions for this work spanning live concert spectacles, original performances and respected educational projects. He was produced and recorded with many great instrumentalists and vocalists, and has provided live concert support to Tricky, The Prodigy, Massive Attack, Skunk Anansie, Talib Kweli, Wu-Tang Clan, Coldcut and many others.
     
    Currently, L.U.C.’s love for connecting picture with music has manifested in scoring two films, one a new dark comedy for NETFLIX.
     
    DJ EPROM –
    DJ Eprom aka Michał Baj is a Polish DJ, as well as a rapper, music producer and sound engineer. He has achieved high honors and top awards in many local and international DJ battles including European ITF and was crowned the IDA World Champion. Together with DJs Ben and Short, he co-creates the Modulators formation. Under the pseudonym Sztigar Bonko, he creates humorous hip-hop inspired by the achievements of Cypress Hill. In his work he uses the Silesian dialect. He also co-creates a duo with Częstochowa rapper Sensim, a member of the Hurragun band.
     
    DJ PREMIER –
    Born in 1966, Christopher Edward Martin, known professionally as DJ Premier (also known as Preemo), is an American record producer and DJ, and was half of the hip hop duo Gang Starr—alongside the emcee Guru—and forms half of the hip hop duo PRhyme, together with Royce da 5’9″. He is considered one of the best hip hop producers of all time. See full bio at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DJ_Premier and visit his site at http://premierwuzhere.com.
     
    Caricature of mastermind, Łukasz “L.U.C.” Rostkowski, the conductor and Rebel Babel’s Co-founder.
    LINKS:
    • “Tribute to DJ Premier” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHnSNGMNsWY
    • Rebel Babel – www.rebelbabel.com
    • RB/L.U.C. Films YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/lucfilms
    • Łukasz “L.U.C.” Rostkowski – www.lukaszrostkowski.com and http://eluce.pl (best viewed in Chrome)

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    For more information, photos, or to schedule an interview, please contact Green Galactic’s Lynn Tejada at 213-840-1201 or lynn@greengalactic.com.

    Posted on April 6th, 2020 lynn-hasty No comments

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