kt's Universal Love Band
An all-original world music
group. An eclectic mix of african,reggae and percussive music stylings with gamelon ngoni
(West African harp). Danceable music with reflective lyrics. Ngoni pieces are
calming and poetic.
Our
mission: To create original global music together and to share it with our
community.
To spread positive
messages through our art.
|
|
|
| "Love is the glue that holds the
universe together -Teilhard de Chardin |
| ********************************************************** |
|
************************************************************** |
| ********************************************************** |
|
************************************************************** |
| Bocar
Ndiaye Dakar, Senegal Percussion, vocals, acoustic guitar. |
|
 |
| Charley
Braun Milwaukee, WI Drum
Set, percussion. |
|
 |
| Deon
Sartin Milwaukee, WI Electric
guitar, vocals, percussion. |
|
 |
| KT
Rusch Electric Bass,
vocals, gamelon ngoni, percussion. |
|
 |
| ********************************************************** |
|
************************************************************** |
| ********************************************************** |
|
************************************************************** |
| New CD "Rising Sun"
Coming Soon NERVE HOUSE Spring 2007 review
"Stevie Wonder said it best in the opening verse of his 1976 hit
"Sir Duke." "Music is a world within itself / With a language we all
understand / With an equal opportunity / For all to sing, dance, and clap their
hands." This slice of lyrical wisdom applies to the spirit behind the forthcoming
concept album "Rising Sun" by Milwaukee’s own KT’s Universal Love
Band. For anyone who has seen them jam live, you already know KT as the powerful bassist
who places her bright, smiling face slightly off center stage as the group performs.
It’s a good statement in a day and age when musicians, even politically motivated
artists, put too much of their own ego and personality into their performance at the cost
of seriously watering down or hamstringing their message.
The band takes a refreshing tack in terms of advancing their own vision
of a better world, and sometimes so subtly that the infectious Roots rhythms—that
I’ll guarantee will stick in your head long after you’ve listened to the
CD—belie the earnestness of their message. The conceptual aspect of the album arises
though the combination of their solid grooves, for example on the title track "Rising
Sun," with audio soundscapes of the voices of inner city youth, the community members
they work hard to reach. Through their work with young adults at Milwaukee’s Juvenile
Detention Center and participation in a Summer 2006 Youth Rally Against Homicide, they
apply cultural teachings from African traditions with a spiritual sense that is not
overtly religious, but is accessible to all. The album boasts lyrical content in roughly a
dozen languages, refreshing in a moment in cultural time where monolinguists attempt to
bully people into expression in the dominant tongue. |
|
 |
| As with good Roots music,
you’ll hear bits and bobs of some of the greats in the genre throughout the album,
such as in "Give It To Me" where there is a lovely reworking of a verse from the
early 1980s classic "Genius of Love" by Tom Tom Club that puts a positive spin
on the contemplation, "Whatcha you gonna do when you get out of jail?" The
extroverted introspection that weaves through the tracks is uplifting and inspiring,
bringing a level of joy to the scary enterprise of sorting through one’s beliefs and
choosing how to act upon them in thereal world. |
|
Please visit the band’s website at
www.ktruschmusic.net for more information on the release date for "Rising Sun"
and be sure to support live shows in the neighborhood and at community events for a group
of musicians whose vision is unique not only for Milwaukee, but for the world – and
more importantly, the bold, new world to come!" |
 |
|
 |
| Summerfest 40th Anniversary 2007 |
|
Recording "One River" with Amlak Tafari of Steel
Pulse |
 |
|
 |
| Rising Sun over Lake Michigan |
|
Club Timbuktu is Home |
| Live Show Feedback:
"You were awesome — you all were
hot and I've been burned by your light and love. Thanks for the positive vibes and the
deep lyrics and the good energy. Last night was a blessing and a whole lotta fun. Keep
that fire burning." — Sura |
| "Thank
you for being you. There was a lot of love in the room."— Omar |
|
"Keep
stirring it up! Really loved your vocals with the group rhythm. Clear, crisp, and
refreshing! A fun surprise while on the ground in the Milwaukee area." - Margo,
flight attendant |
|
“I was so engrossed in the music – I forget to order my soup.” -
Carol
"You and your band were fantastic! It
has been a long, long time since any group has sparked my big fat *!* to move to music.
Thank you! You and yours give a lot of energy. Good sounds! Lots of love!...the finer
angels of all were enthralled with your music, your energy, your good love for
all."— Godsil |
| A human being is a part of a whole, called
by us "Universe," a part limited in time and space. He experiences
himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical
delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting
us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our
task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to
embrace all living creatures and the whole of Nature in its beauty." -Albert
Einstein |
|
Music is a universal language.
Economics is not a barrier. Culture is not a barrier. Age, race, gender are
not barriers. Music can touch all hearts, connect us and unite us.
Today, in this new millenium, we are bombarded with
fractionalizing forces - from nations to neighborhoods, and within our own
selves. Through music, we can sing and dance together. We can plant
seeds of coexistance and respect. From there it is not a far leap to solving
problems at all levels, because we are certainly an ingenious species. Through
music we can go beyond coexistance and actually enjoy each other. Can
Muslims and Christians really enjoy each other? Yes - we do it every Thursday
night in Milwaukee when Universal Love holds a practice session. How can you make
war with someone you sing with? kt 12/06 |
|
|
Milwaukee is our Root. This is where we were born.
We are the children of Great Lakes culture. Bocar was born in Senegal and he
brings this taproot into our immediate mix. So although our ancestors may have come
from West Africa, Egypt, and Indo-European culture, this is where we are right now, making
fresh, new music, here and now. kt
7/07
Some influences: Sly and the Family Stone - Sly's first album was
rejected by the record company. Entitled "A Whole New Thing", it was
indeed all that. A remarkable achievement on many levels.
Recently re-issued.
Amadou and Marium, Cheik Lo, Babtunde Olatunji
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
