When GIVERS formed in 2008 in the sweaty dancehalls of Lafayette, Louisiana, they knew right away that they had something special. Crafted from the improvisational and dance-fueled atmosphere of the area’s zydeco, cajun, and jazz cultures mixed with an affection for new wave, funk, and world music, the infectious results brought a quick rise to the spotlight for the young band.
Soon after forming, a fortuitous opportunity to play a string of shows with Dirty Projectors arose, bringing them swiftly to the attention of listeners outside the southwest Louisiana region. Their debut album In Light was released two years later in 2011 on Glassnote Records, backed by extensive touring. During that time, they found themselves bouncing along a global festival circuit, making their national TV debut with Jimmy Fallon and performing alongside the likes of Preservation Hall Jazz Band at Carnegie Hall.
After an extended break from rigorous touring, the band met in the peaks of Beech Mountain, North Carolina to begin collaborating for their Sophomore album. Their nomadic approach to recording led them across the Smoky Mountains to the wintery hills of the Eau Claire, Wisconsin and back down to the placid lakes of south Louisiana, causing a transformation that led them to the surface of something new and unseen. This myriad of changing influences can be felt throughout the intricate and startling New Kingdom, their most recent work, set for release in Fall of 2015. There is an undeniable lushness and impelling willingness to experiment that is inherent in their sound throughout the album and can be seen as a testament to not only the richness of their influences but also to their exploratory nature.
It is this adventurous spirit that Neil Young commented on, in his 2012 autobiography, Waging Heavy Peace, saying, “They blew my mind…It sounded like they were in a complete other zone from the rest of music.” New Kingdom feels like a place that was indeed created with this type of trajectory—far away and hidden yet somehow drawing from a core of soul music that twirls and dances with experimental sounds. The entire album takes you someplace familiar while simultaneously informing you that this place is yet to be discovered. This coming year will be a great journey for all listeners visiting New Kingdom.
