Austin-based 10-piece ensemble Hard Proof brings together influences of African funk, world music, and jazz to create something unique. The group formed in 2008, only growing within the city’s vibrant music scene. Recently the band teamed up with Jim Eno (Spoon) and his Public Hi-Fi Records label, and are putting out their fourth release with them later this month. The Public Hi-Fi Sessions 3 is due out on June 24th, and can be pre-ordered here.
Jim Eno spoke at length about the band. “I first saw Hard Proof at the Continental Club in 2012. It was an amazing show. The 10-piece band had a great feel and magnetic energy. I’d recently recorded the jazz band Dupree live to 1/2-inch tape, and it hit me that Hard Proof would be perfect for this type of project. To record live to tape, the band needs to be incredibly tight because no overdubs are possible, and no mixing occurs after tracking; the tracks are mixed as the band plays in real time. I was confident that Hard Proof could pull this off.”
The band has more than pulled it off on their first two releases, and the third one only continues the band’s creative evolution. We’re excited to share one of these great tracks; a piece titled “The Break.” Trumpet player and songwriter Derek Phelps tells us about the new song, saying, “For ‘The Break,’ I was on a break from playing the trumpet due to a busted lip, but that helped me break through my writer’s block, and this tune is one of the first to come out of that.”
Listen to the triumphant tune, below.
For more on Hard Proof, be sure to check out their website.