Two weeks after dissolved funk outfit Turkuaz announced its final two albums, Paradiso and Apollyon, the group’s former frontman Dave Brandwein has revealed two new bands, New Originals and Band For Sale. Brandwein heralded the two disparate acts with debut singles, with New Originals recruiting Jerry Harrison and Adrian Belew (Talking Heads) for its first-ever track, “Wasteland”.

Aside from a brief statement following the sudden departure of seven of Turkuaz’s nine members last November, Brandwein has maintained radio silence. In the past two years, Brandwein’s marriage ended and he went into rehabilitation for substance abuse, after which time he moved from New York City to Los Angeles. These major changes, along with the dissolution of his band and the pandemic, are what influenced his new projects, which he recorded at his new L.A. home studio.

For New Originals, Brandwein teamed up with veteran producer Rob O’Block, who co-produced a pair of singles on Turkuaz’s 2018 album, Life In The City. The lead single, “Wasteland”, features Harrison and Belew, with whom Turkuaz was in the midst of a Remain In Light tour last year when guitarist/keyboardist Craig Brodhead, trumpeter/keyboardist Chris Brouwers, drummer Mikey Carubba, vocalist Shira Elias, vocalist Sammi Garett, saxophonist Greg Sanderson, saxophonist/vocalist Josh Schwartz all left the band. Those seven members have continued to celebrate the beloved 1980 Talking Heads album with Belew and Harrison, and will do so once again on September 29th in L.A.

Along with Jerry Harrison and Adrian Belew, Brandwein and O’Block also recruited drummer Daru Jones (Jack White) and vocalist/electronic artist Danke. Together on “Wasteland”, Brandwein charts his path forward as he continues to pursue the future-wave sound that Turkuaz favored toward the end (one of the group’s final albums, Paradiso, highlights that style), though with more of his own personality.

“It seemed time for a new energy that could reflect more of the edge and darkness in my lyrics, and in the state of the world,” Brandwein said.

Conversely, with Band For Sale, Brandwein looks back to his early influences like The Beatles and Jackson Brown as inspirations for debut album, Sleeping Sun, Waking Moon. The project is exceedingly personal for Brandwein as he produced and mixed the entire album himself. The debut single, “The Urge”, focuses on earworm melodies that recall an early Paul Simon as Brandwein crafts breezy compositions that are somehow new and nostalgic.

“I’m just discovering who I am as an adult, sober, not in a relationship or part of a band, living on my own,” Brandwein said. “I’m in a period of rediscovery, which is admittedly terrifying… I am taking this as an opportunity to figure it out. Having all this music come out after this time is kind of like a purging of all these things that made me who I was before and figuring out what the next phase holds.”

Sleeping Sun, Walking Moon will feature an array of guest musicians including former Lucius vocalist Andrew Burri, The Stepkids drummer Tim Walsh, Turkuaz bassist Taylor Shell, The London Souls’ bassist Kiyoshi Matsuyama, Train drummer Matt Musty, and Grace Potter bandmember Kurtis Keber, as well as drummer Jonathan Smith and guitarist Michael Haziza.

Check out the debut singles from the new Dave Brandwein projects New Originals and Band For Sale below or on your preferred streaming platform.

New Originals – “Wasteland” (ft. Jerry Harrison, Adrian Belew, Daru Jones, Danke)

Band For Sale – “The Urge”

On September 17th, former Turkuaz members Craig Brodhead (guitar/keys), Chris Brouwers (trumpet/keys), Michelangelo Carubba (drums), Shira Elias (vocals), Sammi Garett (vocals), Greg Sanderson (tenor sax), and Josh Schwartz (baritone sax/vocals) will debut their new project Cool Cool Cool at Brooklyn Comes Alive. Live For Live Music‘s long-running event will return to the Brooklyn Mirage for a daylong music marathon with additional performances from STS9, Medeski Martin & Wood, and Lettuce [get tickets].