Innovative hybrid orchestra Nu Deco Ensemble reimagines the music of pioneering hip-hop duo Outkast in their new live video, titled “Outkast Suite: A Symphonic Portrait”. The video, which premiered today via Brooklyn Vegan, was originally recorded in April 2018 at Miami’s Light Box at Goldman Warehouse.
The suite is an orchestral odyssey through Outkast hits like “Rosa Parks”, “Humble Mumble”, “SpottieOttieDopaliscious”, “B.O.B.”, “Hey Ya!”, “The Whole World”, and even deep cuts like somewhat incongruous The Love Below instrumental “My Favorite Things”, itself a frenetic jazz cover of a song from 1959 musical, The Sound of Music.
“On the 20th anniversary of their landmark album Stankonia, we are thrilled to share our re-imagining of the eclectic and highly engaging music of Outkast,” shares Nu Deco co-founder and creative director, Sam Hyken, in a press release. “Outkast pushes and pulls, and at times even steps outside the boundaries of hip-hop, which is one of the many reasons we are such fans and that their music has become a key part of our repertoire.”
Nu Deco Ensemble conductor, co-founder and creative director Jacomo Bairos elaborates, “Outkast manage to both innovate with styles, lyricism and melodies, but apply and fuse the genres of funk, jazz, drum and bass, techno, and even Broadway into a whole new, distinctively original sound. It was so hard to narrow this down, but adding a DJ, a rapper, and having the orchestra groove in ways never done before, in what was our first hip-hop influenced suite, was such a fun ride to take our Miami audiences on. It’s so thrilling that we now are able to share this with the world!”
Watch Nu Deco Ensemble tackle the music of Outkast in “Outkast: A Symphonic Portrait” below:
Nu Deco Ensemble – “Outkast: A Symponic Portrait”
[Video: Nu Deco Ensemble]
The video premiere follows the release of Nu Deco’s new EP, Nu Deco Ensemble + Cimafunk: Live in Miami. The EP finds the genre-bending ensemble and noted AfroCubanFunk artist joining forces for an explosive live music experience combining funk, Afrobeat, and orchestral sounds. This is the first installment of the Nu Deco Ensemble + Series, an ongoing collection of archived recordings performed in various venues in vibrant Miami, FL with some of music’s top talents. Fans can purchase/stream the EP here.
Related: Nu Deco Ensemble Transforms Bill Withers Catalog Into Sprawling Orchestral Suite [Watch]
Nu Deco recently kicked off their revolutionary live stream performance season, featuring orchestral collaborations with Jose James, Larkin Poe, Cory Wong, Richard Bona, Cory Henry, and more. Additional original pieces and arrangements inspired by Pharrell Williams, Jessie Montgomery, Beach Boys, Dr. Dre, Duke Ellington, and many more will round out the season, which will be live streaming from the iconic North Beach Bandshell, a historic, oceanfront, open-air amphitheater in the heart of Miami Beach. The full concert schedule can be found below, with live stream tickets and more information available here.