The M Shanghai String Band grew out of a mutual love of traditional Americana music and tasty, affordable Asian food (the inevitable cultural collision one might expect in New York City!) In 2002, the band got together in the basement of a Chinese bistro in Brooklyn to share good food and play some music. This acoustic-culinary combination was too special not to repeat, and the band (named after the restaurant) was born. Their debut album, Up From the Ground Below, was recorded in the restaurant's dining room. Its twenty songs were captured completely live in one day. The M Shanghai live shows are equal part heartbreak and hootenanny, with a band that expands from 5 to 12 players on any given night. The players are misplaced Southerners, Midwestern ex-pats, and born-and-bred New Yorkers from various musical backgrounds. An adventurous take on Americana, the M Shanghai String Band's songs are not easily classified. They are reminiscent of traditional roots music styles, yet innovative in their musical form and modern lyrical content. The dynamics range from barnstorming breakdowns to achingly beautiful ballads, expressing originality and simplicity in the same breath. As machine-made, mistake-free music becomes the norm, the M Shanghai String Band creates music the way it used to be: heartfelt performances on the human scale, recorded live with a sense of dangerous abandon. It's an old-fashioned idea rendered new, and the results are both vibrant and timeless.

Band bio courtesy of the M Shanghai String Band.
 

Download  "Devil, You and Me" (mp3 file, 4 MB)

Contact: (347) 351-3765 or E-mail the M Shanghai String Band

Visit the M Shanghai String Band at www.mshanghaistringband.com

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