Federale

Whilst checking out the list of bands on the line-up for last year’s Austin Psych Fest, I stumbled upon Federale. After a quick listen and some online investigation, I became a little confused as what I was reading didn’t quite match up with what I was hearing and it wasn’t long before I figured out that there are two bands who share that name. One from Brooklyn, New York who have a classic funk-rock sound (check out ‘Not Your Vessel’) and the other Portland, Oregon-based band who specialise in writing the soundtrack to your favourite imaginary spaghetti western. Probably.

A diverse collective of musicians, (and as noted when I saw them at the festival) there can be as many as fourteen of them on stage at any one time creating a symphony whose talents include Native American flute, trumpet, keyboards, timpani, duelling drums, and the obligatory guitars along with soaring operatic vocals and a male voice choir who also whistle when required. Essentially, all the sounds that a good (bad or ugly) cowboy should hear in everyday life.

Lastest album ‘The Blood Flowed Like Wine’ expands on their previous work and includes additional vocals by Alex Maas of The Black Angels (who appeared unexpectedly on stage with them at PF and made my night) and KP Thomas of Spindrift. And it’s become the soundtrack to my very own favourite spaghetti western…

You can saddle up and sample some good quality live footage at https://federalepdx.com/videos