Hot 8 Brass Band

The first US signing to Tru Thoughts is this authentic New Orleans brass band. The real deal, walking the streets of New Orleans and playing their tunes. They are something special!!!

Sexual Healing is one of the most eagerly awaited singles of Tru Thoughts existence. Tru Thoughts have been inundated with thousands of enquiries about this track. This energetic big brass version of the Marvin Gaye classic was previously released on a small label in New Orleans before Hurricane Katrina. After the hurricane the label never fully recovered and the track was pushed underground until it was brought to the attention of Tru Thoughts A&R Robert Luis when Quantic started dropping it in his DJ sets.

People have been swapping CDRs and MP3s to get hold of the track ever since and it has received a remarkable response from DJs such as Gilles Peterson, Rob Da Bank and Coldcut getting in touch with Tru Thoughts eager to get hold of their own copy.

500 exclusive copies of this record were made available to buy from selected independent retailers in August 2007 with no promotional copies available. The full eight minute version and radio edit of this track released on the 1st October 2007.

The ten members of the Hot 8 Brass Band are all from New Orleans and formed in 1995, they have an unmistakable jazz spirit and a significant story to their work. They recently appeared in Spike Lee’s poignant documentary ‘When the Levees Broke’. The film captures the anger and despair surrounding one of the most horrific natural disasters in US history.

Hurricane Katrina in 2005 broke a lot of boundaries between generations and class divides. This is apparent in the sound of The Hot 8 who bring elements of modern, traditional and urban music together and create a unique, new class of brass music.

The band embodies the hip hop culture and energy in the New Orleans music scene for example, they are involved in local second-line parades. These are music battles or face offs with local jazz bands on the streets. Brass bands fight it out for the largest crowd listening to their music, the one with the most feet at the end wins.

The Hot 8 are also part of anti violence campaigns and use their vibrant, energetic music to project this message. Tragically four members of The Hot 8 have died, two because of violent acts on the streets of New Orleans. The Hot 8 Brass Band’s struggle has fuelled their passion and they have formed a deeply relevant musical style. This is credible music for so many reasons.