Né(e): Nacho Segura, Nikko Matiz, Melissa Elledge, Tal Galfsky, Ethan Cohen, Yoni Benshlomo, Mohamed Smires
Raíces: Colombia, Morocco, Israel, New Orleans, and New York
Sounds like: Classic Mano Negra minus the reggae and rap influences
You should listen to Butcher Knives because…a multiculti mosh pit is something worth experiencing in your lifetime.
Down in Latin America we all know Mano Negra as one of the most influential bands ever. This side of the border, however, they’re barely known. That’s why Butcher Knives will sound very familiar to most of us, while gringos will probably label them “exotic.”
Butcher Knives is a culturally plural combo that could only emerge from a city like New York, and approaches punk rock following The Clash’s canon, hence the obvious comparisons with Manu Chao‘s former band and Gogol Bordello. Since two of their members are of Colombian background, there’s the expected bilingual lyrics, and since the rest of the members are from all over the world, the musical influences are as eclectic as they can get.
Listen to their single, “American Dream,” where they tackle immigration issues. It’s the second single off their upcoming 10-song album Misery, dropping worldwide on February 18th.