Tijuana Taxi, Classical Gas, Soul Bossa Nova - they topped the charts over 50 years ago, but you could probably still hum these instrumental classics. With their ambitious self-titled full-length debut, Ginger Beef aims to singlehandedly breathe life back into this all-but-extinct instrumental pop genre."If evoking emotion is the goal of music, then lyrics are cheating," It's a hot take from MSG (aka Warren Tse), producer and one half of Ginger Beef. His thesis for the album: "Classical and film music prove that you don't need words to resonate with listeners and stir up feelings. Why can't we do the same thing with pop?"In 2021, flutist Jiajia LI was asked to present a music video for the Camp Sled Island event in Calgary. She ended up collaborating with the veteran multi-instrumentalist/producer/Calgary Flames organist conveniently living under her roof (she's married to MSG) to cook up "Flashback", an energetic track seasoned with anachronistic synths, slap bass, and traditional Chinese elements - and no singing. Unintentionally, this one-off track whetted the crowd's appetite, which gave Ginger Beef's snowball a push downhill.Spurred by the warm response to their first and only song, the couple wrote new material, joined forces with heavy hitters from the local R&B and Gospel scene, and thrilled Calgary audiences with their explosive live performances. When their new fans all but demanded a recording, LI and MSG locked themselves in their basement studio and painstakingly crafted Ginger Beef's first album. They ordered up a small run of CDs and released the album independently. To their surprise and delight, their home-cooked debut was immediately met with critical acclaim and was nominated for a Juno award. All this validation made it clear that the album deserved greater distribution and reach than they could ever manage with their own limited DIY resources. Now signed with Providence-based Ba Da Bing Records, Ginger Beef is poised to drop their celebrated album on unsuspecting music fans everywhere in a brand-new vinyl re-release!
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