Red Baraat’s musical approach almost seems too contrived: Bhangra meets New Orleans brass meets jazz and funk and go-go. But since this Brooklyn nine-piece group formed a little over three years ago, it's made this largely instrumental style work, and garnished a following to show for it. The group includes three percussionists and six horn players, and tonight they're playing an early show at U Street Music Hall. I traded a few emails recently with Sunny Jain, the group's leader and dhol player.

Jain says he formed the group to bring together the various musical cultures that are a part of his life. “Much of my composing centers around my identity as an Indian-American, and music has always served as a bridge to the two cultures that felt so disparate when growing up,” he writes.  “While leading a jazz quartet as a drum set player for the past 10 years, I found myself gravitating towards the dhol drum. In the fall of 2008, the next natural step in my creative process was to start up Red Baraat, with the intention of creating a large, acoustic band that brought a powerful, primal sound."

The dhol is a double-sided barrel-shaped North Indian drum slung over one shoulder. The instrument "is synonymous with Bhangra, the folk and dance music of Punjab,” Jain writes. Brass bands are not just an American thing.  ”Having seen brass bands in the streets of India during childhood visits,” says Jain, “ I wanted to meld these sounds with the American sounds of funk, jazz, go-go—a musical collection reflecting global unity, which is not only found in the make-up of the band, but also in our audiences.”

Red Baraat has released two albums that are each reflective of the times when they were recorded. The songs on the studio-recorded Chaal Baby were largely composed or arranged by Jain, while a subsequent live album, Bootleg Bhangra followed two years of performing. For the band's upcoming sophomore studio record, Shruggy Ji, several members of the band contributed compositions. "The sound of the band has grown tremendously by depth and emotion since our inception, and this next album captures that,” Jain writes.

As a consumer, Jain’s own musical interests go beyond the speedy dhol-and-brass party rhythms of the group.  “I’ve been listening to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan while running.  The way Sufi numbers unfold creates a meditative space that I lose myself in…which also benefits my exercise time, “ he says. “Otherwise, my playlist shuffles pretty regularly depending upon mood….Deerhoof, Prefuse 73, Nitin Sawhney, Talvin Singh, Pains of Being Pure at Heart, My Pet Dragon, Coltrane.”

Red Baraat performs tonight at 7 p.m. at U Street Music Hall. $15.

Animal Collective member Avey Tare (aka David Portner) is in town tonight promoting his swampy new album, Down There. Besides keeping the animal association rolling—his website is called Alligatorland and the creature is a motif in his music and visuals—Avey Tare explores themes in his solo work that run parallel to Animal Collective. In a recent interview, we talked about his totem, some of those themes, and how he transports himself and his fans via sound. He performs with Eric Copeland and Insect Factory at U Street Music Hall. 8 p.m. $10.

Washington City Paper: Animal Collective seemed to hit the nail with the need for protection and a sturdy shelter with your hit "My Girls." The theme of home comes around again in "Oliver Twist," with your stanza, "to live in a house and have breathing/is a luxury when you understand its meaning." As domestic themes crop up in your lyrics, does it make you identify with the uncertainty of a comfortable living?

Avey Tare: I suppose. I guess from what I've seen in my life so far, all of the elements of life are so uncertain that it's hard to be able to grasp onto something and say, "This is it" or, "This is how it's gonna be for awhile." "Oliver Twist" for me is more about understanding how fortunate I am at this point. A lot of darkness went into some of that realization. But I think anyone in my position, a musician, for example, or someone who gets to live by doing what they love on a day-to- day basis, should thank the universe every day. I believe in a certain balance that has to happen in the world, though, a balance between everyone and maybe even everything. "Oliver Twist" to me is about wondering if I'm "doing my part," so to speak. If I'm giving back as much as I'm receiving. As a musician part of that is understanding that I make people happy with music or performing. But I wonder a lot if there's more to what I have to do than that.

WCP: This brings me to the second part of your stanza, "But even in a box am I dreaming?/A galaxy of stars above our ceiling?" There's a craving for connection to the natural and celestial world that becomes barricaded or concealed by modern living. How does that separation effect your psyche and your music, and how do you cope with it, or try to improve upon it? After all, your band has almost a shamanistic feeling to it, from the name Animal Collective to the nature of your compositions…

AT: That can mean a lot of boxes to me. Like if I was so poor I lived in a box what would I dream about? Or the way people choose to live in somewhere like New York. "In a little box at the top of the stairs," as Neil Young put it. I dwell a lot on nature versus "anti-nature," or the way a lot of humanity chooses to live. I wonder about the things I would get out of living outside with almost nothing. I watched the Human Planet series that the BBC did recently and it blew my mind. The things and the ways people live by all around the world. It just makes me look at my life even more. What am I learning and what am I gaining from doing all this? My house is still quite artificial, though I do more and more to make it feel more connected to the earth. But if I lived in a house that was breathing. If I was as much a part of the earth as a tree or something...would it be more of a luxury then poverty? It's really just me thinking out loud.

WCP: And on the topic of animals, tell me more why you gravitate toward the crocodile—correct me if I'm wrong—on Down There, from your PR photos to your music videos.

AT: Well, aesthetically I like them a lot. Which is how a lot of decisions are made with my music or AC's music. I really like the texture of crocodilians, and they are very old and ancient. This must give them a knowledge that goes way back.

WCP: The crocodiles in your video "Oliver Twist" almost remind me of Indian gavials, or gharials. Ever heard of them, or seen one? They're crocodiles with long, tapering snouts that end with a bulbous nose, and their teeth look like a dangerous zipper that should never be messed with. Out of all of the crocodilians, the gavials are by far my favorite.

AT: I do know them. I may have seen one in a zoo, but never in the wild.

WCP: In regards to "Glass Bottom Boat," I feel like the name is appropriate to the piece. It's as if the listener is going on a stimulating tour through ambient sound, able to witness all that they pass by. Except the sound is gargled and mucky, just like what swamp water would be like. What do you want listeners to envision during this piece?

AT: My friend told me that the record was like putting your head into a pool covered in wet leaves in the autumn. That's exactly what I'm going for in many ways. The whole glass bottom boat ride thing goes back to when I was a kid. I spent a lot of time in Florida on vacation with my family. I think that's probably one reason I like swamps so much. There were always these brochures you'd see for glass bottom boat rides. I've never actually been on one. I went to Peru sometime just before I recorded the record and I went on a boat out on this lake with a small group of Peruvians. I think I recorded some of the boat sounds on that trip. I guess I'd like this to be a glass bottom boat ride filled with ghosts though. Perhaps the boat is almost broken and real rickety. I like the word rickety.

WCP: Boats seem to be another recurring symbol on this album, between "Glass Bottom Boat" and the video of "Oliver Twist," when the figure steers his way through a swamp on a wooden Huckleberry Finn raft. Have you spent much time on boats, or in swamps at all? Do you view this idea of boats as a means of slow-moving transportation for your listeners through your album?

AT: I wrote this short story in college about a skeleton ferryman taking someone on a trip down this haunted canal cavern way. I guess I've had these kind of visions in my mind for a while now. This is a much more humid trip, though. I do think a lot about transportation when I write music. A lot of my music is about moving in cars or just moving, period. I think when I write music or when AC does I always think about it going somewhere. I grew up listening to music in cars a lot and watching or soaking in the environment as it went by. For me, songs or albums start somewhere and then move to somewhere else in such a way that it feels like it's all a part of the same movement. I guess that's why I write a lot of songs where parts don't repeat or are like traditionally verse-chorus verse.

WCP: Your music and visuals remind me of a project by John Cage called "Indeterminancies," where someone would tell a story but there would be ambient sound interferences throughout it. What do you hope to create, besides a distorted effect, with warped and layered music and art?

AT: I guess it's about imbuing the music with some kind of "otherness." It's kind of supernatural to me and I think it's hard for anyone to explain or put a finger on. But it's almost like you just feel it. It's like knowing somethings haunted or knowing there are ghosts around but not being able to see them. I think there is a warped element or a warped ether around that we can't really see sometimes; maybe I just wish it was more visible and so I'm trying to bring it out more in sound.

THEATER

The Shakespeare Theatre Company's annual Free-for-All begins today, with a free (yes free!) run of performances of Julius Caesar. It's a remount, in fact, of the production from several years back. At the time, Bob Mondello wrote that the play's central betrayal

never generates much heat in David Muse’s staging, led by Tom Hammond’s stiff, uncharismatic Brutus, against Dan Kremer’s distracted, similarly unprepossessing Caesar. Both men, surrounded by followers nearly as undifferentiated as their senatorial togas, appear impressive mostly when situated on balconies, high above the throng. And when lesser folks stand out, it’s not always in ways that are dramatically useful. Scott Parkinson’s Cassius has a lean and mostly petulant look, Nancy Rodriguez turns Portia’s pleas to Brutus into a florid, woe-struck aria.

Still, there’s often an eloquence of gesture when Muse finds ways to blend intimacy into the surrounding spectacle, seen in Caesar’s brusque impatience on the morning of his assassination as he shrugs off both barbering attendants and his wife (a wonderfully natural Kim Martin-Cotten), and again in the shock with which he realizes there’s a knife in a hand he’s reached out to for support.

Want tickets? There's an online lottery every day, you could line up at theater around 4 p.m., you could try to snag tickets via Shakespeare Theatre's Facebook and Twitter accounts, or you can become an STC subscriber or member of Friends of Free for All. Tonight's performance is at 8 p.m.

MUSIC

Ryan McLaughlin, the frontman of local folk-punkers Typefighter, opens up for Smoke Fairies. McLaughlin recorded a great mini-set on the parking deck of Washington City Paper back in December. It was fucking cold. 8:30 p.m. at Red Palace. $10.

Tonight's Moombahton Massive party is the strongest, lineup-wise, since the first. Nadastrom's Dave Nada invented the microgenre, Sabo and Heartbreak helped popularize it, Munchi—a Rotterdam DJ who hasn't been able to travel to the U.S. in recent months because of now-resolved visa issues—might be its biggest star. Here's a free mix to get you pumped.

Moombahton Massive V ep by SolSelectas

Books

You'll probably want to avoid former U.S. Senate candidate/Tea Party fave Christine O'Donnell's book event at the Barnes & Noble downtown.

Film

A selection of Disney short films commissioned by the U.S. government during World War II, including Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Firing Line (!). Noon at the National Archives. Free.

Dance

Step Afrika! is the centerpiece of tonight's Phillips After 5. Which is at the Phillips, after 5.

Sopranos Fans

See Alicia Witt play music! On the roof of the W at 9 p.m.

Willy Joy—his legal name— is a Minneapolis native, Brown University graduate, and Chicago rapper Kid Sister's tour mate. He's also a top-tier DJ versed in hip-hop, cool disco, and niche sounds like Chicago juke. A recent transplant from Chicago, Joy says he "made the move for personal and professional reasons. I still have a significant following and visibility in Chicago, but D.C. has always shown me love."

True, that: Joy has played four well-received gigs at UHall in the past year, and even participated in a Brightest Young Things-sponsored contest, "Win a Dream Date With Willy Joy." "There's a lot of positivity here," he says. "I had to check with my friends—guys like Jesse Tittsworth and Dave Nada—to make sure this was real, that everyone knows and supports everyone's moves— even the smallest ones—so openly. It's a great atmosphere to now be a part of."

Joy lives in near H Street NE and is intrigued by his new surroundings. "This is definitely the first time I've lived so far south, so it definitely has a certain Southern feel," he says. As far as future work, he's optimistic. He released an EP and video for his single "Woman Like Me" on Plant Music, and he'll release his next record on another label this fall. "I'm still going to be DJing for Kid Sister," he says. And starting tonight, hopefully playing out more on U Street. "UHall is my favorite venue to play in the country, and I can't wait to play on that system more often."

U Street Music Hall co-owners Will Eastman and Jesse Tittsworth aren't the only D.C. tunesmiths who have benefited from the venue's 40,000-watt sound system. Nouveau Riche crew member Steve Starks has excelled recent with a hybrid of sensuous and moody tech house and percussion-heavy Baltimore club.

Today, Starks released the free track "Problem," which is built around his signature thunder-cloud percussion and a threatening melody. As for the plaintive vocal sample: "It's from The Cardigans' ''Lovefool,'" Starks says. "There's something about the way that the lead singer [Nina Persson] says 'problem' that made me want to work with that sample."

The track is just a teaser for what's looking like a very heavy fall release schedule for Starks. "I'm going to try to release a track every two weeks," Starks says. "I've been playing the tracks out, and they get a good response, so I just want to get them out there." A new EP on Tittsworth and DJ Ayres' T&A Records is in the works, as well as a separate release for eruptive moombahton track "Fr33ky in the Club."

Steve Starks – Problem by SteveStarks

Among its many activities, the group Sulu DC has become known in the last few years for spotlighting local Asian-American hip-hop culture. But tonight it's importing some culture from other cities, with a headlining set from San Francisco sensation Rocky Rivera at U Street Music Hall. The showcase is called "Miss Fortune: Spotlight on AAPI Women in Hip-Hop" and it also features New York rapper-violinist duo Misnomer(s) and the high-flying Kickrocks dance crew. Spoken-word poet Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai is hosting and performing and The Pinstriped Rebel is DJing.

"We're all about shattering stereotypes," says Sulu co-founder and Columbia Heights resident Simone Jacobson. One misconception: That Asian American hip-hop culture is an outlier in D.C. It's actually pretty vibrant, says Jacobson. "I'm a b-girl [as in breakdancing], and the other co-founders of Sulu also have extensive hip-hop backgrounds," she says. Regie Cabico and Jenny Lares are local spoken word pioneers, and Alex Cena is a hip-hop and youth activist. "Asian-Americans are at the forefront of the next international hip-hop evolution. [West Coast trio] Far East Movement are extremely hot right now, and there's a lot more diverse talent where that came from."

Tickets are $15 at the door. For more information visit SuluDC.com.

Volta Bureau

Listen:

Volta Bureau – Love Cubed by Volta Bureau

One goodie before you go: On his blog, U Street Music Hall co-owner Jesse Tittsworth has a download of Nadastrom's Moombahton edit of "You've Got the Love" by Florence and the Machine. One goodie for when you're there: Nada's mom will be selling homemade empanadas.

Last bit of Moombahton news: Here's a bit of a visual teaser for the upcoming Moombahton comp on the Mad Decent label.

Moombahton Massive Tres takes place tonight at 9 p.m. at U Street Music Hall, 115 U St. NW. $5.

We're not big on retrospective articles for their own sake, but it's worth noting that tonight is U Street Music Hall's first anniversary. Jesse Rose, Justin Martin, and hometown heroes Nadastrom are spinning tonight at 9 p.m. And so we bring you this encore showing of "Big Bang Theories," a little film we made last April to examine the club's more, erm, destructive possibilities.

Jackson

Every March, South by Southwest corrals the music industry in Austin, Texas. Record labels, publicists, and hip blogs program warring bills throughout the Texas capital’s 200 venues; red-eyed bands cram eight gigs into three days. The taco trucks are superb. Everybody’s there.
But Travis Jackson, the owner and founder of Windian Records, is opting out this year.

“Talking to all my friends about the [South by Southwest] experience, it’s like, ‘Did we accomplish anything?’ No. ‘Did we make any money?’ The little we did went to beer. It’s just partying,” he says. “The focus has dramatically shifted from discovering music to marketing—to finding unconventional ways to get people to buy things.”

After doing the math, Jackson couldn’t justify a Windian caravan to the 2011 conference. The fuming pop-punk of White Faces, the urgent and chant-driven three-minute miles of The Electricutions, and the head-knocking, riot grrrl fuzz of Jungle Fever would have to schmooze elsewhere. But Jackson still wanted to roll out the Windian spring catalog somewhere.

Saturday at U Street Music Hall, he spearheads “Fuck SXSW: Windian Showcase,” an 11-act bill highlighting the “sleazy garage punk rock” Jackson & Co. have spent the last year and a half cranking out.

Timely, unofficial shows rebelling against the suits are nothing new to South by Southwest culture. Peddlers and organizers like New York’s Todd P. have perfected exploiting the gold mine of converged talent into parallel, anti-establishment parties wholly dependent on South by Southwest’s stellar logistics. Jackson’s event is unique in that it throws stones 1,500 miles away from the glass house.

“Austin is a town where you get good rock n’ roll at 2 p.m. on Christmas Eve,” Jackson says. “But the problem is it’s hard for concerts to feel special...Bands have to plan spring tours around making it down and then their post-South By shows are in ghost towns.

“By contrast, D.C. doesn’t get too much punk. It made more sense for me to fly in some of my bands from San Diego and Alabama, give them a big show, and keep it local.”

“[South by Southwest] is about sponsors and some Pitchfork intern selling me Dos Equis,” Jackson says. “SST and Dischord never had to go down and build contacts.”

“Fuck SXSW: Windian Showcase”—featuring Dan Sartain; Jungle Fever; Pinche Gringo; Two Tears; Sweet Sixteens; Occult Detective Club; Maybe, Baby; Thee Lolitas; The Electricutions; The Cheniers; and Foul Swoops—takes place 3 to 10 p.m. Saturday at U Street Music Hall. $10.