by Shaun Hollingsworth
Beat freaks, unite! The metamorphosis has begun. For one night in December, the Culture Room in Fort Lauderdale becomes a nexus of rhythm, dance and music when Beats Antique arrive with their Metamorphosis Tour and their first album in nine years.
Formed in 2007, the original trio of David Satori, Sidecar Tommy Cappel and Zoë Jakes practice a hypnotic fusion of global textures ancient and new set to bass and breakbeat rhythms. Sometimes called “ethnotronica,” their sound defies category, bending time and tradition into a raw, sensual and unforgettably human current. Fans of Thievery Corporation, Papadosio and La Femme will find a new obsession here in music that is both primal and futuristic.
Beats Antique started out as the band for a bellydancing company that Jakes toured with under the management of music impresario Miles Copeland. One of their first joint projects was music for a bellydancing instructional DVD, and the collaboration has far outlived Copeland’s Bellydance Superstars, yielding LPs, EPs, singles and compilations (and a wild 2013 collaboration, “Beelzebub,” with bard of dystopia Les Claypool).
Their musical palette has expanded, too: cello and bellydance colliding with glitchy synths and thunderous tribal drums while drawing on influences from across the globe. “Beauty Beats,” from 2008’s Collide, shimmers with percussive brilliance and cinematic flair. “Three Sisters,” from 2016’s Shadowbox, channels a desert dreamscape. Their new single, “Night Forest,” is a story set to rhythm — part ritual, part electronic reverie.
Beats Antique stopped releasing records for several years after Shadowbox, and in 2022 Satori stepped away from the touring ensemble, replaced by Miles Jay. Beats Antique announced their new album, Metamorphosis, with an Instagram picture of Jakes, Cappel and Jay, and they’ve called the record a “new chapter.”
Whatever the lineup, in concert they are their fullest selves. A Beats Antique show unfolds as a conversation between music and movement, with costumed dancers and a charge of spontaneity. Every Metamorphosis. show will be, in the band’s words, a “shared creation” with improvised elements and crowd energy “inspiring us and shaping the experience.” Jump right in: This unspoken exchange of awe promises to be transformative.
Beats Antique play 7:30pm Saturday, December 13 at The Culture Room in Fort Lauderdale. beatsantique.com ~ Amanda Moore
