Description SoundClash Series Vol. 4 brings together two heavyweight 20-piece orchestras from opposite sides of the Atlantic: Los Angeles’ Western Standard Time Ska Orchestra and New York’s NYC Ska Orchestra. The 4th instalment in Badasonic Records’ SoundClash series is a celebration of big-band ska, Jamaican jazz and the expansive musical possibilities of the ska orchestra format.

Western Standard Time Ska Orchestra is a raw, powerful and in-your-face 20-piece ensemble featuring all-star musicians connected to The Aggrolites, Hepcat, Beastie Boys, Gogol Bordello, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Michael Bublé, The Allentons, The Debonaires and many more. Since forming in 2011, WST has toured extensively across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe and South America, headlining major festivals and collaborating with artists including Jesse Wagner, Greg Lee, Alex Désert, Angelo Moore, Karina Denike, Vic Ruggiero, Queen P and Tim “Johnny Vegas” Burton.

Based in New York City, NYC Ska Orchestra is also a 20-piece big band led by arranger, trumpeter and vocalist Kevin Batchelor, whose career includes work with Sting, Shaggy, Steel Pulse, The Skatalites, Jimmy Cliff, Marcus Miller, Maxwell, Rihanna and Keith Richards. The orchestra features Jamaican percussion legend Larry McDonald, master drummer Carl Wright, and a collective of leading New York reggae, ska and jazz musicians.

Together, both orchestras connect the classic Jamaican sound of the 1950s and ’60s with the sophistication, power and scale of modern jazz orchestration. SoundClash Series Vol. 4 is a meeting of two musical communities, two cities and two orchestral visions united by an irresistible ska backbeat.