Today we offer the premiere stream of Delta Nove’s double-LP Beyond. This is the eighth record from the world funk collective but it carries particular resonance as it is the group’s first release since drummer and co-vocalist Dominic Feedam lost his life to cancer in 2019. Feedam also was one of the band’s songwriters and had contributed to the album before he passed away. After taking some time off to mourn their friend and reassess, Delta Nove ultimately decided to re-enter the studio and finish the record. These plans were complicated by COVID but the group finally completed Beyond, which is set for release on Friday, June 25.

Founding member and lead guitarist/vocalist Bobby Easton (aka Dr. Fuzzy), tells Relix, “Since forming the band in the mid-90’s I never could have imagined the trajectory of the journey on which Delta Nove would travel and what a long strange trip it would be. It’s taken us all around the country with so many amazing shows and festivals, and we’ve made so many albums, but this album has more depth and significance on so many levels. Throughout our history, we of course have gone through personnel changes, but the lineup behind this album is the most powerful and refined, and the long standing core rhythm section of myself, bassist Viking, and drummer/vocalist Dominic had evolved on so many levels.

“Losing Dominic to cancer was deeply devastating, but the music that we’ve created with this album will ensure that his spirit endures. The album Beyond is a collection of songs taking us beyond what we have ever done before, traveling beyond what we ever imagined, allows an open-ended metaphor of what the future holds for the Delta Nove, and it connects us to the great beyond where those who have departed this world have traveled to. We are blessed to have some of our funky friends join us for guest appearances on the album, including Jason Hann (String Cheese Incident) Jiro Yamaguchi (Ozomatli) Adryon De Leon (Orgone) and funk legend Fred Wesley (James Brown, Parliament Funkadelic) This album is a testament to our work and evolution and serves to honor our fallen brother Dominic.”

Trumpet player Nic Chaffee, adds, “This album is deeply meaningful to us on several levels. It’s been nearly a decade since we released Imaginary Conversations, and we’ve all grown so much, both personally and musically, over these years, so these songs are coming from a completely different perspective. But, most of all, this album is an homage to our drummer, singer, and songwriter Dominic, who died of cancer while we were recording.

“When we began tracking back in 2018, none of us were aware of the full extent of what Dominic was going through. But after he passed, and when we were finally able to bring ourselves to work on these songs again, we really understood the true depth and inspiration in the lyrics he’d been writing during that period. After losing Dominic, we as a band made a commitment to each other to finish this record and release all of this music into the world to honor Dominic. Of course, finishing the album during a pandemic just added even more challenges, but we stayed the course and managed to rise above all the adversity to finish this record that we’re all really proud of.”