Hazmat Modine - Box of Breath

2019 CD release.

All 12 songs on Box of Breath deal with questions of mortality and humanity.

The song “Crust of Bread” is an original song, which is built on the foundation of a Malian groove. “Dark River” is a sad waltz lullaby. The Hoarder” is about the obsessive collecting of “things” in the musical style of a minor key of the early 20th century. Box of Breath tells the story of a sound-Ing´s, who cut out the breath of the speakers from sound recordings and then collected them in a big file.

Hazmat Modine draws from the rich soil of American music of the 20’s and 30’s through to the 50’s and early 60’s, blending elements of early Blues, Hokum Jugband, Swing, Klezmer, New Orleans R & B, and Jamaican Rocksteady. The band is fronted by Wade Schuman’s  harmonica and singing and includes tuba, guitar, and percussion, claviola and Hawaiian steel guitar. The band’s sound reflects musical influences ranging from Avant-garde Jazz to Rockabilly and Western Swing to Middle-Eastern, African, and Hawaiian musical styles.