MECCA BODEGA

SKIN

(2005)

Explosive world class percussion from New York City featuring a cultural collage of global drumming and melodic sensibilities. The rhythmic beat masters Mecca Bodega offer up "Skin", their powerful 7th release. Djembes, dumbeks, frame drums, hammered dulcimers and an arsenal of found objects define the pulse that elevates the spirit and makes you groove all night!

Mecca Bodega's Skin is an example of the pre-iPod days, the centuries when music was played for religious, magical reasons, when rhythm was young, primal and percussive. Instruments as varied as trap kits, dumbeks, beer kegs, talking drums, lead djembes, tablas, didgeridoo and the hammered dulcimer are used to great effect to build one unified motif of expression. From the opening "Ravine" to the closing "Doko," Mecca Bodega utilizes every type of acoustic instrument -- ancient or otherwise -- to provoke wild shamanistic sermons about primitive beats exported into the 21st century.
— Randy Ray - Jambands.com

RHYTHM RAIL

(2000)

Featuring the hammered dulcimer and the drums and percussion played during street music performances. All songs are instrumental, recorded with mostly acoustic instruments, including tracks with the African kora and the Thai khim.

Mecca Bodega focuses exclusively this time out on the richly textured, acoustic exotica element of their sound. The results are dazzling. They take listeners on an old world spice trail marked by hammered dulcimers, flutes, and acoustic guitars, all swirling gently to the pulsing beat of hand drums.
— Lee Abraham

MECCA BODEGA LIVE

(1999)

Live from Celebrate Brooklyn Festival and Merkin Hall shows. (Includes live performances of previously unreleased songs.)

It's a tribal thing, a percussion and didjeridoo bonfire of rhythmic spirituality that is primal, yet far from primitive. Sometimes the mood is ethereal and serene, at others wild-eyed and fierce. Even though the energy levels ebb and flow throughout Live, Mecca Bodega's intensity is a constant.
— Las Vegas Weekly

HAMMERED DULCIMER

(1997)

Ethereal music for the soul. Featuring the hammered dulcimer and hand percussion

"What is it about some recording that makes us want to listen to them over and over? It has something to do with spiritual nutrition, the need we have for sonic inspiration, stimulation, refreshment and healing. Most of these pieces are pretty minimalistic, even mechanistic, but all the parts seem smooth and well oiled. The dulcimer adds a shimmer like that of polished metal. I've used this tape to clear my head at the end of the day several times since it arrived, and it's quite effective."
— Dulcimer Players News

SUBWAY STORIES

(1997)

The soundtrack for the HBO movie "Subway Stories". Directors include: Jonathan Demme, Abel Ferrara, Alison MacLean.

Drums, percussion, hammered dulcimer, didjeridoo, guitars, and chants recorded with the highest sound quality.

"The end result of their percussion rich compositions is a sophisticated, ritualistic effort, reminiscent of Peter Gabriel's "The Last Temptation of Christ."
— Vermont Review

"The ten songs on this disc do more than stand on their own. They, infact, transport the listener the way the best music does."
— Outlines

"Head music for the soul, a train ride to somewhere you really want to go."
— St. Louis Dispatch

"Their drums and found instruments provide the burbling undercurrent for "Subway Stories", giving it the lively feel of "Fear of Music"-era Talking Heads without the vocals and artiness."
— Daily Star, Oneonta

CITY OF ROCKS

(1996)

Hypnotic tribal groove exploding on a city street beat.

This music blends guitars, hammered dulcimer, didjeridoo, voice, and drums from around the globe in a celebration of rhythm and song.

"An impressive album that's very much percussion based but still offering a full sound with plenty of vocals and exotic and traditional instruments. They produce a brilliant, international sound that's full of vitality and energy."
— Fact sheet 5

"Tracks like "Sekou" and "City Of Rocks" are the most primo polyrhythmic trance music you've heard since you watched your Woodstock video and juked along with Santana's "Soul Sacrifice" or the massed tribes beating their dinner tins in the rain."
— Magnet

"Talented brothers Marc and Paul Mueller of Mecca Bodega accomplish a rare feat on "City Of Rocks": constructing groovy, spacey, percussion-based music that truly rocks in deep and varied ways."
— Modern Drummer