“Our CDs definitely pack a lot of energy,” Wilder Zoby, the keyboardist for the organic jazz/funk/disco ensemble Chin Chin interjects. “But our live shows are absolutely wild – we like to involve everyone, and basically bug the fuck out!”

Chin Chin’s reputation is growing faster than a Mojave Desert cyclone, and new listeners can’t help but get totally sucked in. The band’s nucleus has three members: biological brothers Wilder and drummer/vocalist Torbitt with the third musketeer being bassist, Jeremy Wilms. However, for their widely-revered NYC shows, the band’s number can swell to upwards of ten players. The end result is an lush wall of sound made up of thick slabs of gooey Parliament-style funkiness, irresistible disco riffs and the jazziest chords this side of BirdLand. “We’ll play for as long as they give us,” Wilder says about their notorious performances. “But given the right circumstances, we could go on for about seven hours,” he adds half-joking. Chin Chin is also known for its thunderous, Mardi Gras-evoking horn arrangements, a feat they attain by incorporating trombone and trumpet players from another exceptional live band you might have heard of, Antibalas.

Lately, the band’s been really buzzing courtesy of their ballroom inspired video, “Go There With You,” which was interestingly choreographed by Wilder and Torbitt’s mum.  The video got an even stronger push when Kanye West posted it on his influential blog. For now, the plan is to push their latest album, The Flashing, The Fancing with a consistent onslaught of imaginative and creative videos – and of course, they remain dedicated to murdering all live shows in their path.

Oh, and if you were wondering what the term “Fancing” in their latest album title means, Wilder clarifies coolly that “it’s the “verb form of the word ‘fancy.’” You see, when you’re as funky as Chin Chin, you have a carte blanche to make up your own vocabulary – and rightfully so.

Words by Geo Hagan