Formed in 1994, Galactic is a funk and jazz jam band from New Orleans, Louisiana. Over the course of the band’s history, their sound has transitioned from New Orleans funk to a more modern style, peppered with elements of hip hop, electronica, fusion and jazz. This change has been largely attributed to the increase of electronic effects that are used on the band’s instruments including: guitar, bass, saxophone and drums. Despite the electronics and studio technology, Galactic’s albums are very much band records. Bassist, Robert Mercurio explained the Galactic process, which starts out with the beat: “The way we write music,” he says, “we come up with a demo, or a basic track, and then we collectively decide how we’re gonna finish it.” The result is a hard-grooving sequence of tight beats across a range of styles that glides from one surprise to the next.