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SAIRALEI: Birds of Passage EP

At first glance Auckland three-piece Sairalei looked to be some sort of world music group, with their odd-sounding name, five-track concept EP constructed around a journey through a desert on the Mexican Day of the Dead, and their ideals of free music for all. Any such notion was quickly swept away when the music started playing. These three lads play what can only be described as prog-funk-metal-jazz, and they play it well. From the opening instrumental to the funk-filled finale, a short 18 minutes later, these songs got inside my head and spread a smile across my dial. The sound is very well mixed, particularly for an album that’s been entirely self-produced and given away for zilch. The one let down was in the packaging, which was virtually non-existent, a shame given the interesting (but limited) artwork on the CD itself. But when it’s free who can complain? This is one of the best local releases I’ve heard for a while, so do your ears a favour and download your free copy today – better yet, catch them live and pick up a good old-fashioned CD at their gigs.

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