THE FUNK ARK with NIKHIL P. YERAWADEKAR & LOW MENTALITY

After a highly praised debut, Washington DC's The Funk Ark is back with an even tighter follow up album. Less than a year has passed since the release of From The Rooftops on ESL Music and the world funk ensemble has established itself as one of the strongest players in the scene both in the studio and with their high-octane live performances. High Noon is the title of The Funk Ark's sophomore release and was recorded and produced by Adrián Quesada of the Grammy award winning group, Grupo Fantasma. The new album is coming out on April 3, 2012.

The Funk Ark is the creation of Will Rast, the band's composer, pianist, and spokesperson, fulfilling his lifelong desire of turning his soul over to The Funk. "I decided to become a musician in high school," He Recalls. "I played my first gigs when I was 15, in bars and jazz clubs around Washington, DC." Rast worked as a freelance jazz session player and made a name for himself as a stylistically versatile sideman with various R&B and world music artists. With The Funk Ark, he gets to play an amalgamation of all the sounds he loves with some of the best musicians in the DC area. "To me, funk is the universal connection linking all music - people like James Brown and the JBs, The Meters, Santana, Fela Kuti, Medeski, Martin and Wood and The Fania Allstars. The Funk Ark is my shot at making the music that I love to listen to."