Standing at the unlikely intersection of electronic dance music and neo-hippie jam bands is Toronto's the New Deal, an instrumental keyboard/bass/drums trio who enliven audiences with a style that's equal parts house, trance and funk. With house music's warm thump as their guide, the New Deal conjure the feel of an epic DJ set, without the use of samplers, sequencers or drum machines. "We are trying to re-create the energy, beat and trancelike state of electronic music," explained drummer Darren Shearer on the phone from the band's hometown of Toronto, "but we add a human element, by playing live instruments and improvising 95 percent of our sets." A term the trio coined, "live progressive breakbeat house," is the most accurate description of the band's music yet, as their sound has more in common with the washes and ambient grooves of the Orb or the dramatic swells and drops of Underworld than the greasy organ jazz of Medeski Martin & Wood.

While the New Deal openly ape electronic-music styles like house, breakbeat, trip-hop and drum'n'bass, the band sets itself substantially apart from a typical DJ or producer in several ways. The live-human element and the trio's improv aesthetic are obvious distinctions, manifested through each member's unique contribution. Keyboardist Jamie Shields pours out wave after wave of bouncy ear-grabbing melodies on a stack of analog equipment, providing elements of both smooth house and acid-tinged techno; bassist Dan Kurtz effortlessly switches from enveloping low-end boom to upper-register acid-house bubbles, which alternately propel and mesmerize; and Shearer's drumming adds lightly shaded nuances through hi-hat tension, off-beat snare accents and a bass-drum pulse that never descends into monotony. The band works through its seamless live shows — often highlighted by hour-plus sets — with a combination of hand gestures and sonic symbols that cue everything from key changes to rhythm and tempo shifts to new stylistic directions.

Admittedly "bored with acid jazz and 15-minute guitar solos," Shields is a confessed ex-Phish fan who played in what he called "funky jammy bands" before the New Deal formed, at the end of 1998. Since then they've released three live albums on their own Sound and Light Records, the most recent of which is Live: Guelph On Can 4.5.00, recorded earlier this year in southeast Ontario. With only two tracks (each more than 20 minutes long), the disc is a faithful document of their eclectic and expansive vision. The first cut, "Glide/Deep Sun," showcases their talent for constructing epic dance marathons from scratch, gradually building into a fist-pumping climax of psychedelic house, powered by a freaky analog wiggle and an evil bass drone. "Ravine/The Escape" is a far choppier trip that highlights the group's ability to mesh a grab bag of genres — breakbeat, ambient dub, drum'n'bass — into a workout for the head and hips.

"Our goal is to bring live instrumentation back to DJ and dance culture," said Shearer, "which is why we play at both raves and nightclubs." The band's high-energy live sets are also attracting major-label interest. "I was absolutely blown away with how good they are at what they do," gushed Neil Harris, director of Jive Electro, which is also home to the live-house duo Groove Armada. "There are a lot of people who are trying to do live dance music and taking influences from electronica instead of old-school disco," he said. "But the New Deal are the only ones who really impress me." In fact, Harris was so impressed that Jive Electro inked a deal with the trio over Thanksgiving. The band is currently recording music for a new album to be released on the label in May, which will be preceded by a month-long tour beginning January 19 in Boulder, Colorado. "We want them to expand what they do now," Harris said, "have them play raves, the jam-band circuit, even jazz festivals, because they are such good musicians." Although he envisions the New Deal as more oriented toward making albums than singles, he said the label will also market them to club DJs by releasing 12 inches: "Our goal is to make their records good enough so DJs will want to spin them." The New Deal Tour Dates:

  • 1/19 - Boulder, CO @ Fox Theatre
  • 1/20 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Zephyr
  • 1/24 - Bozeman, MT @ Zebra Cocktail Lounge
  • 1/26 - Missoula, MT @ The Ritz
  • 1/28 - Seattle, WA @ Baltic Room
  • 1/29 - Portland, OR @ Ohm
  • 1/30 - Eugene, OR @ Taylor's
  • 2/1 - San Francisco, CA @ Justice League
  • 2/2 - Santa Barbara, CA @ The Edge
  • 2/3 - Los Angeles, CA @ Fais Do Do
  • 2/8 - Boston, MA @ Milky Way
  • 2/10 - New York, NY @ Wetlands
  • 2/11 - Philadelphia, PA @ North Star
  • 2/12 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Carnegie Mellon University