Brownout will knock your lights out.

The Austin, Texas-based band makes such raw, unhinged funk music that it is only fitting that they chose the word for a substantial power loss as their moniker.

The eight-piece group is a side project comprising eight of the 11 members of acclaimed Latin soul ensemble Grupo Fantasma, but Brownout actually began before the band that would force it to the side.

Even though Fantasma has garnered a great deal of success in recent years--they landed a prized slot as opening act for Prince in 2007--the members of Brownout still had a seething passion for instrumental funk fueled by Latin, Afro, funk and psychedelic influences.

So they kept at it, wrote and recorded when they found time in between Fantasma projects. The band's debut, Homenaje, is chock-full of all those sounds.

We checked out the band's set at El Rincon in San Francisco, and spoke to group leaders Beto Martinez and Adrian Quesada before the show.

Interview:

Live performance: "Brown Wind and Fire"

Check out Brownout's music here.

Similar Artists: Budos Band, Antibalas, Orgone