Maktub visits Big Easy on the brink of a breakout

Maktub is oft-described as the breakout band to come from Seattle since the death of grunge; Reggie Watts is lauded as the Al Green for a new generation; the band’s name is Arabic for “destiny.”

Suffice it to say there are big expectations looming over Maktub, and the soul-funk-trip-rock band’s April 12 release, “Say What You Mean,” is considered the critical album that will either push Maktub into the national spotlight, or over the edge into pop obscurity.

Not that Watts and company could care less.

“I don’t worry about my image or feeling pressure from the industry to be this or that. It’s more important that I never lose my connection to people on the darker side, who like to experiment with all parts of their lives,” singer Watts states in his press bio.

At the very core of Maktub (pronounced mock-tube) is a rock band. There are layers of influences that stretch from Sly and the Family Stone to Portishead, but beneath Watts’ mushroom cloud Afro is an essential rock essence.

“I can say that we came out of the trip-hop scene,” Watts said. “Now we’ve come to understand that this is just part of what we do. There’s still something trippy in what we do, but the songs have become starker. There’s always been that rock element in what we’ve done, but on the new album that’s our foundation. The next album will be even more rock – more stripped down and straight up.”

Maktub – Watts, bassist Kevin Goldman, guitarist Thaddeus Turner, guitarist/keyboardist Daniel Spils, and drummer Davis Martin – brings its signature sonic stew tonight to Big Easy Concert House. Showtime is 7 p.m. Tickets for the all-ages show are $10, through TicketsWest outlets (800-325-SEAT, www.ticketswest.com).

Produced by Bob Power (De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Ozomatli, The Roots, India.Arie), “Say What You Mean,” is Maktub’s second album to released on New York label, Velour Records.