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THE LIONS
“One of the best blends of
global funky elements we’ve ever
heard...Great stuff all around,
and a record that’s almost more
funkily exciting than all those
old Jamaican platters you’ve
sorted through trying to get a
sound like this!” – Dustygroove
“... lean and crunchy old-school
grooves that sound like they
could have been recorded and
mixed at Dynamic Studios or the
Black
Ark in the early 1970s.” - All
Music Guide
The Lions is a unique 12-piece
Jamaican-inspired outfit, the
result of an impromptu recording
session by some of Los Angeles’
most soulful and notable
musicians and singers. Gathering
at Orgone’s Killion Studios
during the fall of 2006, The
Lions created grooves that went
beyond the Jamaican music
spectrum by combining new and
traditional rhythms, and dub
mixing mastery with the global
sounds of Ethiopia, Colombia and
Africa. The result was the album
Jungle Struttin’ released on
Ubiquity Records.
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The Lions is an example of the
ever-growing musical family found in the Southland. Believe it
or not, there is a vibe to be found in the spread out,
artificial Hollywoodland. Many of the players met through the LA
staple rare groove outfit Breakestra and have stayed within
various projects together throughout the past 10 years.
The Lions’ live show is a mix of
dubbed out tracks from the LP featuring Black Shakespeare (I & I
Soundsystem) and a large selection of classic Jamaican cuts and
brand new originals featuring the harmonies of Alex Desert and
Deston Berry of Hepcat and Malik Moore of Los Angeles
underground legends Ocean 11. Other members play or have played
with the Wailing Souls, Derrick Morgan, The Maytones, “The
Ethiopian” Leonard Dillon, Macy Gray, Orgone, Connie Price & the
Keystones, Rocky Dawuni and Joey Altruda.
They have graced the stages at Sunset Junction Festival, Dub
Club @ The Echoplex, Troubadour (opening for Antibalas), Key
Club, Crash Mansion, UC Riverside’s The Barn, and recently
performed to a packed house at Amoeba Music Hollywood.
The Lions will make their Sierra Nevada World Music Festival
debut as they back up The Heptones and perform a solo set of
their own. This will be an extra special occasion as The Lions
just finished recording two tracks with Heptones singer Leroy
Sibbles.
The
Lions Links:
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