Description:
Artist.......: The Lions
Album........: Jungle Struttin'
Label........: Ubiquity
Genre........: Reggae
Catnr........: URCD122
Source.......: CDDA
Rip.date.....: Mar-08-2008
Str.date.....: Feb-20-2008
Quality......: VBR/44,1Hz/Joint-Stereo
Url..........: http://www.ubiquityrecords.com/
track title time
01. thin man skank 03:45
02. ethio-steppers 05:58
03. jungle struttin' 04:39
04. sweet soul music 05:29
05. hot no ho 05:06
06. cumbia del leon 06:12
07. lankershim dub 04:12
08. tuesday roots 03:16
09. fluglin' at dave's 05:46
10. think (about it) 04:34
11. givin up food for jah 04:41
Runtime 53:38 min
Size 63,4 MB
Release Notes:
The LIONS is a unique Jamaican-inspired outfit, the result
of an impromptu recording session by members of
Breakestra, Connie Price and the Keystones, Rhythm Roots
All-Stars, Orgone, Sound Directions, Plant Life, Poetics
and Macy Gray (to name a few). Gathering at Orgone's
Killion Studios, in Los Angeles during the Fall of 2006,
they created grooves that went beyond the Reggae spectrum
by combining new and traditional rhythms, and dub mixing
mastery with the global sounds of Ethiopia, Colombia and
Africa. The Lions also added a healthy dose of American-
style soul, jazz, and funk to create an album that's both
a nod to the funky exploits of reggae acts like Byron Lee
and the Dragonaires and Boris Gardner, and a mash of
contemporary sound stylings.
The Lions are an example of the ever-growing musical
family found in Los Angeles. There is a heavyweight
positive-vibe to be found in the expansive, sometimes
artificial, Hollywood-flavored land of Los Angeles. Many
of the members of the Lions met through the LA staple rare
groove outfit Breakestra and have played in many projects
together over the past decade. It was through discussions
about The Lions taking place between band conductor Todd
Simon and Ubiquity that recent releases by Orgone and
Connie Price came to be.
Reggae is a tough genre for a new ensemble act, like the
Lions, to dive head-first into and pull off with
unquestionable authenticity. This is perhaps especially
true when, as with the Lions, the majority of the players
are so entrenched in the funk scene. But the band did so
by paying a huge amount of respect, and by tapping into a
mass collective base of education and experience. "I had
studied my fair share of Jamaican music by the time opened
up for the Skatalites (on my 21st birthday!) Soon after, I
became one of the hornsmen for the Soul Syndicate (aka
Techniques All-Stars; creators of the "Bam-Bam"/"Stalag
17" riddim; and worked with Yabby You) backing up all of
my favotites: Leroy Sibbles from the Heptones, Derrick
Morgan, Cedric Brooks, " explains Simon. "Some members of
the Lions and I have also backed up such legends as Alton
Ellis and Barrington Levy. I have always been a fan of
Jamaican-inspired music - from 2 Tone to the remix
stylings of King Tubby and Lee Perry, " he adds. "None of
us feel like we're experts though, " says bandmate Dan
Ubick. "Reggae constantly teaches me things and humbles
us. You think you know something then you hear some track
you've never heard and it just floors you. I've been
listening to things like the Wailers for 20+ years now and
I still hear new things in those songs. It's deep music."
One of the first tracks to emerge from the Killion session
was a Rock Steady arrangement of Lyn Collins' "Think"
which features a fantastic vocal performance from Noelle
Scaggs. "I had always dreamed about making the track with
that twist, and the result ended up being special. I
wanted to put together a project that was on the more
soulful and funky side of reggae with big horns and in-
the-pocket grooves, " says Simon. His enthusiasm for a new
style Jamaican-inspired project was mirrored by his
bandmates. "We all have enormous respect for Jamaican
music, have been fans our entire lives plus we all just
have a good time hanging out!" adds Ubick. The basic
tracks were created in just three sessions total, and then
horn and vocal overdubs were added later. Almost all the
cuts we just created on the spot. "Drummer Blake Colie
Might have a percussion idea, Dave Wilder would add a
bass-line, then all of us would just fall in with parts, "
explains Ubick. Only "Ethiosteppers" (previously written
by Simon), "Sweet Soul Music" (written by Ubick) and
"Tuesday Roots" (written by Orgone's original line-up of
Dan Hastie, Sean O'Shea, Tim Glum and Sergio Rios) were
previously conceived notions. Everything else was
spontaneous and improvised, and this allowed for a
multitude of edits, and a truly free-flowing album. After
the Killion sessions, most vocals were recorded at Ubicks
Lion's Den Studios, and horns completed the picture at
Simons Nu Fi studio.
With tracks leaking out to friends an immediate sense of
anticipation and excitement has grown about the band. So
far this led to two high-profile gigs for the previously
unheard of act. An opening for Antibalas in Los Angeles
put the Lions in front of a packed-house at the Troubadour
(Check for the killer footage of band in action, including
vocalist Shakespeare in his white tuxedo, at:
http://www.youtube.com/ubiquityrecords.) A second gig at
the Sunset Junction Festival in Silverlake saw the band
play alongside Breakestra to a sun-soaked crowd that
swelled into the tens of thousands.
Bandleaders Simon and Ubick are catalysts and musicians
integral to many of the projects coming out of LA, and
Ubiquity. From Madlibs Sound Directions, and Yesterdays
New Quintet, to Connie Price, Orgone, etc. Simon has
become a virtual in-house arranger for Ubiquity and
appears on the Ohmega Watts "Watts Happening" album as
well as new/upcoming releases by Clutchy Hopkins and with
Ubick on the as yet unreleased Greyboy album.
"Playing-wise we've all always been in different bands
playing different styles, for the Lions though we really
wanted to fine-tune the Jamaican feel as best a bunch of
non-islanders could, " says Ubick. "As far as Reggae
pedigree is concerned, we've studied under the some
talented people. Blake Colie played with Leonard Dillon.
Dan Hastie, Davey Chegwidden, Dave Wilder and myself
backed up Barrington Levy with Rhythm Roots All Stars. We
were also lucky to have Fish, the original drummer for
Fishbone and a fantastic reggae drummer, on the Barrington
gig with us, too".
http://rapidshare.com/files/104082899/The_Lions-Jungle_Struttin-2008-JUST.rar
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