Baconwrapped
12-10-2009, 11:38 AM
This sounds very cool:
For Immediate Release
December 10, 2009
NEW ALBUM FROM SIERRA LEONE’S REFUGEE ALL STARS,
RISE & SHINE, TO BE RELEASED MARCH 23, 2010 BY CUMBANCHA
Album Recorded in New Orleans, Louisiana and Freetown, Sierra Leone
Builds Upon the Band’s Remarkable Rise
Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars started playing music together in West
African refugee camps while their homeland was racked by years of bloody
warfare. Since then, audiences around the world have embraced the band and
their utterly extraordinary story. On their forthcoming album, Rise & Shine,
the All Stars’ sound, as well as their biography, evolves further; the music
finds them “establishing an identity based as much on skill, imagination and
charisma as on their undeniably touching story” (The Los Angeles Times).
Cumbancha will release the album on March 23, 2010.
For the follow up to their acclaimed debut, Living Like a Refugee, the band
began recording in their hometown of Freetown, Sierra Leone then traveled to
New Orleans, Louisiana to work with the highly accomplished producer Steve
Berlin (Los Lobos, Angelique Kidjo, Rickie Lee Jones, Michelle Shocked, Alec
Ounsworth, Jackie Greene) at Piety Street Recording. The All Stars
immediately felt at home in New Orleans, not only because the hot climate
and spicy food reminded them of Africa, but also because the residents of
the Crescent City have firsthand experience with the bitterness of exile and
the redemptive power of music. The local musicians who contributed to the
record—including favorites Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews, Bonerama and
Washboard Chaz—lend it an infectious spirit of celebration and optimism in
the face of struggle.
Rise & Shine reflects how far the band has come in the past few years, after
multiple international tours and recording experience with the likes of
Aerosmith and Mavis Staples. With an expert producer at the helm, Sierra
Leone’s Refugee All Stars have realized a unique and seamlessly coherent
sound: a fusion of traditional West African music and roots reggae,
inflected with New Orleans styles. The album’s 13 tracks embrace the wide
array of musical influences the All Stars have encountered on their rise to
international fame.
The band members are broadly diverse in age and character, although they
possess a strong bond forged through common experiences and values: They all
know war and have struggled to survive in one of the world’s poorest
countries, and they share an unwavering belief in the transformative power
of music. The current lineup of the band was cemented when Reuben M. Koroma,
the sage songwriter and guiding light of the group, returned home from the
refugee camps, joined by Black Nature, an orphaned teenaged rapper; Mohammed
Bangura, who suffered amputation at the hands of rebels; and Francis John
Langba. Back in Sierra Leone, they reunited with family, friends and former
band mates Ashade Pearce, Jah Son Bull and Makengo Kamara—many of whom they
believed not to have survived the violence.
The band’s journey—which culminated in the All Stars’ first recording in a
studio—was documented in the multi-award winning documentary Sierra Leone’s
Refugee All Stars, by Zach Niles and Banker White. The resulting album,
Living Like A Refugee, garnered the band international acclaim and high
profile fans such as Keith Richards, Sir Paul McCartney, Aerosmith, Angelina
Jolie and Ice Cube.
Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars deliver electrifying and uplifting live
performances and will tour the U.S. in Spring 2010. They have already
appeared at some of the most prestigious music festivals worldwide including
Bonnaroo, Montreal Jazz, Fuji Rock in Japan, Central Park SummerStage and
Celebrate Brooklyn.
For Immediate Release
December 10, 2009
NEW ALBUM FROM SIERRA LEONE’S REFUGEE ALL STARS,
RISE & SHINE, TO BE RELEASED MARCH 23, 2010 BY CUMBANCHA
Album Recorded in New Orleans, Louisiana and Freetown, Sierra Leone
Builds Upon the Band’s Remarkable Rise
Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars started playing music together in West
African refugee camps while their homeland was racked by years of bloody
warfare. Since then, audiences around the world have embraced the band and
their utterly extraordinary story. On their forthcoming album, Rise & Shine,
the All Stars’ sound, as well as their biography, evolves further; the music
finds them “establishing an identity based as much on skill, imagination and
charisma as on their undeniably touching story” (The Los Angeles Times).
Cumbancha will release the album on March 23, 2010.
For the follow up to their acclaimed debut, Living Like a Refugee, the band
began recording in their hometown of Freetown, Sierra Leone then traveled to
New Orleans, Louisiana to work with the highly accomplished producer Steve
Berlin (Los Lobos, Angelique Kidjo, Rickie Lee Jones, Michelle Shocked, Alec
Ounsworth, Jackie Greene) at Piety Street Recording. The All Stars
immediately felt at home in New Orleans, not only because the hot climate
and spicy food reminded them of Africa, but also because the residents of
the Crescent City have firsthand experience with the bitterness of exile and
the redemptive power of music. The local musicians who contributed to the
record—including favorites Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews, Bonerama and
Washboard Chaz—lend it an infectious spirit of celebration and optimism in
the face of struggle.
Rise & Shine reflects how far the band has come in the past few years, after
multiple international tours and recording experience with the likes of
Aerosmith and Mavis Staples. With an expert producer at the helm, Sierra
Leone’s Refugee All Stars have realized a unique and seamlessly coherent
sound: a fusion of traditional West African music and roots reggae,
inflected with New Orleans styles. The album’s 13 tracks embrace the wide
array of musical influences the All Stars have encountered on their rise to
international fame.
The band members are broadly diverse in age and character, although they
possess a strong bond forged through common experiences and values: They all
know war and have struggled to survive in one of the world’s poorest
countries, and they share an unwavering belief in the transformative power
of music. The current lineup of the band was cemented when Reuben M. Koroma,
the sage songwriter and guiding light of the group, returned home from the
refugee camps, joined by Black Nature, an orphaned teenaged rapper; Mohammed
Bangura, who suffered amputation at the hands of rebels; and Francis John
Langba. Back in Sierra Leone, they reunited with family, friends and former
band mates Ashade Pearce, Jah Son Bull and Makengo Kamara—many of whom they
believed not to have survived the violence.
The band’s journey—which culminated in the All Stars’ first recording in a
studio—was documented in the multi-award winning documentary Sierra Leone’s
Refugee All Stars, by Zach Niles and Banker White. The resulting album,
Living Like A Refugee, garnered the band international acclaim and high
profile fans such as Keith Richards, Sir Paul McCartney, Aerosmith, Angelina
Jolie and Ice Cube.
Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars deliver electrifying and uplifting live
performances and will tour the U.S. in Spring 2010. They have already
appeared at some of the most prestigious music festivals worldwide including
Bonnaroo, Montreal Jazz, Fuji Rock in Japan, Central Park SummerStage and
Celebrate Brooklyn.