Orgone first appeared on Ubiquity with their cover of “Funky Nassau" (on Rewind Vol. 4), which became a ubiquitous DJ fave worldwide. Their debut album The Killion Floor backs this up by taking the listener on a musical journey from the sound of Los Angeles to horn and percussion driven Lagos, and from a New York club to the raw sounds of New Orleans.
The Los-Angeles-based band's reputation amongst the funk and soul fraternity is backed-up by an impressive and quickly growing resume that is expanding their reach. This includes landing a spot in an Adidas campaign, touring with major-label crew Little Brother, and going out as backing band for The Pharcyde, Plantlife (including a BBC performance for Jools Holland), Tone Loc, and New Orleans funk legend Eddie Bo at the Hurricane Katrina benefit. Members of Orgone also feature in the make-up of Ubiquity acts Connie Price and The Keystones and Breakestra and perform regularly at the Root Down in LA.
At the core of the band is a rhythm section comprised of close friends who have played together for over 15 years. Growing artistically as a unit they function as one organic and intuitive whole and, while they enjoy the comparisons to hot acts of the moment like Amy Winehouse, or funk staples like Sharon Jones or Breakestra, they're quick to point out that Orgone is unique, “We draw from a wider musical and production palette than a lot of the '60's inspired music that's making a resurgence," explains band-member Sean O'Shea. “It's not intentional; it's simply a reflection of the music and production aesthetics that we love." The Killion Floor backs this up by taking the listener on a musical journey from the sound of Los Angeles to horn and percussion driven Lagos, and from a New York club to the raw sounds of New Orleans.
Lead singer Fanny Franklin joined the groups' recordings after they saw her perform with Dakah, the 30-piece hip hop orchestra. “We felt she was the best soul singer in town," says O'Shea. “We asked her to record “Funky Nassau" and that led to us working together regularly." Franklin delivers monster performances that will surely put an end to her relative obscurity on tracks like the Memphis-drenched “Who Knows Who," the laid-back and cosmic “Said and Done," and the apocalyptic sound of “Do Your Thing."
The title of the album is derived from the Orgone apartment / studio facility where the majority of the album was recorded (it's also where recent Plantlife material and the Lions album have been coming to fruition). While this epicenter for all things Orgone grabbed the title, recent live dates have also shaped the band and this album.
“Performing with Little Brother was a great experience, they killed it every night," says O'Shea. “It can be difficult to sell a hip hop crowd on a live band but it went over extremely well. We both went balls-out every night. I think we changed a lot of peoples minds about what a live hip hop show could be," he adds.
Orgone live is 110% organic heart and soul. They promise a gritty, full throttle, extremely high energy, percussion heavy, horn laden, heavy hitting, dance party. Just like the recording they bring something special to the table; a vibe, an aesthetic and an attitude born out of half a lifetime of playing together. After the success of their outing with Little Brother (they played sold out dates in Atlanta, North Carolina, New Orleans, Houston, and Austin) their services have been called in to open and back up another rap giant, Pharoahe Monch, in the upcoming weeks of September. See below for tour dates:
September 24, 2007: 9:30P - 2:00A @ Varsity Theater
1308 4th Street SE Minneapolis, Minnesota
September 26, 2007: 9:30P - 2:00A @ Blueberry Hill
6504 Delmar Blvd. St. Louis , Missouri
September 28, 2007: 9:30P - 2:00A @ The Shelter
431 E. Congress Detroit, Michigan
September 29, 2007: 9:30P - 2:00A @ The Metro
3730 N Clark Street Chicago, Illinois
Key members of Orgone:
Darren Cardoza - from Tulare, California, has performed with Plantlife and Little Brother. Cardoza has been with Orgone for 7 years.
Ethan Philips - from Los Angeles, California, has perfromed with N'dea Davenport, Ghostface, De La Soul, Talib Kwelli, Rakim, The Southland, Little Brother, Gem, Greasy Beats, Redman, Rhythm Roots All-Stars, Connie Price & the Keystones. Philips has been with Orgone for 5 years.
Devin Williams - from San Francisco, California, has performed with Breakestra, Plantlife, Charlie 2na, Greasy Beats, Little Brother. Has been with Orgone for 4 years.
Sergio Rios - from Velez, Colombia, has performed with Pharcyde, Breakestra, Eddie Bo, Little Brother, Plantlife, Connie Price and the Keystones, The Lions, Greasy Beats and Charlie 2na. Has been with Orgone for 10 years.
Fanny Franklin - from Santa Monica, CA, has performed with Macy Gray, Dakah, Fishbone, Snoop Dogg, Little Brother, Rhythm Roots All-Stars. Has been with Orgone for 6 years.
Joel Bowers - from San Jose CA, has performed with Spanky Wilson, Too $hort, Quantic, Connie Price and the Keystones, Little Brother, Greasy Beats. Has been with Orgone for 3 years.
Dan Hastie - from Canoga Park, CA, has performed with Talib Kweli, Madlib, Sharon Jones, De La Soul, Too $hort, Rakim, Pharcyde, N'dea Davenport, Breakestra, Ghostface, Redman, Keystones, The Lions, Charlie 2na, Eddie Bo, Little Brother, Rhythm Roots All-Stars, Sound Directions. Has been with Orgone for 10 years.
Stewart Killion - from Washington D.C., has performed with Little Brother. Has been with Orgone for 10 years.
Sean O'Shea - from Los Angeles CA, has performed with Big Daddy Kane, Plantlife, Percee P, Pharcyde, Wildchild, Breakestra, Little Brother, Eddie Bo, Kate Havnavik, Z-trip, Charlie 2na, Greasy Beats, Connie Price and the Keystones, Aloe Blacc, Mickey Champion. Has been with Orgone for 10 years.
For more information contact All About Jazz.
