Room Service: Lion Babe, Toronto 2016

Catching the interest of Pharrell Williams early on in their career, with their first track “Treat Me Like Fire” – Lion Babe is a neo-soul R&B duo that formed in NYC, made up of vocalist Jillian Hervey & producer Lucas Goodman. On the very last leg of their tour with Disclosure, I caught this dynamic duo in Toronto & booked them at East Room.

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Some of their notable tracks like “Jump Hi” and “Wonder Woman” included collaborations with Childish Gambino, Mark Ronson and Pharrell Williams respectively. They also made a feature appearance on Disclosure’s “Hourglass”.

Asked by Childish Gambino to open for him – they subsequently acquired a US record deal with Interscope and a UK deal with Polypro that summer. Following the signing, the duo released their self-titled debut EP in 2014 with music critics raving it as “a warm-blooded blend of soul, R&B and electronica”. The duo also toured with Disclosure in 2015 – Lion Babe brought new tunes like “Wonder Woman,” the track they cut with Pharrell, to major venues like Madison Square Garden and the Sydney Opera House. This track went on to peak at number one on Billboard’s interactive chart Billboard Twitter Emerging Artists.

The duo released their debut album “Begin” this February with production input from Pharrell Williams and Dave Sitek, among others. The album is lined with lyrical content of positive messages of empowerment.

Hervey sings with a soulful style similar to that of Lauryn Hill and Erykah Badu – with her strong stage presence and vocals and Goodman’s beats, the duo is limitless.

 
 

the Show

August 21, 2016 at East Room, Toronto

Video by Tristan Clarke-McMurchy

Photos by Mike Rousseau

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