Orgone
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Orgone

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"Digest of Reviews and Quotes"

“Sounding much like a cross between The Dap-Kings and Breakestra (with whom they share several members), L.A.’s Orgone keeps the hotness of the recent retro-soul revival coming; lead singer Fanny Franklin fits in very nicely between Sharon Jones and Amy Winehouse. As befits the band’s name, Orgone’s sound is quite organic, rooted in soul, funk, boogaloo, and jazz, with a classic appeal that’s nevertheless contemporary...the entire album is one non-stop groove. If smooth, soulful funk with jazzy arrangements makes you sweat, you just found your new favorite band."
- XLR8R

"By the time the listener gets to the nasty, distorted, finger-popping, ass waggling "Crabby Ali" -- where the deep brewed, second-line New Orleans old-school funk goes head to head with the gloss of L.A.'s Tower of Power styled horn charts -- it feels like the party's just getting started."
- All Music

"Orgone recalls acts like Fela Kuti, Trouble Funk, and War, but with a heavy dose of disco, as on Killion's "Dialed Up," where the deep groove and diva vocals are so authentic, they could be samples."
- The Onion / A.V. Club

"Their music is terrifically unfussy, big slabs of grizzled R&B, greasy as fatback and thick as a very particular kind of smoke. At their best, they recall the majesty of Sly & the Family Stone; opening track "Who Knows Who" is all bleary horns and broken-heart vocals, "It's What You Do" is a tight, itchy jam. There's still a riot goin' on, and Orgone is at the front of the crowd."
- eMusic

"It’s easy to imagine The Killion Floor both igniting mass partying and stoking libidos for more intimate gatherings."
- OC Weekly

"One of the funkiest singles we've heard on Ubiquity Records in years..."
- Dusty Groove

"A real force to be reckoned with on the funk scene..."
- Jazzman

"If this is any indication of how good their album will be we're in for a treat."
- Fat City Records

"These guys are on a roll."
- Turntable Lab

"If you thought disco–real soulful disco–could never come back, think again."
- XLR8R

"Chalk up another hit in Ubiquity’s long line of worthy releases. Just in time for your backyard barbeques and drives to the beach."_
- Groundlift Magazine
“There was a mythical science discovered in the 1930’s by a man named Wilhelm Reich and later embraced by everyone from drugged up Beat writer William S. Burroughs and Washington’s own grunge son Kurt Cobain to 80’s art-rock songstress Kate Bush in her tribute to the science and a machine that could apparently make clouds rain, “Cloudbusting” — it’s called orgone. Thought of as a natural “life” energy source that surrounds all living and non-living elements in the atmosphere and said to be an energy that prevents cancer and other ailments, orgone can be harnessed in something called an orgone accumulator.

In recent years, a group of musicians in Los Angeles fired up the accumulator again. The organic energy flow that grooves from the music of deep funk band Orgone has helped spur a healthy dose of life back into the soul music that’s been on its death bed since the late 70’s. The October release of The Killion Floor (Ubiquity), named after band’s Hollywood home studio on Killion Street, is only the latest verification of the group’s rejuvenation efforts. The short history of Orgone is spilling with evidence of their energizing force.

While some of the members had been playing together for 3-4 years previous, 2001 officially marked Orgone’s dissemination to the world of rhythm with their self-released self-titled debuy, which they followed by touring as the backing band for hip-hop legends Pharcyde, Pharoahe Monch, and Tone-Loc. In 2004, the band was taken under the wing of funk/soul/hip-hop revival label, Ubiquity, for the release of the single coving ’70s classic “Funky Nassau.” Inevitably, the Ubiquity connection lead to backing label mates Breakstra on tour and in the studio. Jack Splash and Orgone also converged to create Plantlife, leading to more records, more touring and airtime on the Jools Holland TV show.

That oughta be enough street cred to solidify Orgone’s retro-soul potency. Now in 2007 (oops 2008), The Killion Floor is beginning get more and more airplay (KEXP and other stations have been spinning the album for months now). Orgone is to the J.B.’s, Sly Stone and Electric Flag what Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings are to Martha & the Vandellas, the Impressions and Maxine Brown. Their sound on The Killion Floor is the pure spirit of deep funk and soul that thrived in the ’70s.

While the first track, “Easin’” is just a minute long intro, “Who Know’s Who” is really the first full tune to grind the groove gears and get things moving with some Memphis fried soul. As the band pulls everyone within earshot down into the mud of the Mississippi blues, vocalist Fanny Franklin pulls you out and cleans you off in an Ann Peebles kinda way. Look to Franklin later on track seven, “Dialed Up,” for a turn towards Gl - 11 Magazines


Discography

Orgone - Self Titled CD
"Funky Nassau" 7" - Nuff Rope Records
"Funky Nassau" 12" - Nuff Rope Records
"I Get Lifted" 12" - Ubiquity Records
"The Duck Gravy 7" - Ubiquity Records
The Killion Floor - Ubiquity Records

Photos

Bio

Orgone first appeared on Ubiquity Records with their cover of “Funky Nassau” (on Rewind Volume 4), which became a DJ fave worldwide. We're now proud to present their first full-length album called The Killion Floor.
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 touring and backing crews like Pharoahe Monch, 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 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, this December.

“Sounding much like a cross between The Dap-Kings and Breakestra (with whom they share several members), L.A.’s Orgone keeps the hotness of the recent retro-soul revival coming; lead singer Fanny Franklin fits in very nicely between Sharon Jones and Amy Winehouse. As befits the band’s name, Orgone’s sound is quite organic, rooted in soul, funk, boogaloo, and jazz, with a classic appeal that’s nevertheless contemporary...the entire album is one non-stop groove. If smooth, soulful funk with jazzy arrangements makes you sweat, you just found your new favorite band."
- XLR8R

"By the time the listener gets to the nasty, distorted, finger-popping, ass waggling "Crabby Ali" -- where the deep brewed, second-line New Orleans old-school funk goes head to head with the gloss of L.A.'s Tower of Power styled horn charts -- it feels like the party's just getting started."
- All Music

"Orgone recalls acts like Fela Kuti, Trouble Funk, and War, but with a heavy dose of disco, as on Killion's "Dialed Up," where the deep groove and diva vocals are so authentic, they could be samples."
- The Onion / A.V. Club

"Their music is terrifically unfussy, big slabs of grizzled R&B, greasy as fatback and thick as a very particular kind of smoke. At their best, they recall the majesty of Sly & the Family Stone; opening track "Who Knows Who" is all bleary horns and broken-heart vocals, "It's What You Do" is a tight, itchy jam. There's still a riot goin' on, and Orgone is at the front of the crowd."
- eMusic

"It’s easy to imagine The Killion Floor both igniting mass partying and stoking libidos for more intimate gat