SIERRA LEONE'S REFUGEE ALL STARS
Tagged with: Sierra Leone Refugee All Stars Steve Berlin Rise and Shine Cumbancha Reggae Africa Afro-pop New Orleans
Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars started playing music together in West African refugee camps while their homeland was being racked by years of bloody warfare. Since then, they have risen like a phoenix out of the ashes and enflamed the passions of fans across the globe with their uplifting songs of hope, faith and joy.
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.
On their latest album, "Rise & Shine" (released March 2010), 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).
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, Angélique 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, but the spirit of the Crescent City permeates this uplifting recording.
(May 2011) A spin-off release from the "Rise and Shine" album is the project with DJ Logic who has remixed five of the tunes from the original album. The album is entitled "Rise & Shine Remixes" (Cumbancha)
Videos of this Artist
Albums by this Artist
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Rise & Shine Remixes
Five tracks taken from the "Rise and Shine" album and remixed by DJ Logic!
Muloma remix
Jah Come Down remix
Jah Mercy remix
Global Threat remix
Bute Vange remix
Released on iTunes and Amazon on May 10th 2011
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Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars
Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars have released two albums to date (Summer 2010):
The debut album "Living Like A Refugee" was born out the documentary of the same name. Writing in The Guardian in 2006, Robin Denselow said "The Refugees play West African styles from highlife to soukous, but their main influence is reggae, with the light, melodic approach of Jimmy Cliff matched against lyrics in English that would have impressed Bob Marley. Songs such as 'Refugee Rolling' (about being moved from camp to camp) or 'Bull to the Weak' (about facing hunger) are not laments but joyful, defiant anthems of survival.'
The follow up album "Rise and Shine" was released March 23 2010.
SLRAS play an infectious mixture of traditional West African music with roots reggae; check them out below...
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Living Like a Refugee
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Rise and Shine
Management Details
Management & Film Booking
Zach Niles
SodaSoap Creative
415-531-8861
slras@cumbancha.com
Booking Agent
Michael Morris
The Rosebud Agency
415-386-3456
Michael@rosebudus.com
www.rosebudus.com
For Europe
Sabine Girbeau
VO Music
+33 01 45 80 96 60
sabine@vo-music.com
www.vo-music.com
Publicity
Simeon Chapin
Cumbancha
802-425-2118
slras@cumbancha.com
Record Label
Jacob Edgar & Simeon Chapin
Cumbancha
802-425-2118
info@cumbancha.com
www.cumbancha.com