SONOMAD

Supreme Beings of Leisure, the backbone of this new project, never had any trouble defining a distinctive sound. Since the jazzy, orchestral intonations of its 2000 debut the band has sold over 300,000 records. And while SBL still exists, co-founder Ramin Sakurai wanted to explore the further reaches of the music in his head alongside longtime guitarist Geoffrey Brandin. “We’re exploring new sounds and mixing genres,” says Sakurai from his Los Angeles studio. “The name derives from that idea: ‘sono’ meaning sound, ‘nomad’ meaning wanderer. Shortly after the last SBL record in 2008, the duo worked on ‘Road to Somewhere,’ a beautifully crafted orchestral chillout track featuring collaborator Shana Halligan, former vocalist of LA-based Bitter:Sweet and regular Thievery Corporation guest and Grammy winner Carol Robins on harp. Sakurai also recorded singer Aditya Prakash in his studio. The young Indian vocalist, reminiscent of a youthful Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, has toured with tabla futurist Karsh Kale. ‘Be Good Brotha,’ which features singer Elan Atias (who recently collaborated with Diplo/Major Lazer, The Wailers, Snoop Lion and Gwen Stefani). Duke Mushroom (whose percussive work can be heard on albums by Masters at Work and Janet Jackson and many others) lends his ethereal vocals on ‘Come On!’ and his percussive adventures are sprinkled throughout the Sonomad album. Check out the Sonomad video for “Come On!” http://youtu.be/LaBbkyd_QiU