We put out remixes and new tunes as singles
Experimenting with NFT’s and new collaborative adventures
Here at Black Mesa, Arizona
It started with a conversation between Jon Benally and Sandy Hoover, about the struggles of the people at Black Mesa, AZ, who faced relocation due to pressures from a coal mining company.
That evolved into a demo track. Nation Records (UK) took a chance on us. We got to be part of a brilliant scene that was happening in London at the time. Sam Minkler and Kevin Locke’s addition of their stories, perspectives and songs was the momentum that turned the adventure into an actual album.
Our first live performance was at Womad UK. We weren’t able to rehearse together — Kevin and Sam flew in from the US just a day before the show. It was chaotic and crazy and amazing.
The album rose to #5 on the European World Music Charts. “World Music” is a weird term, but, that’s how it was then.
For the 2nd album, we actually got to spend some time in the same physical location for some co-writing. The lineup expanded to include Reuben Fasthorse, Ed Walksnice and Rey Cantil. Guest vocals from Franklin Khan and Cyndi Busher. Vernon Reid added some guitar in Sandy’s flat in North London. More song structure, pop elements and humor.
We toured internationally with a bigger rig… to Aus, NZ, UK and Belgium. More chaos, more fun, and more drama. Drama highlight: in NZ our gear got plugged into the wrong voltage — blowing it all up just before the show. Epic fail. But most of the other gigs were amazing. High risk, high reward.
A music video was directed/shot by Joseph Houseal in Chicago on a rooftop at dawn, then visually remixed by some lovely peeps back in London’s East End.