I was walking in the snowy countryside the other day. I had my ClipSport on shuffle & the song "Good" by Supreme Beings of Leisure came up. It was really "Good". It made me think.
I know we all do it, have some music, some band that we love at some time in some space, then the mood, the moment, the meaning changes...we move on & then we forget. That was definitely Supreme Beings of Leisure. I used to listen to them regularly but then I moved on to other tastes & they slipped away.
Having just done a month of female artists, my ears were still keen to that particular XX sound. Geri Soriano-Lightwood, the singer for SBoL, definitely has it in spades. But the band only released three albums between 2000 & 2008. Then disappeared off the grid.
The light bulb flashed on above my cranium & I realized this is perfect mega-post material. Let's dig in.
We start out with guitarist Rick Torres, bassist Kiran Shahani, & multi-instrumentalist - programmer Ramin Sakurai. They had formed the band Oversoul 7 in the mid 90s. They recorded a 6-song demo EP Angelhead in 1996. While they were recording the demos, the trio asked their friend singer/songwriter Geri Soriano-Lightwood to collaborate with them. Two tracks from this collaboration, "Strangelove Addiction" & "Nothing like Tomorrow" appeared on compilations from Moonshine Records label. They would be resurrected on the newly christened quartet's Supreme Beings of Leisure 2000 self-titled release.
Intro
Down
Torn
What
Vision Style
Cleansing
bonus tracks -
Strangelove Addiction
Nothing like Tomorrow
Never the Same
Golddigger
Last Girl on Earth
Strangelove Addiction
Ain´t Got Nothin'
Truth from Fiction
You´re Always the Sun
Sublime
Nothin' like Tomorrow
What´s the Deal
Under the Gun
According to Torres & Shahani, SBoL imploded after the release of that first album. The duo of Geri & Ramin would then go on as Supreme Beings of Leisure.
After leaving Supreme Beings, Rick & Shahani released several tracks on compilations under the name Bonglab.
Games Without Frontiers
Supreme Beings of Leisure's next release was 2002s Divine Operating System.
Give Up
Ghetto
Catch Me
Get Away
Rock & a Hard Place
Calamity Jane
Divine
Touch Me
So Much More
Freezer
Perfect
Fleshed out into a full band, Geri & Ramin were joined by Geoff Brandin - guitar, Sheldon Strickland - bass & Jason Graham - drums. They embarked on a worldwide tour for the next several years but went into hiatus when the tour ended.
While taking a break from SBoL, Ramin joined Sharif to release...
Daylight
Way Out
Love Robbery
Runaway
Same Old Alibi
In This Life
It's Over
Valley of the Wasteland
Under My Skin
Darkest Hour
You Are the One
Way Out (Mike Hiratzka club mix)
Way Out (Q-Burns Abstract Message remix)
After Incorporated was recorded, Shahani teamed up with Shana Halligan to form Bitter:Sweet. They released The Mating Game in 2006.
Don't Forget to Breathe
The Mating Game
Overdue
Heaven
Bittersweet Faith
Moving Forward
Moody
Dirty Laundry
Our Remains
Salty Air
Take 2 Blue
This was followed by The Remix Game the following year.
Heaven (Nicola Conte "West Coast Vibes" remix)
Bittersweet Faith (Thievery Corporation remix)
Overdue (Blackbeard remix)
Our Remains (JAB featuring Menez One remix)
Take 2 Blue (Roy Dubb remix)
The Mating Game (Yes King remix)
Salty Air (Fort Knox Five remix)
Dirty Laundry (Skeewiff remix)
Moving Forward (Atjazz remix)
Moody (Marsmobil remix)
Don't Forget to Breathe (Solid Doctor "Don't Forget The Beat" remix)
By this time Supreme Beings of Leisure had returned to the recording studio. This time the band was Geri & Ramin with their touring band of Brandin, Strickland, & Graham. In 2008, they relesased the third & final SBoL album, 11i (although in a 2020 interview, Rick Torres alluded to a new SBoL release).
The Light
This World
Mirror
Swallow
Good
Pieces
Angelhead
Ride
Oneness
Everywhere
Lay Me Down
That same year, Bitter:Sweet released their final album, Drama.
Intro Dramatico
Get What I Want
Come Along With Me
The Bomb
Drama
Waking Up
A Moment
Sugar Mama
Trouble
Love Revolution
Neurosis
Drink You Sober
Everything
After 2008...
Ramin wrote a few numbers but mostly concentrated musically on remixes.
Massage My Mind
Musica de la Noche
Daylight as Sunset
Maroments in Love
Strangers in the Night
Brace Yourself
Shadows
Geri was sought out for numerous vocal outings.
Ghost Requiem (Delerium)
Ojala (Gabriel Diggs)
Torres & Shahani wrote two tracks with Dave Wakeling for The English Beat.
Redemption Time
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footnote 1 -
I said that Drama was Bitter:Sweet's last album. They did release a four song EP in 2010, The Break Up, just to make it official.
footnote 2 -
Ramin did Sonomad with 11i-era Supreme Beings of Leisure guitarist Geoffrey Brandin.
Road to Somewhere (featuring Shana Halligan, x-Bitter:Sweet [ironic])
An Escape
I am Love
Sahana Vavathu
Be Good Brotha
Beautiful People
Come On!
This is Just a Dream
The Monster
More Than You Are
This is Real Life
footnote 3 -
Geoff Brandin in the Vanduras 2002 prior to SBoL.
In the Dark
La Planche
The Big Hurt
El Monte
Cybele's Reverie
Lost Beach
Dinner with Robert
Charlotte
Sarajevo Rose
Rope'n Pinneaples
Theme for Troubled Teens
Atomic
Levitare'
Enjoy,
NØ
Nice and tidy, thanks Nathin!
ReplyDeleteTidy!
DeleteNow THAT'S how you do a mega-post!
ReplyDeleteWOW! MEGA is right! I was only vaguely familiar with the SBoL probably from some trip-hop comp tracks somewhere but I like what I hear. Thanks N0, great post!
ReplyDeleteThough most of the sounds here don't stray far from trip-hop (other than the English Beat tunes & The Vanduras), there is some good music from this crew. Glad you found something you like.
ReplyDelete