Lion Awakes by Amayo
My solo album debut, Lion Awakes, is my first new music since I composed Antibalas’ GRAMMY-nominated Fu Chronicles (2020). Inspired by my Kung Fu practice, and honoring his indigenous Nigerian Edo customs and heritage, Lion Awakes features 5 tracks of fierce afrobeat, unfolding over a series of movements that tell a story where myth meets reality.
This album honors my Grandmother, Iyalawo (my Black Magic Mama/real life medicine woman).
The world is right-side down. Only through honest collaborations can we set things right.
This album offers medicinal words and songs.
Lion Awakes track list:
1. Black Magic Sister
2. Lion Awakes
3. Happy Lion
4. Shadowless
5. Ascended Lion
“A vibrant set of colorful, fierce, cross-cultural Afrobeat” - KEXP
“An immersive experience that’s as powerful, triumphant, and magical as any music could be. Amayo has brought mythology together with reality to form the sweetest of fusions” - TMRW Magazine
“A bold and visionary album that weaves together the vibrant energy of Afrobeat, the mystique of Chinese martial arts lore, and the hopeful spirit of Afrofuturism” - Afropop Worldwide
“Lion Awakes is the highly anticipated album from Amayo, and not a second of it disappoints. His words come to life and shimmy along the edges of the colorful arrangements, and “Happy Lion” is a shimmering example of fantastically unique artistry. This song feels like it should be echoing through the halls of a stadium” - Glide Magazine
Tracklist
| 1. | Black Magic Sister | 6:27 |
| 2. | Lion Awakes | 8:58 |
| 3. | Happy Lion | 9:27 |
| 4. | Shadowless | 5:16 |
| 5. | Ascended Lion | 9:02 |
Credits
Duke Amayo - Composer, Lead Voice, Upright Piano, Rhodes Piano, Farfisa Organ, Roland Piano, Congas
Tosin Aribisala - Drum Kit
Babatunde Fayomi - Bass
Giancarlo Luiggi - Shekere, Background Vocals
Dendé - Talking Drum, Tabak, Timbao, Agogo bells
Raja Kassis - Guitar
Raymond James Mason - Trombone (Additional Horn & String arrangement)
Julian Johnson - Trumpet
Todd Simon - Trumpet
Cochemea Gastelum - Sax
Sweet Plantains String Quartet - Strings
Tosin “Tosinger” Taiwo 2, Omada Agom, and Solomon “Solo’s Beat” Fatoma - Choir
Rogé - Guest Back up voice
Leah Concialdi - Background Vocals
Thomas Brenneck - 2nd Guitar (Black Magic Sister)
All songs by Duke Amayo (ASCAP).
Amenawon Music (ASCAP).
Recorded at Diamond West, Los Angeles, CA.
Vocal Overdubs at Bravo Ocean Studio, Atlanta, GA.
String Overdubs at River Run Recording, Soho, NY.
Mixed at Hive Mind Recording Studio, Bushwick, NY, by Vince Chiarito.
Engineers: Thomas Brenneck and Simon Guzman.
Mastered by Colin Leonard at SING Mastering,
Atlanta, GA using SING Technology ® (Patented).
Produced by Thomas Brenneck.
Cover photo: Kory Thibeault
Cover art: Duke Amayo
Gratitude to:
Iyalawo My late grandmother, Flora Amayo,
My late mom, Esther Amenawon Amayo
My late dad, Francis Ugiagbe Amayo
Late Babalawo, Araba Dayo Ologundudu,
My wife, Jen Mazer
My Jow Ga Kung Fu Sifus and family
For more information, please visit: amayomusic.com
@amayomusic
License
All rights reserved.Recommendations
Former Frontman of Antibalas for 23 years, Amayo was credited for bringing Afrobeat to a global audience, leading it to become a genre of itself. He composed the GRAMMY nominated “Fu Chronicles” album for “Best Global Music Album of the Year” 2020. It was the launchpad for Amayo’s solo career - where Kung Fu meets Afrobeat.
Amayo means, “If you don’t go, you never know…”