We are pretty excited here at Lemonade. Why you ask? Well we just happen to have
the exclusive debut of Radio Raheem’s brand new music video for their single “Heart in 2”. I know that you all want to see the video, but before we get to that…..have some patience, because we want to make sure you get to know them a little better first.
So tell us a little about yourselves, where did you come up with the name Radio Raheem?
Radio Raheem is the title character for Spike Lee’s 1989 movie Do the Right Thing! In the movie, Radio Raheem had a massive boom box that he was hauling around. The song blasting from his system is Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power”. We felt like it was an awesome image and perfect for the band.
You all come from different musical backgrounds. Obviously that can make for a unique sound, but does it ever present any challenges when writing new music?
Writing Radio Raheem music is fairly simple. Paul Christofferson (Radio Raheem’s Bass Player) and I (Bryan Cohen) come up with the rough structures to the songs, the melodies and the lyrics – then Trevor adds sax and Josie sings. Last is Zia adding his drums. We record at Paul’s house for most of the process and switch to the studio to add in Zia’s awesome drums. Along the way the song builds and builds and when we’re done we sit back and see if we have a Radio Raheem song. Most of the time we do. I would say the most important part of the process is properly capturing Josephine Howell’s amazing voice! She is the key to a great Radio Raheem song.
Seattle has always been a great place for music, but recently the city has received even more buzz with Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ worldwide success. What do you love most about music in the Emerald City?
Oh God! There is so much going on in this town musically – soul, hip hop, dance, Rock, EDM, Americana, country, singer-songwriters – and everyone knows each other. We love that part. Lots of collaboration, lots of musical ideas, always a cool show to see. Northwest music rocks!
Your seven track EP Raheem Rising just hit iTunes from what I can tell. What can you tell us about the making of the EP?
It was really fun. We worked with producer Martin Feveyear at Jupiter Studios and he did a great job with us. We wanted to make each track crazy, fun, anthemic, catchy and unique. Josie’s singing was amazing and Zia drummed the crap out of the tracks. Trevor brought killer sax parts to the songs. We loved that Larry Hawkins MC’d the single “Heart in 2”, it was a blast collaborating with him on that track.
The video for “Heart in 2” (that we are VERY honored to be debuting) features some clips of you guys live. Looks like you guys like to throw a party. How would you describe your live show to someone who has never seen you play before?
Radio Raheem live shows are all about energy, dancing, chanting and good vibes. We want people to come for a good time and leave feeling happy, satisfied and entertained.
Now that Raheem Rising is out, what are your plans for 2014?
We are playing February 22nd at the High Dive in Fremont so come on out! We want to gig, gig and gig some more this year. Also we are working on new bonus tracks and a new video so there will be lots of Radio Raheem music this year!
Come visit us at Facebook.com/radioraheemband or www.radioraheemband.com
Now without further adieu, we bring to you the debut of Radio Raheem’s Music Video “Heart in 2”!
