listen
to "come the morning"
- taken from the album 'Lost, Found & Underground'
THE
SCOOP
So 'THE
END' crumbled and everyone went their seperate ways. Matt was totally
disillusioned and wasn't interested in any further musical heroics. Clovis joined
'Headswim' who were about to record their 2nd album, 'Despite Yourself', for
Epic. Nick started learning the technical side of his new 8-track studio and
Rook was already plotting his next adventure. Apart from writing new songs on
acoustic and using the experience to fuel new lyrics Rook also played bass on
a track for 'Who Slapped John' as well as producing the 'Liquid Sky' track on
their 'Daily Dilemmas' album. After a while Rook got together with Nick and
wrote and recorded a few songs. They sounded good, the funk came to the forefront.
They managed to persuade Matt to meet them at a north London rehearsal studio
and with Paul Monkcom on drums they tried out the tracks. A few extra surprises
developed plus some kickin' jams and after 4 hours of creative enjoyment it
was obvious that this monster had to be ongoing. Rook suggested that a conga
player would really pull it together. A week later while having a drink in the
Bull & Gate in Kentish town, Rook met Idris DeAngeli who lo and behold turned
out to be a conga/percussion player. And so 'Maximum Raw Groovers' LUNASEED
were born.
Line-up
from left to right
MATT HAMMOND-Keyboards/Bass/Backing vocals : ROOK RANDLE-Vocals/Acoustic/Lyrics/Samples
PAUL
MONKCOM-Drums/Backing Vocals : IDRIS DeANGELI-Congas/Percussion/Backing Vocals
NICK
HALL-Guitar/Flute/Backing vocals/Samples
Anyone
who managed to catch LUNASEED live will have been enlightened by their 'maximum
raw groove' experience. A whole heap of infectious funk laced with psychedelic
twists, sassy riffs, earthy rhythms, gut loaded lyrics, all conjured and powered
into place by the man with the exploding limbs ROOK RANDLE . A totally refreshing
experience! It's probably because of of this vitality that their music got chosen
to run alongside the exciting visuals of snowboarding, white water rafting and
other extreme sports on channel 4's High 5 and sky TV's Wild Spirits.
The track Harmony, a conga and vocal driven burst of cosmic observation,
got chosen for the soundtrack of the film 'Hardmen' a UK/French co-produced
gangster b-movie set in London. It stars Vincent Regan and "Mad" Frankie
Fraser and is now available on video distributed by Rezo films.
The
CD release 'Evolution Superhighway' on Open Mind Recordings features the tracks
'Undivided' and 'Get Where Ya Comin' From' plus 'Evolution Superhighway' (version)
and the 8-track scarred but vibed demo version. Produced by the band with a
little help from Clive Martin (Reef,Skunk Anansie). Gary Crowley championed
the exposure of the mad cut-up 'Lunaseed' track' Mr Magoo' and played it on
Xfm radio but it was never released and is only available as a bootleg . Soon
it will be put out on an Open Mind recordings CD by Rook called 'Lost , Found
and Underground' which will also feature 'The End' track 'Sick' a top gig favourite.
The CD will only be available through this website.
LUNASEED
were for me the ultimate progression from THE END. We managed to tap into that
magic area that enabled us to move people physically and mentally and the feedback
from the throng that came to our gigs was overwelming at times. But holding
the band together was a tuff task. The songs all needed a particular attitude
to give them the life they needed, and at times this took a lot of energy from
myself . It felt like Iwas operating in an overgrown jungle with a sharp machette
cutting away the cynisism, complacency and constant headtrips. But I was 100%
LUNASEED and overcoming these obstacles made it all well worth while. When it
came together, the energy, vibe and attitude turned us into something refreshing.
I'd like to thank Matt, Nick, and Paul for the great grooves we've layed down
over the years; don't judge my driving too harshly, it's a mean business. Wherever
you are, heaps of love and luck to you. Mighty thanks to Sam at Open Mind Recordings
and I'd also like to thank Idris who is very much a part of what I'm doing now.
Without his wisdom and healing qualities it would be another tuff task. Also
not forgeting the seedlings who came and joined in and made it loads of fun.
Thanks for coming, buying the CD's and being into it.
LOVE
and Future Fun ............ROOK
The
following lyrics are from my album in progress 'LIFEJACKETS' and the track is
'Going Nowhere'. It more or less sums up my situation during the'Lunaseed' period.
GOING
NOWHERE
At
the risk of sounding just a tad too corny
I
made my bed inside this story
I
backed a winner when I wrote this song
Its
just a hit with me and that will do
These
are the facts with nothing changed
Except
to opt to slag one or two names
Its
about a bunch of guys who played together
You
know I thought we could have lasted strong
We
were going nowhere and we know now we've got there
I
bust a gut to get the whole thing started
Sowing
the seed with a solid belief
I'd
suck out the nectar from an endless jam
And
fuse the tunes with a vitality
But
its hard to kick it in this industry
Unless
your attitude is attention hungry
But
with top grade sounds we were bound for somewhere
You
know I thought we could have lasted strong
We
were going nowhere and we know now we've got there
With
an invitation from a neighbour nation
We
were kickin' our jams across the big blue sea
We
picked some tracks to cut hot to product
And
sam the man put up the cash for the first CD
We
always thought we were the bees knees
Bangin'
out live with a guarentee
Well
it's about a bunch of guys who played together
You
know I thought we could have lasted strong
We
were going nowhere and we know now we've got there
Rook
Randle 2002
