The quick spread of the coronavirus pandemic meant musicians had to cancel world tours, but Lion Babe came up with a way to stay connected with their fans.
Lion Babe – consisting of singer Jillian Hervey and record producer Lucas Goodman – utilised the power of technology and put together out-of-this-world (but very much at home) performances to mimick real-life concerts.
Thanks to Instagram Live and the help of each country’s best venues, fans – who used their IP addresses to prove they’re in the country the duo were ‘performing in’ – got to lose themselves in the group’s ethereal neo-soul vibes.
Speaking to Metro.co.uk about their 12-show Around The World At Home tour, Jillian explained: ‘It was crazy, but we had so much fun. It was great to get to connect with our fans across the world.
‘It came about as like a lot of other music artists we had a run of dates in May through til the summer that were cancelled. We came up with the plan with our manager and decided to do a virtual tour.
She continued: ‘So practically we were doing two shows a day throughout the week. Keeping up with the time zones was crazy too. Like for Australia, we did that at around 5 am our time.’
Without a doubt performing from your very own living room is nowhere near similar to what it’s like touring in real life, but Jillian and Lucas did their best with the help of props and psychedelic Instagram filters.
Finishing a tour in real life would usually result in a celebration or much-needed sleep, but what is it like when all you have to do is end an Instagram Live?
‘It was strange as in some ways it was the same,’ Jillian – daughter of Vanessa Williams – said of ending their online tour. ‘We packed up afterwards and I was going around picking up my gloves I’d thrown across the room during the performance.
‘And Lucas was packing down his equipment as he’d usually do. We’d pack up and then go drink some wine.’
Alcohol is of course needed after an energetic performance.
Meanwhile, it’s been a year since the release of their sophomore album Cosmic Wind – the perfect sounds to soundtrack warm summer nights and drinks with friends.
Not that we remember what drinks with friends feels like.
Their song Western World even had them collaborating with Wu-Tang Clan’s Rae Kwon and it all happened naturally.
‘With collaborations those have just come by organically,’ Lucas revealed. ‘We’ve created music and listened back and thought you know what it’d be great to have this person on it.
‘Then we’ve reached out and luckily the artists have dug the track and been like cool. That’s how it worked out with getting Raekwon on Western World we had him in mind and could hear him around the Western vibe. We felt honoured to have him on the song and album.’
Lion Babe’s new single Can’t Get Enough is out now here. Watch a performance from their ‘Around The World, At Home’ virtual tour here.
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