Altsounds - LORD NEWBORN AND THE MAGIC SKULLS ANNOUNCE ALBUM RELEASE

Lord Newborn and the Magic Skulls is the collaborative project of esteemed sound scientists Money Mark, Shawn Lee, and Tommy Guerrero. In the winter of 2008 they locked themselves away in Money Mark’s Los Angeles-based studio for two weeks. A tasty three-way meeting of the minds resulted in this funk-inflicted collection of beats n’ breaks, wrapped-up in a sunny West Coast musical tortilla that’s smothered in as much jazz and prog-rock as it is in soulful psychedelia.

With the trio having so much experience of writing for film it’s no surprise that many tracks on this album have a strong emotive soundtrack-vibe. At times the sound is vintage; it crackles with the
buzz and ring of lo-fi gear that chugs away behind funk-schooled melodies. But the album also points forward with a genre-marauding blur of freaky beats, worldly percussion, and slick studio trickery.

Money Mark is known as the trusty keyboard guy the Beastie Boys turn to. Releasing numerous solo albums he has worked with countless internationally acclaimed artists, appeared in the Moog documentary, and written the soundtrack for the 2008 documentary Beautiful Losers. Mark and Guerrero had early releases on the influential UK-based Mo Wax label, and have had their music used in the EA games series Skate.

Guerrero began his career as a pro-skating member of the Bones Brigade in his hometown of San Francisco and was one of the founders of Real Skateboards and Deluxe. But he also delved into the music business and was in the early 1980's skate rock band Free Beer and the collaborative/conceptual band Jet Black Crayon. In addition Guerrero is a member of the all-star skate band Blktop Project (alongside Ray Barbee, Chuck Treece, and Matt Rodriguez), and has released multiple solo albums.

Lee, Guerrero, and Mark have all released records on the Rush label in Japan. And like his fellow Magic Skulls, Shawn Lee was also picked up by UK labels early in his musical career. After releases on the Talking Loud and Wall of Sound labels, he found a home back in the USA at Ubiquity where he has released eight records including his collaboration album with the mysterious Clutchy Hopkins.

Album Samples:

01. A Phase Shifter I'm Going Through
02. Astro Blue
03. Dime Bag Conspiracy
04. Escape From Prism
05. Disco Loco
06. Rainy Day Dog
07. That's Right (It's Time To Get Down)
08. She's My Melody
09. Ringa Ding Ding Ding
10. L.I.V.E.
11. Revenge Of The Fillet O'Fish
12. Ancient Scrolls
13. Crazy Apartment