JILLIAN HERVEY: I don’t think there was a specific point. TAHIRAH HAIRSTON: You started out as friends, was there a point when you had to get used to working with each other? We caught up with the pair over Thai food in Chelsea. “I think it’s going to be a lot of new memories and pushing us–that’s the best when you get pushed.”ĭrawing inspiration from a range of musicians including Sly & Family Stone, Lauryn Hill, Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, and A Tribe Called Quest, Lion Babe’s auditory aesthetic rests on a thin line somewhere between pop, soul, and R&B. “This next year is going to be super busy, but really exciting to keep sharing new music and visuals, playing shows, traveling, and connecting with people,” Hervey continues.
After the dorm room introduction, they began collaborating-first with Goodman producing music for Hervey’s dance performances and now, full fledged songs. Goodman was playing songs he produced in his dorm room and Hervey wandered over, wanting to know more. Hervey, who studied dance at the New School, and Goodman, who studied music at Northeastern, met at a college party. “Our goal is to just stay in our own lane and grab the people that identify with being in their own lane,” Hervey, who also happens to be singer and actress Vanessa Williams’s daughter, says of the four-song compilation. Last week, they released their debut self-titled EP, and their debut full-length album will drop next summer. Since then they’ve collaborated with people like Childish Gambino on their single “Jump Hi,” Pharrell Williams, who produced the following single, and Mark Ronson.įor the past 18 months, Hervey and Goodman have focused on refining their craft, from writing songs and producing records in the studio to performing around the country, including at South by Southwest. Shortly thereafter, the duo- Hervey with her sultry vocals and fluid movement, and Goodman with his soul and funk infused beats- signed to Outsider Music in London, and then Interscope Records in the U.S. In December 2012, Jillian Hervey, 25, and Lucas Goodman, 26, uploaded an infectious soul song, “Treat Me Like Fire,” to YouTube, thus introducing the world to Lion Babe. MAKEUP: JUNKO KIOKA FOR CHANEL/JOE MANAGEMENT. HAIR: CHUCK AMOS FOR ORIBE/JUMP MANAGEMENT. The next year they released several new songs including "Honey Dew" and "The Wave" (featuring Leikeli47), and the next year they preceded the release of their second album with single "Western World." The album featured guest spots by Raekwon, Bilal, and the previously released single with Leikeli47, and was released in March of 2019.ABOVE: LION BABE IN NEW YORK, DECEMEBR 2014. 2017 saw them issuing new songs "Rocket" and "Hit the Ceiling" as well as remix collections for both tracks. It was issued in February 2016 and featured multiple highlights, including the Pharrell Williams-produced "Wonder Woman." For the next few years, the band kept fans sated with a steady stream of new singles and festival appearances.
After a highlight contribution to Disclosure's second album Caracal ("Hour Glass"), as well as a stint opening for that duo on tour, Lion Babe completed Begin, their debut album. Lion Babe resurfaced in December 2014 with a self-titled four-track EP that featured "Treat Me Like Fire," as well as "Jump Hi," a strutting number on which Childish Gambino made an appearance. Their first song, "Treat Me Like Fire," was uploaded to SoundCloud in November 2012, and they were subsequently snapped up by Polydor in the U.K. Soon the two were collaborating on music together, slowly trading ideas and fleshing out beats. Hervey, the daughter of Vanessa Williams, overheard tracks that Goodman, aka Astro Raw, had created and struck up a conversation with him. Lion Babe began when Hervey and Goodman met at a party on the campus of Boston's Northeastern University.
Coining the term "futuristic nostalgia" to describe their sound, they incorporated chopped-up samples, organic instruments, and atmospheric electronics on early singles as well as their 2016 debut full-length Begin. Made up of vocalist Jillian Hervey and producer Lucas Goodman, New York-based duo Lion Babe craft a unique version of spacy, evocative R&B.