Supreme Beings of Leisure
Encyclopedia
Supreme Beings of Leisure are an electronic/trip-hop band from Los Angeles, California
. Current members of SBL are Singer/Songwriter Geri Soriano-Lightwood and Multi-Instrumentalist/Programmer Ramin Sakurai. SBL was formed from the remains of the band Oversoul 7 in 1998 when they signed to Palm Pictures.
Ramin Sakurai of SBL composed the theme music for the PBS documentary series FRONTLINE/World News.
After the release of the debut album, the band decided to split leaving Geri and Ramin as the main members of SBL, quickly releasing the second SBL album "Divine Operating System" in 2002. "Divine Operating System" peaked at #29 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart, #9 on the Top Electronic Albums chart, and #23 on the Top Independent Albums chart (all according to allmusic.com).
In 2003, SBL decided to leave the Palm Pictures taking a 2-year hiatus releasing various remixes and appearing on various artists albums during this period.
Supreme Beings of Leisure's third major album, 11i, was released on February 12, 2008 from Rykodisc Records.
Creating a richer, fuller sound than on their 2000 self-titled debut or their 2002 follow-up, Divine Operating System, Geri and Ramin augmented their dynamic duo by welcoming their touring band into the studio and collaborating on a few tracks: Sheldon Strickland (bass), Geoff Brandin (guitar), and Jason Graham (drums). SBL also broadened their sound with top-flight guest musicians such as string arranger Scott Tibbs (Beyonce, Mary J Blige), turntablist DJ Swamp (Beck, Crystal Method, Morcheeba), violin virtuoso Lili Hayden and Megadeath axe-man Marty Friedman. The result is a cohesive yet eclectic blend of wild percussive adventures, spicy ethnic flavors, alluring melodies, introspective lyrics and hooky downtempo dance grooves. It’s the kind of crafty sonic salad that fans have come to expect from a crew whose licensing credits include cool placements in ads (Johnny Walker Black Label, Breil Watch, JC Penney), television (C.S.I. Miami, Alias, Dawson’s Creek), movies (Must Love Dogs, The Sweetest Thing, Hamlet, The Animatrix) and games (Tiger Woods PGA Tour for EA Sports).
SBL has earned favorable notices in Rolling Stone, the New York Times, Details, Interview, Elle, Wired, Billboard, Keyboard and Seventeen among others on their way to selling more than 300,000 records.
In 2004, former members Rick Torres and Kiran Shahani released the album LAZY incorporated with vocalist Jailyn Matthews under the name LAZY on the label ERECORDS.
In 2006, former member Kiran Shahani released his own album as a duo with Shana Halligan under the name Bitter:sweet
.
In 2008, former member Rick Torres started the band The Smart Set and released the album "Mixing With The Smart Set" on ERECORDS in October 2009.
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. Current members of SBL are Singer/Songwriter Geri Soriano-Lightwood and Multi-Instrumentalist/Programmer Ramin Sakurai. SBL was formed from the remains of the band Oversoul 7 in 1998 when they signed to Palm Pictures.
History
In 1996, Oversoul 7 came together as members Geri Soriano-Lightwood, Ramin Sakurai, (Bassist) Kiran Shahani, and (Guitarist) Rick Torres released "Nothing Like Tomorrow" and "What's the Deal" on two compilations on the Moonshine Music dance label. After the Moonshine releases, Oversoul 7 signed a demo deal with A&M records recording demos of "Truth From Fiction", "Never the Same", and "Last Girl on Earth", all songs which ended up on the band's self-titled debut album, which was released on Palm Pictures label. The release of the first Supreme Beings of Leisure album sold over 250,000 units with little promotional touring. Instead, SBL opted to use the internet to market and promote the album, being the first band to do a "Virtual Internet Tour", and among the very first to use Flash animation for their videos. "Supreme Beings of Leisure" peaked at #47 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart according to allmusic.com, and is in the top 100 of the Trip-Hop Dance & DJ music category according to Amazon.com sales ranking.Ramin Sakurai of SBL composed the theme music for the PBS documentary series FRONTLINE/World News.
After the release of the debut album, the band decided to split leaving Geri and Ramin as the main members of SBL, quickly releasing the second SBL album "Divine Operating System" in 2002. "Divine Operating System" peaked at #29 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart, #9 on the Top Electronic Albums chart, and #23 on the Top Independent Albums chart (all according to allmusic.com).
In 2003, SBL decided to leave the Palm Pictures taking a 2-year hiatus releasing various remixes and appearing on various artists albums during this period.
Supreme Beings of Leisure's third major album, 11i, was released on February 12, 2008 from Rykodisc Records.
Creating a richer, fuller sound than on their 2000 self-titled debut or their 2002 follow-up, Divine Operating System, Geri and Ramin augmented their dynamic duo by welcoming their touring band into the studio and collaborating on a few tracks: Sheldon Strickland (bass), Geoff Brandin (guitar), and Jason Graham (drums). SBL also broadened their sound with top-flight guest musicians such as string arranger Scott Tibbs (Beyonce, Mary J Blige), turntablist DJ Swamp (Beck, Crystal Method, Morcheeba), violin virtuoso Lili Hayden and Megadeath axe-man Marty Friedman. The result is a cohesive yet eclectic blend of wild percussive adventures, spicy ethnic flavors, alluring melodies, introspective lyrics and hooky downtempo dance grooves. It’s the kind of crafty sonic salad that fans have come to expect from a crew whose licensing credits include cool placements in ads (Johnny Walker Black Label, Breil Watch, JC Penney), television (C.S.I. Miami, Alias, Dawson’s Creek), movies (Must Love Dogs, The Sweetest Thing, Hamlet, The Animatrix) and games (Tiger Woods PGA Tour for EA Sports).
SBL has earned favorable notices in Rolling Stone, the New York Times, Details, Interview, Elle, Wired, Billboard, Keyboard and Seventeen among others on their way to selling more than 300,000 records.
In 2004, former members Rick Torres and Kiran Shahani released the album LAZY incorporated with vocalist Jailyn Matthews under the name LAZY on the label ERECORDS.
In 2006, former member Kiran Shahani released his own album as a duo with Shana Halligan under the name Bitter:sweet
Bitter:sweet
Bitter:Sweet is an electronic/trip-hop duo with jazz-like qualities from Los Angeles. The band is composed of Shana Halligan, who provides vocals and lyrics and composes the songs, and Kiran Shahani, who produces and composes the songs.- Appearances :...
.
In 2008, former member Rick Torres started the band The Smart Set and released the album "Mixing With The Smart Set" on ERECORDS in October 2009.
Discography
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Dance | US Heat. | US Ind. Independent Albums The Billboard Independent Albums is a chart of the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays in the United States, compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is used to list artists who are not signed to major labels... |
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| 2000 | Supreme Beings of Leisure Supreme Beings of Leisure (album) Supreme Beings of Leisure is an album released by Supreme Beings of Leisure, an electronic/trip-hop band, in 2000.-Tracks:#"Never The Same" – 4:03#"Golddigger" – 4:11#"Last Girl On Earth" – 4:15#"Strangelove Addiction" – 5:04...
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— | — | — | |
| 2002 | Divine Operating System Divine Operating System Divine Operating System is the second studio album released by Supreme Beings of Leisure, an electronic/trip-hop band, in 2002.-Track listing:All tracks by Supreme Beings of Leisure#"Give Up" – 3:50#"Ghetto" – 4:22#"Catch Me" – 4:20... |
9 | — | 23 | |
| 2008 | 11i 11i (album) 11i is the third studio album by Supreme Beings of Leisure. It was released in 2008.-Track listing:#"The Light" – 4:48#"This World" – 3:26#"Mirror" – 5:11#"Swallow" – 4:48#"Good" – 4:04#"Pieces" – 4:07... Rykodisc Rykodisc Records is an American record label. It is owned by Warner Music Group, operates as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and is distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance.-Company history:... |
9 | 32 | — | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | |||||
Singles
| Year | Title | US Dance | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | "Strangelove Addiction" | 40 | Supreme Beings of Leisure |
| 2002 | "Divine" | 9 | Divine Operating System |
| 2003 | "Ghetto" | 5 |