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Constantly embracing polarity, mixing and matching sounds and visuals to create something new and unique – LION BABE are the New York duo formed of singer/songwriter and performance artist Jillian Hervey and instrumentalist and producer Lucas Goodman.
The pair met at the end of their college experiences. Jillian was in the beginnings of her professional dance career while Lucas was focused on producing artists/bands and his own personal project under the name Astro Raw. Their decision to collaborate on music was purely based on curiosity and chance. After the organic creation of the sultry, electronic soul track ‘Treat Me Like Fire’, they decided to give the song a home and create LION BABE.
LION BABE draw on an eclectic mix of influences for their sonic and stunning visuals, which mirror the rich melting pot of cultures that New York offers. Citing the likes of A Tribe Called Quest and Sergeant Pepper-era Beatles as having a major impact on them both in their formative years, they identify with a generation brought up on the internet, with references from film and music of all genres, places and eras being just a click away.
The band’s artistry showcases their ethos for fearlessly reworking and reinventing the familiar, combining it with their love of fantasy and the surreal, to make their own unique pieces of art; a new kind of soul. This ethos has led LION BABE to become one of the most exciting and talked-about breakthrough acts of the past couple of years, garnering rave reviews from publications such as Vogue, Q, Sunday Times Style, Paper, NYLON, Sunday Times Culture, Wonderland, New York Times, The Independent, The FADER, Noisey, i-D and Evening Standard.
Taking the same approach to their collaborations, the band has worked with the likes of childhood hero and Grammy Award winning artist and producer Pharrell Williams, and prolific producers/musicians such as Andrew Wyatt, Al Shux and Childish Gambino – aiming to inspire their generation to take risks and not follow moulds, promoting individuality, uniqueness and change.
Hot on the heels of the serious waves they caused around the release of their critically acclaimed debut album ‘Begin’ – which spawned much-loved and played tracks such as ‘Jump Hi’, ‘Wonder Woman’ and ‘Impossible’ – and just in time for the summer, June 2016 saw the release of LION BABE’s mixtape ’Sun Joint’. The 11-track mixtape invokes a soulful, feel-good vibe with the band’s signature technicolor palette of sounds, including soul, funk, electronics and earworm melodies. The lead track from the project, ‘Endless Summer’, has received acclaim from the likes of The FADER, Stereogum, Pigeons & Planes and The Line of Best Fit and shot to number two on the Hype Machine chart. Amassing over 560,000 streams since its release, the mixtape takes LION BABE back to their most organic self, expertly showcasing the duo’s kinetic energy while providing a futuristic high-energy production. ’Sun Joint’ features Junglepussy, Raury, Angel Haze and co-production from DJ Dahi. The Angel Haze featured track also recently appeared on Kitty Cash’s latest release – Love The Free, Volume III mixtape.
In July of 2016 the duo kicked off their first ever North American headlining tour at ESSENCE Festival before taking their kinetic, genre-bending performance across the east Coast to New York (including a date at The Gramercy), Boston and Philadelphia, with forthcoming dates in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Toronto and more. LION BABE also played select music festivals worldwide including Glastonbury and Sasquatch and Reading & Leeds in the UK.
With an impressive 30 million plus streams across their audio and visual streaming sites in less than two years after releasing their debut EP and Jillian confidently confirming her place as an international style and beauty icon with huge campaigns with MAC Cosmetics – creating her own eyeliner for the brand – and as Pantene’s latest ambassador, appearing in their print and TV commercials, the sky is the limit for these rapidly rising stars.