Lioness came together, almost in secret, in Toronto in the winter of 2007, when Jeff Scheven and Ronnie Morris, the rhythm section behind the dark, stomping disco pulses of controller.controller, hooked up with Vanessa Fischer of soul-punk quartet No Dynamics. Honing their craft by playing low-key after-hours sets in sweaty, off-the-radar locales throughout the city, the band nonetheless generated a remarkable undercurrent of buzz in the following months, leading to support slots with the likes of !!!, Hercules and the Love Affair, You Say Party! We Say Die! and K-OS.
Their sans-guitar sound is like a head-on collision of old and new, as Fischer draws upon jazz, old soul and blues, roaring and moaning over layers of electronic squall and elastic rhythms like a witch in heat. It’s a clash of organic and synthetic, the sound of disco and house music filtered and distorted through the instrumental apparatus of live rock and roll. On stage, they are a synthesis of electronic rock band and performance art project, a drum and bass wall of sound bathed in red light.
The band recorded their self-titled EP with Rob Sanzo at Signal To Noise and was it mastered by "Nilz" Patel at The Exchange in London. The Lioness EP was released October 21st, 2008 on New Romantic.
"Lioness is your response to your jaded friend’s claims that indie rock ain’t got no soul." -XLR8R
"Combining the massive elements of Led Zeppelin with the bleeps-and-blips skinny jeans dance craze, Lioness... seems well-poised to pick-up Toronto's coolest band-ever mantle..." -The National Post
"Anyone familiar with the members’ other work won’t be too surprised by what they find in Lioness, but if you ask me, the band are the marriage of those aforementioned bands’ best bits." -Exclaim!
"…sweaty death-disco grooves that are as contagious as the common cold." -Eye Weekly
"Lioness is the sound of 3 am." -Vue Weekly
"Bass lovers be warned: this disc might be your hottest wet dream since Death From Above 1979." -CHARTattack
Hello Lioness, That's an awesome photo you've got. Thanks for the add and for your friendship. Greatly appreciated. If you haven’t yet heard “Banging My Head” (title song from new album), drop by and grab the free download at http://www.last.fm/music/The+Cranes+Are+Flying If you like the sound, tell a friend and share the love. All the best with your music. - Trevor
The Cranes Are Flying 100% certified organic electronica
“The elastic pulse of new single “Banging My Head” is exceptional” The State newspaper, 6/19/09, “Pick of the Week”
Great review of the Pride set in Now Magazine, 'But the highlight came at sunset, when the three members of Lioness launched into their ferocious set. Vanessa Fischer’s massive soul-laced vocals and Jeff Scheven’s larger-than-life drum work finally whipped up a frenzy'
met you in the alley before the show at alexander park...love love loved you guys, your energy, charisma, emotional translation and talent was mind blowing. so excited to see more from you
That was a great set at The Drake. Pushing the extremes of dance-rock fusion, delivering an infectious breed of disco-punk, shape shifting between retro-futuristic grooves and turbocharged rock, spliced with guitar noise and propulsive machine-like drumming. But it’s the soul-drenched vocals that gives the sound it’s magnetic pull, piercing orgasmic wails that resonates through your loins. Hypnotically vivid, bewitching, punctuated by sweaty dance-floor energy.
Caught the video for 'You're My Heart' on MuchMusic's The Wedge. Loved the surreal imagery. Kind of reminds me a bit of Stereolab's 'Noise Of Carpet' video. Nice work.
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