Lushy

Bio:

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Lushy was founded in a desire for warmth, a warmth fired by Manhattans to survive the long, grey, rainy winters and springs of the Northwest. Toasted and fuzzy, the Lushy crew hews to a life of bourbon and bonbons, coconuts and fountains, and a dream that there is always somewhere, a happy hideaway with a cordial bartender who can make a proper drink. The ensemble made it’s North American debut at the 2002 Tiki Oasis festival in beautiful downtown Palm Springs, California. PHOTO IVAN LASSO

It's Cal Tjader meets Stereolab meets Brasil 66 in a bar in Berlin. Welcome to the wonderful world of LUSHY! Drink up people--it's LUSHY! Bossa beat flavored alterna-pop that goes down nice and easy. If you like the B-52's, Brazilian Girls, The Bird and The Bee, Astrud Gilberto, David Bowie and Martin Denny you'll love Lushy! Lounge-y and danceable with hints of exotica, and a touch of electronica...nutty and hip...intriguing and soothing--must see live!

Lushy concocts a refreshing pop style, that blends original samples and sexy Bossa beats with elements from exotica, vintage-Latin jazz, surf, ska, new wave, sixties and French pop to create their own distinctive intercontinental sound. What started as a lighthearted recording session among friends, has now turned into a lasting and successful project. In the basement tiki den, with fully stocked cocktail bar, that is their studio, Lushy was formed and began compiling an extensive catalog of original songs. With several releases on Dionysus Records and scores of gigs from Vancouver BC to Los Angeles, to Berlin, Germany to Chicago, Lushy has steadily risen through the ranks of Seattle's musical landscape. Led by musical mastermind Andy Sodt, dynamic vocalist Annabella Kirby, honey-toned guitarist Matt Nims, conga king Bradley Chodos-Irvine along with rotating members bongo brains Terence Gunn and toaster/merry maker Lynval Golding of Specials fame Lushy holds sway over every stage they inhabit.

HOLIDAY CD IS HERE!!!

NOW AVAILABLE ON ITUNES!

"If the weather has got you down, you need a hearty helping of Lushy—Seattle's best lounge-pop combo and a surefire cure for winter doldrums. While everyone else is singing about Santa and Rudolph, Annabella Kirby and company have concocted a fizzy, fun holiday album full of high jinks and highballs (not to mention cheese balls) guaranteed to get you back in the holiday spirit(s). In fact, "Snowflake Surprise" might be one of those rare seasonal albums that stands up to year-round spins. Effervescent and eclectic, Lushy are the perfect soundtrack for any time of the year, but the band's breezy, tiki-fueled cocktail music is a welcome ray of sunshine in the heart of winter." -The Stranger

"Seattle band Lushy is all about lounge-pop music, and the group is fizzy highball entertainment. Lushy essentially operates as a trio (Annabella Kirby on vocals & clarinet; Andy Sodt on sax, keyboards & more; Matt Nims on guitar/bass) with supporting players, and the fun recipe results in unadulterated techno/Latin pop refreshment. Too cool! My major complaint is that this album is W-A-Y too short. 27 minutes? Are you kidding me? I could have danced all night, if you get my drift. Next time, please fill my plate with more holiday deliciousness. Lushy layers on lots of creative originals here. My hands-down favorite has to be the title track; Snowflake Surprise had me in its clutches after only a bar or two. The melody is seriously addictive, and the lyrics are downright fun: "It's no surprise--I have snowflakes in my eyes over YOU!" Of course, Kirby throws in the occasional "Doo-dee-doo!" just to liven the party. It's a great song, the sort that will stay with me for days (maybe weeks!). What a fascinating mix! I admire Lushy's intensely original approach; I know I would enjoy seeing the group live. The musicianship is solid, and the tracks present tipsy cocktail lounge pleasures, bordering on bizarre in spots (Bottles, Bugles, Bright Shiny Bells?). And the closing Christmas Waltz almost seems caught in slow-motion under water. Intriguing! Don't be stuck in a rut. Who needs another boring Christmas release? Instead, reach out for something new and different! If you enjoy a techno-pop adventure, then let Lushy be your guide! The Snowflake Surpise can be yours!" -Christmasreviews.com

Big Thanks to all the musicians on who played on the holiday CD:

Lynval Golding, Johnny Horn, Jeff McGrath, Brad Chodos Irvine, Garth Brandenburg, Lunarre Omura!!!

Illustration by Rod Filbrandt

LUSHY at BUMBERSHOOT FESTIVAL SEATTLE, WA AUGUST 31 12:30PM FISHER GREEN STAGE

LUSHY at WASSERMUSIK FESTIVAL BERLIN GERMANY, JULY 26 8:30PM

Illustration by

Rod Filbrandt

Illustration by Rod Filbrandt

What the Press is saying about Lushy...

"It's this confluence of the kooky and cool, the copping of influence cut with honest to goodness solid songwriting...Lushy proves with its fun, fizzy debut that it can definitely chill behind the velvet rope." **** - Johnny Loftus, All Music Guide

"Their brand of electronica is a reinvention of that hip style of mod '60s music that one would experience while watching a Peter Sellers film, circa 1966 -- or a Guy Ritchie British thriller, circa 2006." -Mark Hooper, Arkansas Times

"Memorable and catchy -- Lushy's music carries itself with a cool benevolence." -Chris Greenland, Splendid Magazine

""So Francoise Hardy and Serge Gainsbourg take their Deux Cheveux out for a spin round the Bois de Bolougne, before stopping off at their favorite Tiki lounge. While there, they toast Singapore Slings with Tim and Letitia Stereolab, while in the background Martin Denny conducts the Nairobi Trio in a scintillating selection of his greatest exotica hits and misses. Yeah, Lushy's kind of like that - tart, tipsy, humoresque and thoroughly entertaining post-space age jazz." -MLH, Shredding Paper Magazine

"This is a refreshing update of the lounge/exotica genre, with some unique fusions and syntheses, which can shamelessly and seamlessly blend in with a playlist of Denny, Les Baxter and Esquivel, and could just as comfortably fit in amongst a mix with Devo, the B-52s and even Portishead." -BY, Copenhagen, Denmark

"...these locals do it a lot righter than most, mainly thanks to their bubbly (ahem) sense of humor, which manifests itself in their music, where it counts" -Notable Shows, Seattle Weekly

"With cold weather just a few short months away, Lushy's self-titled debut will be the ideal platter to pop on the hi-fi when the need hits for a little sonic blast of summer. The disc evokes warm nights on the beach, hipsters in madras shorts and Lilly Pulitzer shifts, and paper parasol-bedecked coconut concoctions." -Kathleen C. Fennessy, Tablet Newspaper

"Like a Midwestern tourist in a garish Hawaiian shirt, Lushy stands out as an anomaly in the Emerald City. The local ensemble tiptoes lightly through Esquivel and Martin Denny's jungle, stopping for an occasional sips at the fountain of 1960's French pop and Latin jazz...they keep it sultry and tongue-in-cheek." -Tizzy Asher, Seattle PI

Sign up for Lushy email!

Call or email a request at KEXP 90.3 FM

Check out the video of Snowflake Surprise at Hula Hula...courtesy of Marlow + Jo David Harris!

Have a look at Rod Filbrandt's animation Blue Lizard...Music is French 75 by Lushy

Buy our LP Record "DIONYSUS EXOTICA"-Various Artists:

LP only with serigraph hand art print by Tiki Tony Hand numbered edition of 350

THE TRACKS:

Robert Drasnin- Mirage,Lushy- Castaway Cove (previously unreleased), Orchestra Superstring- Silberstrasse, Clouseaux- Kiss of Ku, Stereophonic Space Sound Unlimited- Mummy Walk, The Tiki Tones- Kon Tiki, Clouseaux- Hunt of the Savage (previously unreleased), Lushy- Midnight at the Oasis (previously unreleased), Kirby Allen Presents Chaino- Jungle Mood, Stereophonic Space Sound Unlimited- The Spacesound Effect, The Tiki Tones- Topless Holiday, Karla Pundit- The Lagoon at Midnight

This ultra special compilation album features previously unreleased tracks by LUSHY and CLOUSEAUX, along with an assortment of tunes unavailable on vinyl by ORCHESTRA SUPERSTRING, CHAINO, THE TIKI TONES, KARLA PUNDIT and STEREOPHONIC SPACESOUND UNLIMITED. The art print by TIKI TONY is hand numbered, signed and suitable for framing, packaged with the LP in a resealable Japanese plastic sleeve. Dionysus Records

Buy our CD "LUSHY" at Dionysus Records coolest label ever!

Buy our CD "ALLURE OF THE REEF"

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See interview in Seattle's Post Intelligencer.

Member Since:

May 03, 2005

Members:

NEW ALBUM COMING JANUARY, 2010 !!!

Andrew Sodt-saxophones, keyboards, flute, melodica, pianorgani, timbales, cocktail kit.
Annabella Kirby-vocals, clarinet.
Matt Nims-guitar
Brad Chodos-Irvine-percussion. Mark Bentz-bass Partick Napper- trumpet Zach Davies- trombone Debbie Sweetland- keyboards Don Kenoyer- synth Fletcher Andrews- drums

REVIEWS:
"It's this confluence of the kooky and cool, the copping of influence cut with honest to goodness solid songwriting...Lushy proves with its fun, fizzy debut that it can definitely chill behind the velvet rope." **** - Johnny Loftus, All Music Guide

"Their brand of electronica is a reinvention of that hip style of mod '60s music that one would experience while watching a Peter Sellers film, circa 1966 -- or a Guy Ritchie British thriller, circa 2006." -Mark Hooper, Arkansas Times

"Memorable and catchy -- Lushy's music carries itself with a cool benevolence." -Chris Greenland, Splendid Magazine

""So Francoise Hardy and Serge Gainsbourg take their Deux Cheveux out for a spin round the Bois de Bolougne, before stopping off at their favorite Tiki lounge. While there, they toast Singapore Slings with Tim and Letitia Stereolab, while in the background Martin Denny conducts the Nairobi Trio in a scintillating selection of his greatest exotica hits and misses. Yeah, Lushy's kind of like that - tart, tipsy, humoresque and thoroughly entertaining post-space age jazz." -MLH, Shredding Paper Magazine

"This is a refreshing update of the lounge/exotica genre, with some unique fusions and syntheses, which can shamelessly and seamlessly blend in with a playlist of Denny, Les Baxter and Esquivel, and could just as comfortably fit in amongst a mix with Devo, the B-52s and even Portishead." -BY, Copenhagen, Denmark

"...these locals do it a lot righter than most, mainly thanks to their bubbly (ahem) sense of humor, which manifests itself in their music, where it counts" -Seattle Weekly

Influences:

Bourbon, Bossa Nova, Wine, Jazz, New Wave, Surf, Funk, Ska, Punk, Blues, Dub, 60's pop, French pop, Italian pop, pop art, Exotica, downtown, uptown, home cookin', e-z listening, airports, airplanes, Black Orpheus, The Party, cinema, Tokyo, computers, mood lighting, graffiti...

Record Label:

Dionysus