Down For The Get Down

Biography HOW RADIO RAHEEM WAS BIRTHED Radio Raheem, named for a pivotal character in Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing, began when bass player-producer Paul Chistofferson purchased pro-tools and invited singer-songwriter Bryan Cohen to write. The duo knew how to write songs and play almost all of the instruments but they needed a spark. The spark came when Bryan played a guitar riff over a drum machine beat and Paul added 80's keyboards. The song sounded like the hottie bastard child of Prince, Wall of Voodoo and The Tubes. Off kilter, dancy, nerdy, twitchy and funky...

Radio Raheem was born. JOSEPHINE HOWELL'S VOCALS ARE KILLER Paul and Bryan realized that beats, synthesizers and massively overdubbed guitars were just not enough radness. Radio Raheem needed soul. On a recommendation, they called Josephine Howell (Total Experience Gospel Choir, Black Nativity). Josie showed up, sang on one chorus and it was like an airplane taking off through the monitors. Josie was in. DAVIS MARTIN PUTS UP WITH BRYAN AT LONDON BRIDGE STUDIOS With Josie's knockout vocals, Paul and Bryan headed to Seattle's London Bridge Studios to add drums and mix the tracks with producer Jonathan Plum. Davis Martin, drummer of Maktub and LeRoy Bell, added funky drums to the tracks. Davis was kind enough to indulge Bryan's request for more disco high hat and more Power Station drum fills. Finally Bryan and Paul asked their friend Trevor Rasmussen to add saxophone to a few tracks. Radio Raheem songs were complete. SHOCK G COLLABORATES WITH RADIO RAHEEM ON PUSH THE PARTY When Radio Raheem finished the track Push the Party they knew the song needed a killer laid-back sounding rap section. They sent the song to Digital Underground's Shock G, aka Humpty Hump. He loved it! He re-wrote the verse and rapped all over the track. Listen and shake your tush. WHAT'S WRONG WITH BEING SEXY...

SOUNDS LIKE? Radio Raheem sounds like Bryan and Paul went back to 1983 and harnessed the energy of fifty 13-year-olds dancing to The Time played through a tape deck and then traveled back to the present, adding old school hip hop, toy pianos, fuzzed out guitars, synths run through guitar effects with lyrics about getting busy, atomic bombs, summers, zombies, robots, dancing and being a bad ass. To listeners, Radio Raheem reminds them of Tears for Fears, Tina Turner (Beyond Thunder Dome), ABC, Depeche Mode, Run DMC, Gorillaz, Beck, Mavis Staples, Bay City Rollers, Talking Heads, U2 and Black Eyed Peas having a Jersey Shore level party with audio slices of Blade Runner, the Warriors, Star Blazers, Jackie Brown and Cheech n' Chong rolled in for good luck. All Radio Raheem cares about is that their music makes people smile and dance! Instrumentation Bryan Cohen - Vocals, guitars, keyboards Paul Christofferson - Vocals, Bass, keyboards Trevor Rasmussen - Vocals, keyboards, Saxophone Zia Uddin - Drums, Percussion Josephine Howell - Lead Vocals Discography Radio Raheem's first record is called Down for the Get Down. Featured tracks are: Push the Party (with Shock G, aka Humpty Hump), Party Poppin, Calling the World, Summer Anthem, Glorius and Float your Heart.