#MP3: Lion Babe feat. Leikeli47 – The Wave (@LionBabe @Leikeli47)

LION BABE – the New York based duo made up of singer-songwriter and performance artist Jillian Hervey and producer and instrumentalist Lucas Goodman aka Astro Raw – have been building eager anticipation for more new music following their recent releases ‘Rockets’ ft Moe Moks, ‘Hit The Ceiling’ and their last single, the sultry and soulful ‘Honey Dew’ which was released in February. With the release of their new single ‘The Wave’ (feat Leikeli47), they are set to take that anticipation to an all-time high.

Channelling 70s and 80s disco and funk sounds, ‘The Wave’ was premiered as Annie Mac’s ‘Hottest Record in the World’ on her Radio 1 show last night. Written by LION BABE and produced by Astro Raw, the single features an instantly addictive verse from the exciting Brooklyn rapper Leikeli47 and is set to feature on the band’s forthcoming second studio album, which they exclusively announced on Annie Mac’s show and revealed is set to be released in the summer. LION BABE will give the track its first live TV performance on BET’s ‘The Rundown’ on April 5th.

On what fans can expect from their forthcoming album and collaborating with Leikeli47 on the new single LION BABE told Phil Taggart on Annie Mac’s show:

“We’re feeling really good about this new music and we’re so excited about it. It’s really just the two of us out here making the records we’ve always wanted to make so I think the sound is really coming into its full form because we’ve been doing this for a little bit and we know what we want to do and we’re going for it.

For us New York is so home. It’s just the energy of the records, they always play into the things that have influenced us and hustling over to Brooklyn every day to work on the record has totally informed the sound so it’s a very New York vibe.

We’ve been fans of Leikeli47’s music for a while now. She’s so creative and visual like us so it seemed like a great match-up and it’s super exciting for us.”

‘The Wave’ follows the release of their latest Simen Sez produced single ‘Honey Dew’, its mesmerising visual and remixes from OG Ron C and Seven Davis Jr, and their previous releases ‘Rockets’ ft Moe Moks and ‘Hit The Ceiling’ which they recently performed at show-stopping sets at SXSW and will take to must-see shows at Harlow’s in Sacramento on April 9th and San Francisco’s 1015 Folsom on April 11th, before making their official debut at Coachella Festival.

Last year, the band shared the first taste of their upcoming album via the sublime ‘Rockets’ feat. Moe Moks which received first looks on Noisey and Zane Lowe’s Beats 1 and was followed up with ‘Hit The Ceiling’ which featured on the second season of Issa Rae’s Golden Globe nominated HBO series ‘Insecure’ – alongside their track ‘Jump Hi’ (feat Childish Gambino) – and also features on the show’s official soundtrack alongside tracks from artists such as SZA, Bryson Tiller and Goldlink. The forthcoming album will be their first commercial release since the band’s critically celebrated debut studio album ‘Begin’, which was released in 2016 and featured collaborations with the likes of Pharrell Williams and Childish Gambino and career-defining tracks such as ‘Treat Me Like Fire’ and ‘Jump Hi’. Also in 2016, they released the electrifying mixtape ‘Sun Joint’ which coincided with their first headline US tour and a string of international festival performances, including Glastonbury, Reading & Leeds and more.

Astro Raw shared his debut mixtape project, rawmix vol 1 last year. The 14-track project mixes Astro Raw’s dynamic, one-of-a-kind production with his infectious, genre-defying sounds, seamlessly mixing R&B, hip-hop, soul, funk and dance – creating a sound that The 405 described as “sonic crack.”. He recently dropped electric, dancefloor-ready remixes for Post Malone’s ‘Rockstar’ ft 21 Savage and Cardi B’s Grammy nominated anthem ‘Bodak Yellow’.