New video shows how a young black woman artist relates to her own Black History, from Africa to Atlanta, in her own music, films
PR Newswire
ATHENS, Ga., Feb. 24, 2020
ATHENS, Ga., Feb. 24, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- "'Mi Sueño'—'my dream' in English—is an enchanting and immersive tune (American Songwriter) released by Atlanta band Lesibu Grand, fronted by Tyler-Simone Molton.
"Dreams have long been a central theme in the African-American experience. Expressed most famously by Martin Luther King Jr. in his 'I Have A Dream' speech, dreams of freedom, equality, fairness and salvation are what held African American people together during the most difficult experiences imaginable. The collective dream of oppressed people."
"With the video, I ask the viewer to imagine what their dreams — large and small, collective and personal, woke and sleeping — might have been," says Molton.
The origin of Lesibu Grand (pronounced Le-SEE-boo Grand) can be pinpointed with unusual accuracy: June 28, 2017, when Tyler-Simone Molton bumped into John Renaud at the Pains of Being Pure at Heart show at The Earl in East Atlanta.
The two had been acquaintances, but until that moment didn't realize how much they shared in common.
The band takes its name from Tyler-Simone's middle name given to her by her maternal grandfather, who emigrated from South Africa.
While Molton's grandfather was from (& ultimately murded in) from Africa, Tyler-Simone grew up in the suburbs of Atlanta, a somewhat conventional-looking place with a surprising degree of creative vitality. There, Tyler-Simone was exposed to a great variety of musical genres. Like everyone else, she loved the local hip-hop heroes like Outkast, Eryka Badu, Lil Wayne, but also hung out with punks, metalheads, and indie kids But also Talking Heads, Blondie, The Clash, and 90s rockers Green Day, and Nirvana. She did not cling to one genre as her identity.
A transplant from New England, John moved to Georgia while playing bass for alt-rock band Crab Daddy then Atlanta where he played with a variety of local rock bands.
John shared Tyler-Simone's interest in synth-drenched indie-pop, and shortly after their chance encounter, the two sunk deeply into an unexpected songwriting frenzy. Completing each other's thoughts and phrases, the two wrote an entire album's worth of original compositions in just over a month.
Lesibu Grand's debut LP is out now. The video for Mi Sueno can be found at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIEEaa6Iw9o
Contact: Bill Benson at bill@teamclermont.com or Nelson Wells at teamclermont.com
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SOURCE Lesibu Grand