Jungle Fire Live at SLO Brew, Presented by Traffic Records and Public Radio KCBX
The JUNGLE FIRE sound digs deep into Afro/Latin Funk with an approach that is authentic and highly explosive! The Los Angeles-based TropiFunk juggernaut pulls its influences from the music of legends such as Irakere, Ray Barretto, James Brown, Fela Kuti and Manu Dibango (just to name a few) while creating a melting pot of Afro-Caribbean and West African rhythms with a heavy break beat funk.
Originally conceived as a one-off project in 2011, JUNGLE FIRE quickly gained attention by lighting up local clubs and underground warehouse parties in Los Angeles’ thriving funk/soul scene. A healthy buzz about the band spread by word of mouth, eventually connecting them to Colemine Records, the Ohio-based indie soul label which cut their first 7” single, “Comencemos” (a cover of Fela Kuti’s “Let’s Start”). Lauded by DJs, radio stations, tastemakers and rabid funk fans across the globe, “Comencemos” (with its B side, the original tune “Tokuta”) sold out internationally and paved the way for the band’s second 7” Colemine release titled “Firewalker”. In September 2014, the group’s debut LP titled “Tropicoso” was released to great critical acclaim via Los Angeles’ own Nacional Records. Their follow-up album “Jambú” (also on Nacional Records) debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard Latin charts in February 2017 leading to many features in a wide variety of films, commercials and TV shows including spots for VICE, Lipton, Starbucks, NIKE, the 2019 Emmy Awards and the sound track to Lionsgate’s “How to Be a Latin Lover” with Eugenio Derbez and Salma Hayek among many others. The band is set to release a self-titled album consisting of all new original material in February 2020.
JUNGLE FIRE’s members’ diverse musical and cultural backgrounds are a direct reflection of the musical and cultural landscape of Los Angeles, with the city’s unique international and multicultural mix of sounds and flavors being critical components of the group’s sound. Individually and collectively, JUNGLE FIRE’s musicians have recorded, toured and/or played with Stevie Wonder, Breakestra, Ozomatli, Rhye, Quantic, Alice Russell, De La Soul, La Santa Cecilia, Celia Cruz, Natalia Lafourcade, LCD Soundsystem, U2, The Greyboy Allstars and Kelis among many others.
