Los Angeles collective Fool’s Gold weaves together western pop aesthetics with African rhythms and melodies. The group started as a side project of two young LA musicians, vocalist/bassist Luke Top and lead guitarist Lewis Pesacov, who set out to explore their shared love of various forms of African music (specifically Congolese, Ethiopian, Eritrean and Malian), Krautrock, and 80s dance influenced pop music.
At first listen, it might be tempting to label Fool’s Gold as “world music,” but the band is, in its essence, a Los Angeles band; it is music made for hot nights in a sweltering desert. The multi-cultural group of players was born from a city that is a melting pot of neighborhoods and cultures.
Fool’s Gold – “Surprise Hotel”
The songs for the forthcoming self-titled album were mostly recorded live over a two-day session at the Sunset Lodge recording studio in Los Angeles in 2008, to be later completed in closets and apartment living rooms in 2009. Lewis and Luke collaborated on the music, written over a three-year span. Luke would then weave in the Hebrew/English lyrics. The Hebrew initially tied him to a birthplace that he barely knew, but evolved to be the perfect vehicle to express the overarching themes of duality that are the heart of the songs.
The songs resonate beyond just the immigrant experience to one that is understood by anyone who has struggled with dispelling illusions of the ego and the world. Although the melodies are jubilant, the irreverent and whimsical lyrics belie the tension of one exploring the existential and physical self.
Look for the Fool’s Gold self-titled debut on September 29th.
Tracklisting:
01. Surprise Hotel
02. Nadine
03. Ha Dvash
04. The World Is All There Is
05. Poseidon
06. Yam Lo Moshech
07. Night Dancing
08. Momentary Shelter
Fool’s Gold: myspace
