KSK RECORDS
Chris Berry's Long-Awaited Album, King of Me
Grammy Award winner,
Chris Berry has long been known for his work with Zimbabwean super
group, Pangea. With over a dozen albums under his belt, this dynamic
artist is releasing one of his most exciting albums yet. The
long-awaited King of Me is now available from KSK Records.
To hear sample tracks or buy this album, check out our online store:
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Chris Berry’s latest record is all about breaking down the barriers
between contemporary Western beats and traditional Zimbabwean Shona
Music. The album centers around the Mbira, which Berry has electrified,
expanding the instrument’s tonal range and allowing Chris to single
handedly fill the roles traditionally assigned to a lead guitar, bass
and a keyboard.
King of Me also includes the creative efforts of Ivorian power house kit
player, Abou Diarrassouba (The Mighty Diamonds, The Wailers) and
features tracks that include the eclectic New York Based, Brazilian
Girls. The album was produced by KSK Records and recorded at System
Krush Studios in the Sierra Foothills. It was mixed and mastered by
producer Aja Salvatore and renowned sound engineer Oz Fritz (Herby
Hancock, Bob Marley, Tom Waits, Les Claypool) at Prairie Sun Studios.
* * * * * *
I had fun mixing this. What the Press
Release doesn't mention is that Shona music has a lot of vocal
harmonies. This is harmonically rich sounding music. The different
mbira parts sound at times like delicate cascading waterfalls of
harmonies and glissandos. Chris' lyrics reveal a searcher for Truth.
I
am always interested in the environment the mixing occurs in, what kind
of atmosphere surrounds it? In a surprising move that I wouldn't have
suggested, Chris and his partner went camping in the Hawaiian jungle the
first day we started mixing not too far from where the filming of the
TV series Lost took place. He also wished to be involved with
the mix decisions. So when we got a mix done we would FTP him a .wav
file of it and he would check it through his IPhone. He must of had a
good pair of ear buds because he was able to tell us exactly what he
wanted.
Anyone who likes melodic, African music will
enjoy this album. This music is also a weapon of the present. A
weapon for peace and goodwill.