Cassowary: "She Funked Me"
Cassowary is the sound of contemporary Los Angeles, a sun-baked collision of the local flavors making the world cooler and stranger. This melting pot is evident on ‘She Funked Me’, a twisted post-disco haze and the Fat Possum debut of 24-year-old singer and multi-instrumentalist Miles Shannon.
Born in Inglewood and raised in the Southern L.A. neighborhood of West Adams, Shannon inherited his late grandfather's collection of jazz records as a child, absorbing the hard bop of Clifford Brown and Joe Henderson alongside his mother's interest in pan-genre rap crew the Fugees.
His recording debut was nothing short of playing piano on childhood friend Earl Sweatshirt's landmark 2015 album I Don't Like Shit, I Don't Go Outside, and the two spent hours bumping austere, lyrical rappers like Mobb Deep, MF Doom, Talib Kweli and Juelz Santana, with the video for his breakthrough 2010 video ‘Earl’ being partially filmed in Shannon's home.
Shannon went on to attend the L.A. County High School for the Arts, whose notable alumni includes Josh Groban, Corbin Bleu and Kehinde Wiley. Studying under tenor saxophonist Walter Smith III, he was given the opportunity to play alongside greats like Gary Smulyan, Eric Reed, Gerald Clayton and Terrell Stafford.
After graduating, he opted not to attend any of the esteemed music colleges that had accepted him, instead moving to New York to hit the club circuit. Embedded in the local jazz scene for a few months, he quickly grew frustrated by its competitive one-upmanship and its focus on half-century-old standards.
Instead, Shannon decided to return to L.A. with a new vision of making his own music. A first track, ‘Price Went Up’, was self-released earlier this, an R&B earworm that put his innate songwriting gift, keen ear for arrangement and silky voice on full display.
With the sensuous, cosmic R&B of new single 'She Funked Me’, it’s apparent that following his instinct was a spirited move.
Have a listen and follow Cassowary on social media:
https://www.facebook.com/yungcassowary/
https://www.instagram.com/yungcassowary/
https://twitter.com/yungcassowary
https://open.spotify.com/artist/3T3Ta5gL9MFTQ9xuZ0h9Dy?si=G84YzIaESKGy_3o7UYIguQ
