Lion Heights Archives - KUT & KUTX Studios

The rapid rate of single rollouts in hip-hop have really made us take remixes for granted. Because when it’s as simple as revisiting the beat, rewriting a verse, and inviting in a few new voices, “I like the remix better” becomes a given with pretty much any commercial success. Which is a shame, since remixes are a great opportunity to breath new life into a piece and reach new listeners with just the right amount of crossover appeal…think “Walk this Way” by Run-D.M.C.. Heck, even if it is pretty much the same song, a fresh set of polish, a literal re-mix, can make an old tune sound new.

If you’re already hip to remix culture, you know it started around in the Dance Halls of ’60s-’70s Jamaica, where DJs stripped and rebuilt reggae, rocksteady, and ska to cater to different audience demographics. And reggae – where the riddim reigns supreme and formal covers are often lost in the id of universally accessible dub bass lines, timbale fills, and guitar skanks – is undeniably an extremely underrepresented arena here in Central Texas. But if there’s one act who just keeps on roaring strong, it’s Austin-via-Chicago four-piece Lion Heights. And of course they’ve incorporated a few other Caribbean-inspired cubs into their pride, including fellow Texas-via-Jamaica reggae purveyor Sean Austin, who they teamed up with on last September’s “Jah Love” (off Lion Heights’ Not Done Fighting Riddim album), 2020’s “One Love”, plus Christmas 2021’s “Same Girl” and “Mercy” (both from Austin’s Purple Hearts LP).

“Mercy”‘s an amazing track, but its relatively lo-fidelity mix leaves the rest of the song quality at the mercy of the listener. Thankfully though, Lion Heights bassist/engineer extraordinaire Dane Foltin worked his magic on “Mercy” to bring it up to snuff with a Tuff Gong mix just in time for a steamy summer. You can hear the difference right away; there’s a newfound clarity and the sense of space is now island-wide, like a long overcast sky suddenly becoming sunny and spotless. Not much more to say other than we love this song, and we’re thrilled to hear it finally get the high-fidelity treatment it’s always deserved.

Here in the Lone Star State, the authentic “tropical” experience is pretty much limited to South Padre Island, about a six-hour drive from our city limits. But despite Austin’s central location, when it comes to less land-locked sounds (chiefly reggae), we’re actually pretty lucky to have strong local institutions; The Flamingo Cantina’s remained a major draw for fans of the genre since 1991, Austin Reggae Fest since 1994, and in terms of adjacent interests, we also have a relatively lenient (okay, decriminalized) herbal culture compared to our more conservative county neighbors. So it’s not a big shock that reggae acts like Lion Heights claim Austin as their creative den, especially considering their incorporation of “outlaw” (a term typically associated with Texas country rebels like Willie and Waylon) into an otherwise-idiosyncratic Caribbean style. A decade back Lion Heights crawled out as a cub with their debut EP Survival of the Richest, but really roared with higher production value and a vast cast of collaborators on 2021’s Blank Check Riddim. And with the release of the extensive 46-minute False Reality this past April, Lion Heights has clearly worked their way up the food chain to become one of Austin’s finest reggae ensembles. But what’s the point of making it to the top if you’re just gonna ride recent accomplishments? On that note, Lion Heights dropped their eight-track Not Done Fighting Riddim last Friday, a feature-filled pride that showcases Lutan Fyah, Chuck Fenda, Alan Moe Monsarrat, and more. Sure there are some explicit sensi-bilities with opening titles like “Herbsman” and “Love Marijuana”, but by and large this new record (true to its title) champions fist-in-the-air civil disobedience and resilience in our modern era of working class oppression. And fun fact: Lion Heights shakes off their regular crepuscular schedule for an afternoon show 3PM this Sunday at The Far Out Lounge ahead of a regional Texas-Florida tour later this month. Even if the triple digits in the forecast convince you to stay home, you can still counter our painfully noticeable lack of coastal breezes with a tune that instills a chill you just can’t kill, “Cool & Easy”. From its introductory timbale fill and guitar skank to its final full-band chord, “Cool & Easy” (featuring duo Roots Revealers) is like a coconut cocktail you can take anywhere with you; to work, to your home stereo, and of course…if you’re willin’…to the beach.