With a lively, evocative set of covers and original material, Los Angeles-based ensemble Orgone brought new attention to the funk revivalist and jam band circuits when they launched their recording career with Ubiquity Records in the mid- to late 2000s. Orgone's sound plays host to myriad groove-oriented styles, including deep funk, Memphis soul/blues, Afro-beat, hip-hop, Latin jazz, electronic dance music, and house.
Orgone's earliest musicians began playing together in the early '90s, but they did not develop into a cohesive ensemble until the end of the decade. The original core of the band solidified around guitarist/composer/producer Sergio Rios, who remains the band's only original member. Other than working live jam sessions, Orgone backed hip-hop acts on the road or in the studio until around 2001. Vocalist Fanny Franklin (L.A.-based hip-hop orchestra Dakah) was recruited for their privately issued eponymous 2001 debut album.
Orgone served as the on-stage band for the likes of Little Brother, the Pharcyde, Pharoahe Monch, and Tone-Loc, Ubiquity issued their I Get Lifted 12" and The Duck Gravy 7" in spring 2007, followed by long-player The Killion Floor, released later that year. Orgone also served as Alicia Keys' studio band on As I Am.
Orgone left Ubiquity in 2011, and in 2013 self-released New You, featuring vocalists Tiffany Austin, Niki Crawford, and Franklin. They signed with Colemine Records for 2016's double-length Beyond the Sun, featuring Adryon de Leon on lead vocals; it was cooperatively released by the label and Shanachie. In 2018, Orgone issued the Undercover Mixtape for Colemine. Composed of 13 covers of classic funk and soul tunes from the Meters, Funkadelic, Booker T & the MG's, Aretha Franklin, Betty Wright, and others, the set featured again featured de Leon, and included guest vocalists Terin Ector and Kelly Finnegan; the set's lo-fi production quality imbued the proceedings with a kinetic, live-sounding energy. In 2019 they issued Reasons, as well as Raw & Direct, which was issued digitally in 2020.
Orgone set up the 3 Palm Records in late 2021 label as an outlet for releasing their music. They issued two albums within three months that year: Connection appeared in May, offering guest collaborations with Cyril Neville, Black Shakespeare, and the Pimps of Joytime, among others July's Moonshadows offered ten tracks, eight of which are vocal performances with de Leon and guest singers who included Ector, Masauko, and Jamie Allensworth, among others. 2022's Lost Knights offered the quintet of de Leon on lead vocals, guitarist Rios, keyboardist Dan Hastie, drummer Sam Halterman, and bassist Dale Jennings. The nine-song set also boasted guest spots from Ector, Jesse Wagner, Gino Garofalo, and Phil Diamond. Following tours across the U.S. and Europe, Orgone re-entered the studio in the late summer of 2023, with backing singers Gina Murrell, Garofalo, Finnigan (who also played organ on a cut), and Ector. Jamie Allensworth added lead vocals to "Running Low," while Congolese singer and drummer Mermans Mosengo sang "Zum Zum" and closer "Tula Muisi (Dance Like Them)," he composed both. The nine-song Chimera was released by 3 Palm in February 2024.
