Shogun Orchestra

Shogun Orchestra is a New Zealand instrumental 11-piece ensemble, based in Wellington. This Afrofuturist band blends elements of funk, calypso, Afro-beat, Highlife, and Ethio-Jazz, with references to ancient samurai culture. It was established in 2010 by Lucien Johnson to raise money for the victims of Haitian earthquake at the charitable concert at San Francisco Bathhouse. The composer and saxophonist had spent three months in Haiti working in a theatre production earlier, and felt direct connection to their tragedy. Shogun Orchestra played some original compositions by Lucien Johnson, as well as traditional Haitian tunes, and contributed $5000 to the PyePoudre Cultural Center in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. After the initial success of the ensemble, Shogun Orchestra decided to record an album and started playing full-time, with a tour across Australasia. The ensemble also appeared at various prestigious festivals, such as Womad and Wellington Jazz Festival. In 2012, they released a debut self-titled Shogun Orchestra album on JAKARTA label in Germany. This all-instrumental record featured original music by Johnson, as well as re-arranged Haitian melodies. Shogun Orchestra was recorded by Lord Echo in Wellington, at legendary Bays Studios, home of Fat Freddy's Drop. One of the tracks from the LP, 'Bamako,' was featured on Radio Nova's Nova Tunes 2.6 compilation and received extensive airplay in Europe. The follow-up album, Black Lotus, was released in New Zealand, on Lucien Johnson's Economy Records (2). It features vocals by Venezuelan-born singer Jennifer Zea, who brought some authentic South-American salsa notes to Shogun Orchestra's groovy world music palette.