(for booking, please contact Matt:
agent.fpe.booking@gmail.com)
dragonchild x Sunken Cages
Conceived by Ethio-American saxophonist D.A. Mekonnen–– co-founder/leader of the widely celebrated Debo Band– the solo project dragonchild is a culmination of decades of musical experimentation, embodied spiritual practice, and critical thinking. Danny Mekonnen is a Boston-based musician and the founder of the widely celebrated Debo Band, whose self-titled debut was included on NPR’s 50 Favorite Albums of 2012. Growing up in Texas as a first generation Ethiopian-American, Mekonnen often heard traditional Ethiopian instruments and vocals, later seeking out master Ethiopian musicians to learn to play the traditional instruments of his heritage. The groundbreaking Debo Band combines those influences with American Jazz, Soul and Funk and the instrumentation of Eastern European brass bands. Sunken Cages is the moniker of Indian-born drummer/electronic music producer Ravish Momin, originally an acoustic drummer/percussionist, who has worked with a wide array of musicians, from pop-star Shakira to legendary Jazz musician Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre (of the AACM) in addition to leading his own innovative global groups Tarana and Turning Jewels Into Water (with Haitian electronic music pioneer Val Jeanty) on international stages for the past 15 years.
Together, they create an exciting new global music that draws from their respective cultural backgrounds as well as contemporary electronic dance music.
Sunken Cages plays electronic and acoustic drums, triggers melodies/textures and generates loops in real-time, while dragonchild shifts between saxophones and cymbals/gongs.
New Press for dragonchild x Sunken Cages:
WBUR (US National Public Radio affiliate) Feature, April 2024
The Guardian’s 10 Best Global Albums of 2023
Best Jazz on Bandcamp for April 2023
New and Notable on NewSounds NYC, April 24, 2023
Feature in The Quietus , April 26, 2023
Featured on Bandcamp Daily, April 20, 2023
Featured on The Fader, February, 16, 2023
Recent Performance Highlights:
US Tour: March 16-24, 2024 (anchor performance: Big Ears Festival, US)
EU Tour: Nov 1-11, 2023 (anchor performance: LeGuessWho Festival, NL)
US West-Coast Tour: Sept 27, 28, 29, 30 (anchor: Kuumbwa Jazz CA, US)
US Mid_West Tour: Sept 14-17 (anchor:CUSP/Cleveland, OH)
ColliderFest, Northampton, MA, May 12, 2023 (with Amayo-ex Antibalas, Xenia Rubinos, et al)
Shift_411, Brooklyn, NY May 10, 202
National Sawdust, New York City, April 15, 2023 (*dragonchild SOLO- record release)
Solar Myth, Philadelphia, PA Mar 23, 2023
Electric Cowbell Festival: Drom, New York, NY Jan 14, 2023 (APAP Showcase) (collaboration with Secret Planet NYC)