For this week's MP3 feature, a curve ball. The Masters of the Hemisphere broke up a few years ago after putting out their best record, Protest a Dark Anniversary. Sean Rawls, one of the singer/songwriters in the band, moved over to Je Suis France, while the other Masters went their separate ways. For Je Suis France, Rawls had written "Never Gonna Touch the Ground," a reggae number that seemed to suggest a new direction in his songwriting. The outlet became Still Flyin', a Rawls-led San Francisco-based supergroup that blends reggae with psychedelia. Members include Gary Olson of The Ladybug Transistor and Jens Lekman, plus members of The Aislers Set, Maserati, Red Pony Clock, Track Star, and Love is All. As they proclaim on their website, "We are a HammJamm band based in San Francisco but we have members as far reaching as such extreme foreign places as Sweden, Australia, New York City, Atlanta, and Massachusetts. San Diego too. If you find yourself in any form of peril while in any of these places, trying yelling either 'never gonna touch the ground,' or just 'still flyin'.' If that doesn't work, just quietly chant to yourself 'fuck the stress.' That's really all you need to do anyway."

Still Flyin' has just released an EP, Time Wrinkle EJ, on Antenna Farm Records. Here are two sample MP3s from the band, a video, and tour dates below.

Coupla Smokies
Broken Rake Burn



Still Flyin': Upcoming Shows

08/22/06 Malmo, Sweden @ Malmo Festival
08/23/06 Stockholm, Sweden @ Debaser
08/24/06 Varsberg, Sweden @ Majas
09/03/06 San Francisco, CA @ The Hemlock Tavern