Blue King Brown

A socially conscious reggae, Afro-beat, Latin, R&B, funk, and percussion-based urban roots band out of Melbourne, Australia, Blue King Brown are centered around their dynamic lead singer Natalie Pa'apa'a, more recently known as Nattali Rize, and the songwriting team of Rize and bassist Carlo Santone. The band had its beginnings in Byron Bay, Australia when Rize and Santone began working as a percussion duo, eventually joining a band called Skin, which then formed the basis of Blue King Brown after the couple moved to Melbourne in 2004. The band itself is as much a jam-based collective as anything else, with a fluid membership according to circumstance and availability (the core is generally Rize on guitar, percussion, and lead vocals; Santone on bass; percussionist Salvador Persico; Sam Cope on keyboards; and drummer Pete Wilkins), but BKB's always powerful live shows and Rize's charismatic stage presence, whatever the particular lineup, have earned the group a loyal and passionate fan base wherever it plays. BKB released a self-titled EP on their own Roots Level Records imprint in 2005, following it with the full-length Stand Up, again on Roots Level, in 2006. A second full-length, Worldwize, Pt. 1: North & South, appeared from Lion House Records in 2010. Born Free, recorded partially at Tuff Gong Studios in Kingston, Jamaica and featuring guest spots from the legendary Congos and others, arrived in 2014, again from Lion House Records.