Green Balloon

by Tank and the Bangas

Overview

Not to be mistaken for a club-oriented project from Grammy-nominated R&B stalwart Durrell "Tank" Babbs, Tank and the Bangas are a wholly collaborative band fronted by the like-nicknamed Tarriona Ball, a poet, singer, and rapper of many, many voices. Ball and the versatile core four instrumentalists have been around since 2011, when they began to build a following in their native New Orleans with a thrilling live show. After six years of activity documented on several live releases and the studio album Think Tank, the band saw their audience multiply instantly when they won NPR's Tiny Desk Contest. The obvious appeal across slightly overlapping demographics -- R&B lovers yearning for bands that aren't museum acts, performing arts students, people who didn't know until October 29, 2014 that T-Pain can sing, and so forth -- led to a deal with Verve Forecast. Two live EPs and a much larger studio recording budget later, the band truly arrive with Green Balloon. For Tank and the Bangas, the title symbolizes wealth, weed, inexperience, and celebration all at once. Ball indulges in some joyously materialistic wordplay but elsewhere alludes to money as a necessity for survival. She sings often of getting high while also feeling guilt about it. As she tries to keep it together, she feels overstimulated, loses track of time and belongings, and achieves blissful escape until a sense of inertia takes over. There's some heartache, too -- most moving of all on "Colors Change," a metaphor-laced reproach of an ungratified lover. No matter how high or low Ball gets, the Bangas keep it vibrant, interacting with the kind of range and fluidity possible only through years of playing together. Never locked in one groove, the players evidently value all eras of jazz, R&B, and hip-hop. Lined up with Mark Batson, Robert Glasper, Jack Splash, and even Zaytoven separately producing or co-produced the majority of the songs, Tank and the Bangas are still involved with all aspects of the recording process and sound every bit like the band that made Think Tank. In particular, "Mr. Lion" -- all strings, piano, Ball, and background harmonies, like something Pharrell Williams intended for the end of a N.E.R.D album until realizing that it requires a powerhouse singer -- indicates that they don't need the help. ~ Andy Kellman

Product Details

Release Date:	05/03/2019
Label:	Verve Forecast
UPC:	0602577453090

Tracks

1. Colors (Introduction)
2. Spaceships
3. Dope Girl Magic
4. Ants
5. Hot Air Balloons
6. Forgetfulness
7. Get Up (Interlude)
8. Too High (Prelude)
9. I Don't Get High
10. Happy Town
11. Nice Things
12. Smoke.Netflix.Chill
13. Floating (Interlude)
14. Mr. Lion
15. In London (Interlude)
16. Lazy Daze
17. Colors Change

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Tank and the Bangas   Primary Artist
Joshua Johnson   Fender Rhodes,Vocals (Background),Drums,Piano,Keyboards
Weedie Braimah   Djembe
Pell   Vocals,Featured Artist
Alex Isley   Featured Artist,Vocals (Background)
David Rosen   Cello
Richard Woehrle   Viola
Anjelika Joseph   Vocals (Background)
Tarriona "Tank" Ball   Vocals
Misha Kachkachishvili   Strings
Norman Spence   Bass,Guitar,Synthesizer Bass,Vocals (Background),Keyboard Synthesizer
Josh Smith   Beatbox,Trumpet
Pat Casey   Bass (Upright)
Ben Thatcher   Violin
Xiao Fu   Violin
Shacondria Sibley   Vocals
Mark Batson   Bass,Keyboards
Scott Welch   Guitar
Ila Rondeau   Viola
Merell Burkett   Keyboards,Vocals (Background)
Albert Allenback   Horn,Flute,Saxophone,Vocals (Background)
Ben Buchbinder   Keyboards
Ivy Ball   Vocals (Background)
Lashonda Ball   Vocals (Background)
DJ RQ Away   Scratching
Jonathan Johnson   Bass
Robert Glasper   Piano,Featured Artist
Jay Weigel   String Conductor
Jonathan Gerhardt   Cello

Technical Credits

Joshua Johnson   Executive Producer,Arranger,Composer,Producer,Soundscape
Tank and the Bangas   Producer
Alex Ben-Abdallah   Composer
Alfred Banks   Composer,Vocal Scratches
Gus Bennett   Photography
Daniel Pampuri   Engineer
Femi Onafowokan   A&R
Julie Johantgen   Release Coordinator
Tarriona "Tank" Ball   Arranger,Composer,Engineer,Producer,Executive Producer
Scott Welch   Producer,Drum Programming,Engineer
Josh Cheuse   Band Photo
Tom Arndt   Production Manager
Ryan Rogers   Creative Director
Joe Johnson   Composer
Phil English   Engineer
Ben Lorio   Engineer
Misha Kachkachishvili   Engineer
Norman Spence   Composer
Qmillion   Mixing
Josh Smith   Composer
Jared Pellerin   Composer
Mack Major   Engineer
Dahlia Ambach Caplin   A&R
Mark Batson   Arranger,Composer,Engineer,Producer,Drum Programming
Melody Ewing   A&R
Natalie Weber   A&R
Merell Burkett   Composer
Tyran Nelson   Composer
Albert Allenback   Arranger,Composer,Engineer,Producer
Ben Buchbinder   Composer
Jevon Thompson   Composer
Shacondria Sibley   Composer
Louie Lastic   Composer,Producer,Programming
Alex Kalatschinow   Design
Ivy Ball   Composer
Robert Glasper   Arranger,Composer,Producer
Jack Splash   Mixing,Arranger,Composer,Engineer,Producer
Danny Bennett   A&R
Jay Weigel   String Arrangements
Aaron Fessel   Engineer
Jimmy Douglass   Mixing
David Kutch   Mastering
Matt Anthony   Engineer
Zaytoven   Composer,Producer