Eyedentity is a multifaceted musical collective originally spawned in 1997 by Krishna and D. Booker with the help of producer, Rashid Duke. These three friends have known each other since childhood and have an enlightened sensitivity for each other’s work. With the new addition of Brazilian producer, Rafa Tudesco they are a powerful performing and production team, truly a force to be reckoned with.
D. Booker is the daughter of Brazilian Jazz legends Flora Purim and Airto Moreira. Krishna is the son of Jazz bassist Walter Booker. He’ is also Herbie Hancock’s godson and Wayne Shorter’s nephew and Rashid is the son of pianist, producer George Duke. This is an unprecedented gathering of the offspring of some of the greatest Jazz musicians of our time and like their elders, music is the common passion that turned these three friends into a family.
In the 1990’s, Europe and the UK were hot spots for the Trip Hop and Drum & Bass movement. People were ready for a new sound in electronic music and with all the new hybrid styles rising up within the genre the concept of Eyedentity came to light. The Bookers, with Rashid’s help composed 2 albums for the independent label, Electric Melt. In June of 1999 they formed the Eyedentity “Band” and by 2000 parted ways with Electric Melt, continuing on independently.
Eyedentity’s debut album entitled “SEE” planted a seed for the group with a successful European single entitled “Heavy Interference” which ended up on the “Winter Chill” compilation by Mark Doyle under Hed Kandi Records. This record placed the group in the company of such artists as Moloko, Nitin Sahwney, Moby and Delerium.
Taking time in their careers to get involved with some exciting side projects, Krishna toured the world with Sergio Mendes promoting his “Timeless” album while Diana sang with various projects, one of which was “SUITE FOR MA DUKES” a show honoring the life works of Hip Hop producer J Dilla with artists such as Dwele, Talib Kweli, Common, Illa J, Bilal and De La Soul, among others. More recently the pair performed with an orchestra led by Brazilian/Folk composer Arthur Verocai for a beautiful tribute to his great musical works.
However, none of these projects would have been possible had it not been for the work the two have done with Airto and Flora throughout the years. Many beautiful compositions, productions and performances have taken place at the hands of these two extraordinary musicians. Through working with them, the Bookers developed their craft to include writing, production and live performance as well as a variety of vocal and percussion workshops that they offer while at home and while touring the world.
Today the band performs a wide variety of styles such as Hip-Hop, Trip-Hop, Acid Jazz with Funk, R&B, Afro-Brazilian and Latin influences causing the music to take some exciting journeys in its live medium. The lyrics are clean, unusual, socially conscious and supernatural but still manage to retain a light element of fun, inspiring their listeners to dance and sing along.
Eyedentity has been reviewed in LA Weekly, LA Times, BRE Magazine and Music Connection as well as in many international publications including the Brazilian National Press and Flipside Magazine (UK). Additionally, they have been heard on prominent US radio stations like Sirius XM Radio, KPFK, KCRW, KKBT (The Beat) and internationally at Ipanema FM, 100% Groove e Projeto RAP Porto Alegre , just to name a few.
