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“Corona King” by Dawn Drake (Feb 12, 2021 on PMX Records) chronicles a pandemic romance that is already barely hanging by a thread on Zoom. The relationship finally succumbs to a lack of actual human connection that many of us have experienced in 2020.
Imagine if your computer screen is actually a bad dream come true? Many singles in lockdown all over the world went for months without actually being in the presence of other human beings. Social media and video chats have been the only human connection we have had during the pandemic- and Zoom, Facetime and Skype have become some of the only potential romantic connections we’ve had as well. This bad dream for Ms. Drake tells a somewhat autobiographical tale of being in quarantine already cutoff from all social ties; the final straw is when that special someone catches coronavirus and is never heard from again. S/He becomes the “Corona King” for whom the song is named.
In Dawn’s signature fashion of accompanying her darker lyrics with grooves that light up the dance floor, the video for “Corona King” sheds a sunny light on the subject matter as the protagonist prevails. Dancing and singing into the post-lockdown summer and fall, she makes lemonade out of the tale, converting it into a passion-filled dance number that is at once New Wave Pop and Cuban Timba (Salsa Cubana) with some dashes of Afro-Cuban folkloric references that conjure up images of Changó, the Orisha of male virility, and Ochún, the Orisha of love and sweet waters. “Corona King” shows us that all is not lost in the world and that even when the floor is shaking... you can still dance!
Dawn Drake & her band of over a decade, ZapOte (a luscious tropical fruit) are beautifully filmed by Okay Motion in a lush Brooklyn backdrop that features the signature Colamari Horns (Jackie Coleman and Lynn Ligammari of Durand Jones, Antibalas and Red Baraat), the sounds of the tres guitar played by Benjamin Lapidus, as well as Drake’s own bass, vocals and percussion. The tight rhythm section featuring Rosa Avila (Summer on Broadway, Broadway Bounty Hunter) on drums and Mara Rosenbloom on keys makes you want to get up and groove all the way into post-pandemic land!
While you’re grooving you’ll be in good company with choreography by Hansell Vaillant of La Habana, Cuba accompanied by Ms. Drake and Brooklyn dancer Michele Drysdale. Cameo appearances by Brittany Anjou of BiTyrant and Eliane Amherd from the voice of Switzerland make it all in the family. A motion filled piece from beginning to end, the moves in “Corona King” will give you the energy you need to shake off the Corona King you may have in your own life.
Who is the “Corona King” in the video premiere? We may never find out, as the plot is purposefully gender-non-specific. One is left to guess who the actual Corona King really is. In the end, the takeaway is that perhaps there is hope for singles even in and beyond a global pandemic!
lyrics
I’ve been tossing and turning (2x)
Verse 1
I saw you on a bad dream
You were holding her hand I didn’t understand
I thought you were my man
I saw you on a bad dream
You were on the screen
I couldn’t touch your face we were
stuck in place!
Chorus:
I saw you on a bad dream
It was like a TV show it seemed (4x)
Verse 2:
I saw you on a bad dream
We were dancing on zoom
I looked away for a second
And you had
Left the room-oo-oo-oo-oom
I saw you on a bad dream
You’d broken up with me
You said we were always just friends It was never meant to be
I saw you on that bad dream
You walked right by
You didn’t say hello
but you were wearing my clothes!
Chorus:
I saw you on a bad dream
It was like a TV show it seemed (4x)
I've been tossing and turning!
Chorus 1:
I’ve been tossing and turning
This dream is reality
You blocked my number even in quarantine! (Repeat)
Chorus 2:
Even in quarantine (2x)
You blocked my number even in quarantine
Chorus 3:
What do you have to say?
Why did it go down this way?
That we even have a date before you caught the ‘rona king? (Repeat)
credits
released February 12, 2021
Bass, Vocals, Percussion: Dawn Drake
Keys: Mara Rosenbloom
Drums: Rosa Avila
Tres guitar: Benjamin Lapidus
Trumpet: Jackie Coleman
Saxophone: Lynn Ligammari
Mixing: Jeremy Page
Mastering: Kevin Blackler
Tracking Engineer: Nathan Feler/Voyager Sound
Copyright 2020
An active musician in NYC's eclectic music scene, Dawn Drake is a percussionist, bass player, singer and composer who also
leads a band called ZapOte, a “worldbeat-meets-funk” ensemble which breaks down cultural barriers by incorporating everything from Afro-Cuban jazz to hip-hop to samba into a soul-shaking mix with her original lyrics of love, environmental and social justice....more
A forward-looking record that imagines the future of Rio de Janeiro, built on intimate textures, ambient, drone, classical, and bossa nova. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 4, 2017
