Description

Leroi Conroy – A Tiger’s Tale (LP/CD) [Colemine Records CLMN12038]

***PRE-ORDER – Est. 11 July 2025***

Steeped in equal parts golden age hip-hop sensibilities and lost 60s and 70s film scores, the debut LP from Leroi Conroy weighs in heavy and has been years in the making.

The first two tracks from the album were released in 2017 as a 45, which were sampled in the years that followed by DJ Premier, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Macklemore, Phantogram, and more. But after its release, Terry Cole (aka Leroi Conroy) spent much of his time growing his indie soul label, Colemine Records, and producing records for others—Okonski, Parlor Greens, Wesley Bright, Black Market Brass, Kendra Morris, Rudy De Anda, Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio, Andrew Gabbard—instead of focusing on his own music.

Now, eight years after many of the rhythm tracks were first laid down on the trusted Tascam 388, Leroi Conroy’s debut LP A Tiger’s Tale will finally be released.

The album is conceptualized as a hypothetical soundtrack to an alternate telling of Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book, with a narrative centered on man’s quest to tame nature—and nature’s inevitable response. Musically, it spans triumphant instrumental scores as well as grim, dark, and at times dissonant moody tracks. The influence of hip-hop’s sample culture is apparent throughout, and many of these cuts are sure to be flipped in the future. Sonically, the album fits right in with other Colemine instrumental artists: dirty lo-fi drums, blaring horns, wah guitar, Hammond organ, and cinematic touches like flute, nylon guitar, and vibraphone.

Drums are provided by longtime collaborator Rob Houk and serve as the backbone of the record. With features from Colemine artists Kelly Finnigan and Jimmy James, A Tiger’s Tale is truly a family affair.

File under: To Be Sampled.