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Phillip Lehman (born Philip, alternatively spelled Philippe) is a Franco-American artist, music producer, and cave diver best known as Bando, the graffiti pioneer of France who helped popularize the medium in Europe throughout the 1980s. Following this period, Lehman co-founded a string of funk labels in Paris and New York including Desco Records, the precursor to Daptone Records and his Truth & Soul Records. Since the 2000s, he has worked as a cave diver and speleologist in the Dominican Republic.

Biography

Born in 1965 to artistic parents, Aki and Robin Lehman, Lehman was raised between New York City and Paris.

As a teenager, Lehman took part in New York graffiti culture under the name Bando, later bringing its ethos over to Europe. He is credited as bringing graffiti, particularly tagging, to France in the early 1980s and as a pioneer throughout Europe; an early and prolific participant in Europe's nascent graffiti culture, his style had particular influence into the 1990s. He was also instrumental in bringing prominent American artists like SEEN and JonOne to Europe. Among other crews, he founded Europe's first graffiti crew, Crime Time Kings, with Mode2 and Niels "Shoe" Meulman in 1985, representing the scenes of Paris, London, and Amsterdam, respectively; they reunited in 2013–2014.

He is a noted personality in the history of European graffiti and has been a subject of exhibitions like the 2010 Pinacothèque de Paris exhibit Pressionism: Masterpieces of Graffiti on Canvas, from Basquiat to Bando. Since the 2010s, he has worked with and has been represented by Unruly Gallery in Amsterdam. He continues to produce tag art and paintings from the Dominican Republic.

An avid record collector, Lehman and a friend began compiling obscure funk 45s in the late 1980s and soon began issuing compilation LPs as Pure Records. Pure released classic and rare reissues and continued to put out compilations. They later shifted to Music Production under the Pure Productions banner. In 1995, Lehman moved back to New York City where he connected with musician Gabriel Roth, a former Pure Records customer. They soon began producing funk tracks together with other musicians. In 1997, he formed Desco Records with Roth. Located in Manhattan, Desco produced limited pressings of Lee Fields, The Sugarman 3, and the earliest Sharon Jones recordings.

In 1999–2000, Lehman and Roth decided to part ways, ending Desco after laying down the foundation to the New York afrobeat, funk and soul revival scenes. Roth would go on to co-found the seminal Daptone Records. Meanwhile, Lehman had started the gritty funk label Soul Fire Records. He put out records by Lee Fields, The Whitefield Brothers, and the like, with many backed by his house band The Mighty Imperials, a precursor to groups like El Michels Affair and Menahan Street Band.

Wanting to pursue interests outside of music, he phased out Soul Fire so to help found Truth & Soul Records with DJ Jeff Dynamite and Leon Michels, a member of The Mighty Imperials. Following the transition to the new label in 2004, he moved to the Dominican Republic.

Since the 2010s, Lehman has had a career in cave diving and exploration. He is a founding member of the Dominican Republic Speleology Society and the Madagascar Cave Diving Association, and has contributed to scientific research on aquatic life as well as underwater photography. He continues to work as an artist.

References

1. "Notes on People". The New York Times. 15 April 1978. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
2. Lectrics. "Interview with the Director of "The rise of graffiti writing – From New-York tu Europe" | LECTRICS". Retrieved 28 March 2021.
3. ^ "JonOne is Like a Kid in a Candy Store". PAPER. 12 June 2017. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
4. Thomas, Dana (1 March 1994). "PARIS IS BURNING OVER GRAFFITI". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
5. Barbieri, Claudia (9 June 2009). "Graffiti Gains New Respect". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
6. ^ "Bando : Le Pionnier du graffiti a Paris, père du Street Art ?". Slave 2.0 (in French). 5 April 2017. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
7. ^ "Crime Time Kings | Widewalls". Widewalls.ch. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
8. "Pressionism: Masterpieces of Graffiti on Canvas, from Basquiat to Bando". Paris Update. 7 February 2010. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
9. "The writing on the wall". BBC News. 24 March 2017. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
10. "The Rise of Graffiti Writing – From New York To Europe (8/10) Crime Time Kings | 1985 – 1987". Spraydaily.com. 24 November 2017. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
11. "UNRULY GALLERY Amsterdam | Widewalls". Widewalls.ch. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
12. ^ "BANDO". Unrulygallery.com. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
13. "Desco Records". Ink 19. 15 September 1998. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
14. York, The New School66 West 12th StreetNew; Ny 10011. "Neal Sugarman | Saxophonist and Co-Founder of Daptone Records | Eyes of the Entrepreneurs". Neal Sugarman | Saxophonist and Co-Founder of Daptone Records | Eyes of the Entrepreneurs. Retrieved 27 March 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
15. "Soul Fire". Discogs. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
16. "Soul Fire". Propermusic.com. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
17. "The Truth & Soul Story". daily.redbullmusicacademy.com. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
18. "The Fabulous Three". Amazon.com. Retrieved 27 March 2021. Lehman released one 45 by the Fabulous Three on the Psycho subsidiary of Soul Fire before he closed shop and moved to the Dominican Republic.
19. "What Pushes These Cave Explorers Into the Unknown". Scuba Diving. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
20. "Check out this newly discovered super-deep cave". Red Bull. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
21. "TEAM". dr-ss. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
22. "Magadascar Karst Expedition 2017". Xdeep.eu. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
23. "Phillip Lehman's scientific contributions". ResearchGate. Retrieved 27 March 2021.

External links

• The Bando Archives on Flickr
• Bando on Unruly Gallery
• Pure Records on Discogs
• Desco Records on Discogs
• Soul Fire Records on Discogs
• Truth & Soul Records

• 1965 births
• Living people
• Lehman family
• French graffiti artists
• Pseudonymous artists
• Artists from Paris
• American graffiti artists
• American record producers
• Funk musicians
• Cave diving explorers