One of my most-played albums from last years was ‘Heavenly Bender’ from Brooklyn’s Sam Champion, so this morning when I found out their guitar player, Sean Sullivan, has a little side project going, I just had to check it out. As Sean Bones, he’s kicking out Ska and Reggae-infused party-pop with a refreshing soulful feel. His debut album, Rings, is set to drop July 21st and you can check him out on MySpace
BONUS
I’m feelin’ generous, so here’s a previous Song of the Day off of Heavenly Bender…
I haven’t heard anything from the Easy Star All-Stars, the New York collective who specialize in covering popular albums in a reggae/dub style, since their 2006 release of Radiodread, a ‘re-envisioning’ of Radiohead’s ‘OK Computer’, but I found out today they’ve returned with Easy Star’s Lonely Hearts Dub Band…a reggae retelling of The Beatles Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band! This time round they’ve invited reggae, dancehall and dub superstars such as Steel Pulse, Matisyahu, Michael Rose of Black Uhuru, Luciano, U-Roy, Bunny Rugs from Third World, Ranking Roger of The English Beat, Sugar Minott, Max Romeo, The Mighty Diamonds and the guest vocalist on this track, Frankie Paul, to pay homage to one of the greatest records in Rock & Roll. I guess if you’re gonna take on a Beatles classic, you had better load up with that kinda talent. If you like this, you might wanna check out an even earlier re-do…Dub Side of the Moon…their dub reggae tribute to Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’, and of course, you can always head on over to MySpace to listen to more!
Knob-twiddling, super-groovy reggae dubmeisters Diplo and Switch had one of the most talked-about sets at SXSW with their new ‘group’, Major Lazer, when they set off an impromptu rave complete with a dancer who looked like a shredded chicken and a stage full of guys tossing out swag. This song caught my ear this morning…if nothing else, you can add it to your workout mix and if it gets you interested further, the album, Guns Don’t Kill People…Lazers Do, drops June 16th. The Grammy-nominated Diplo explains the concept for Major Lazer thusly: “It’s like digital reggae and dancehall from Mars in the future….pop culture run through a Jamaican filter!” OK then! You can check ’em out at MySpace
Damn Ugly Photography 