We had an awesome chat this week with Reggae Singer Songwriter Vana Liya! Vana made a serendipitous arrival on the national music scene after she posted several ukulele covers of popular reggae songs to social media, which garnered the support of top original artists and led to a 2018 record deal with L.A.-based LAW Records. She has since been quickly earning a reputation among many of her well-established musical peers as a solid collaborator who always brings a fresh take and positive energy to the mix with her distinct yet not easily classifiable “island” vibe. We chat about how she first got noticed by Pepper, getting signed, her first gig, building a band and touring!
If Shaggy’s “Keep’n It Real” and “Freaky Girl” sound different in February, and you ask the pop-reggae veteran what happened, don’t be surprised if his response is “It Wasn’t Me.” He’s not kidding. For Hotshot Ultramix (February 12), Shaggy allowed remixers such as Punch, Sting International and Gordon Dukes to play doctor with those tunes as well as other Hotshot (2000) tracks including “Dance & Shout,” “Hope” and “Leave It to Me,” according to an MCA Records spokesperson. Remixers J.C. Moreno, Christopher “Longman Productions” Birch and Tony “CD” Kelly also contributed to the project. Hotshot Ultramix also contains three previously… Read more »
When in Jamaica, No Doubt do as the Jamaicans do. The bandmembers are kicking it reggae style as they record their fifth album on the “Island in the Sun.” “[Bassist] Tony [Kanal] and I have been playing tons of crazy, dub-sounding keyboard tracks on all the demos,” guitarist Tom Dumont wrote in an e-mail interview Thursday. Their new duties have resulted in “a noticeable lack of guitar and bass” in the sound, he said. After laying down a handful of tracks in Los Angeles, No Doubt hopped a plane to the Caribbean to collaborate with a few of Jamaica’s renowned… Read more »
Jakobs Castle has dropped his single “2 Hours Ago” along with a music video that combines vintage and modernity to deliver a cyber-surf vibe. The track is off of his upcoming debut album, Enter: The Castle, out on April 12 via Epitaph Records. “I stopped giving a fuck 2 hours ago/Now I feel better,” kicks off the chorus, but it isn’t being said in an aggressive tone. The delivery vocalist Jakob Nowell emits equates to shrugging off negativity and rolling around the boardwalk on your penny board. “Everybody needs to stop giving a fuck, sometimes,” the alt-indie artist says. Mixing… Read more »
Skindred have your new summer anthem in the bag, with their beautifully bright new reggae track “L.O.V.E (Smile Please)”
Originally released in 2002, “Amber” by 311 is a song that has definitely stood the test of time. The track is easily a household jam. You know it, your parents know it, and we bet your grandma would know it too. The song has appeared in movies including 50 First Dates, Dear John, and Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and landed on charts such as Billboard’s Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (#3), Modern Rock Tracks (#13), and Adult Top 40 (#27). “Amber” also currently boasts over 193 million streams on Spotify. It has been one of the staple songs of summer for two decades and 311 has decided to reinvent it just in time for… Read more »
The 2023 iHeartRadio Music Awards certainly had no shortage of talent in attendance and hitting the stage at the iconic Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, where the ceremony was held on Monday, March 27. Hosted by rock legend Lenny Kravitz, the rock and alt nominees featured the likes of Måneskin, blink-182, Ozzy Osbourne, Papa Roach, Turnstile, twenty one pilots, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and more. Opening the ceremony with a tribute to the victims of the Nashville school shooting that occurred earlier Monday afternoon, Kravitz offered “healing love” and urged America to do better in regard to gun violence that… Read more »
The Inbox Jukebox brings you fresh new tunes and bands. This week features tracks from Chad Tepper and Matisyahu, LYLVC, Crooked Teeth x Cami Petyn, and Far From Saints.
Basslines and Protest Signs is Brett Callwood’s column looking at the intersection of music and politics. This week talks about the history of rock ‘n’ roll and Cinnamon Babe’s song “Rock ‘N’ Roll is Black”.
This week’s Singles Lost in Time feature songs by Skindred and Trophy Scars.
