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Backbeat Soundsystem Album Review. Plus Listen to Exclusive Premiere!
Reggae | Monday 29th September 2014 | Osh
Cornwall-based reggae eight-piece Backbeat Soundsystem are releasing their hotly-anticipated album ‘Together Not Apart’ through prestigious reggae label Easy Star Records on October 13th. To celebrate, they dropped us an exclusive stream of one of the album's key tracks!
The album's title is a tribute to fans whose contributions tripled the original Kickstarter target and helped fund the album's production. And their support has now been rewarded with this debut LP from the funky reggae act; 'Together Not Apart' is an album of lively and organic-feeling reggae and 2-tone, laced with sweet vocal melodies and lyrically infused with the band's brand of culturally-informed themes.
Classic microphone techniques and the use of old-style analogue equipment evokes a fresh acoustic vibe to the recordings, the work of vocalist Dean Forrest who recorded, produced and mixed the album. The album's twelve tracks offer a fertile platform for the outfit to explore its considerable musical talent. Backbeat Soundsystem's repetoire can be rightly described as eclectic, drawing influence from ska, dub, funk, pop and exceeding genre limitations in crafting their own individual sound.
An air of triumphalism and positivity underlies the music throughout; ‘Fighting Bull’ explores the theme of pursuing dreams, while ‘Hey Girl’ is a lighthearted serenade that was originally intended as a homage to seventies and eighties funk.
Lyrically, the album maintains a positive vibe of hope, even when tackling more politically-charged themes and social concerns such as media control and fear-mongering (like in 'Against It All'). Further standout tracks include 'Burning Up', richly exhibiting its multi-layered vocal harmonies, and live favourite 'Two Time'.
Fresh from a 14-date UK tour with Easy Star All-Stars, Backbeat Soundsystem celebrate the launch of 'Together Not Apart' at The Watering Hole, Cornwall, on 11th October. Backbeat Soundsystem have built their caliber and reputation through dedicated touring and live performances. With this debut album release, the band look poised to be propelled (deservedly) into the very forefront of contemporary UK reggae.
'Together Not Apart' is currently available for pre-order from iTunes. Here's the iTunes link for the album. This is the Amazon link.
‘Fighting Bull’, ‘Losing Faith’ and ‘Come Undone’ are offered as Instant Gratification Downloads when pre-ordering the full album, with the the latter available also as a free download.
Meanwhile, to whet your apetite, below is an exclusive stream of new album track 'Hey Girl'...
