On March 9, Cumbancha releases the single “The Human Chain” featuring Clinton Fearon, one Jamaican music’s greatest living legends. “The Human Chain” is from the upcoming album Havana Meets Kingston Part 2, which will be released in on June 3, 2022 by Baco Records in Europe, ABC Music in Australia and New Zealand and Cumbancha in the US, Canada, Latin America and the rest of the world.

Backed by an all-star band that includes Cuban trumpeter Julito Padrón (Irakere) along with Jamaican legends Sly Dunbar on drums, the late Robbie Shakespeare on bass and the late Winston “Bopee” Bowen on guitar, “The Human Chain” is a powerful and uplifting rocksteady roots anthem about the looming threats to humanity.

Fearon, an icon of Jamaican music who was the lead singer for the legendary band The Gladiators, sings in his trademark gravel-toned and soulful voice, “A chain is only as strong / As its weakest link / Greed and poverty / Weaken the chain / Now is the time to reflect / On what’s gone wrong / With the human chain.”

The single is accompanied by an epic music video filmed on the rooftop of a skyscraper in Fearon’s current home in Seattle interspersed with stirring clips of protest and conflict drawn straight from the headlines. The sixth single to be released so far from the upcoming Havana Meets Kingston Part 2 album, “The Human Chain” offers a stark warning and an uplifting message of hope that we can come together to strengthen the ties that bind us all.

While connected by common African roots and colonial histories, the music of Cuba and Jamaica have traveled largely in separate lanes. Their influence on the music of the world has been immeasurable, but their influence on each other has been less evident. It took an Australian to bring these two rich musical cultures together. Melbourne-based producer and musician Jake Savona had already fallen in love with the music of Jamaica, having released a string of successful reggae and dub albums under his stage name Mista Savona. Eventually, Savona discovered Cuban music, and in 2015, he received a grant from the Australian Council that funded the ambitious and groundbreaking Havana Meets Kingston project. Savona traveled to Havana with a group of top Jamaican musicians, including the legendary Sly & Robbie (drummer Sly Dunbar and bassist Robbie Shakespeare), and they began recording in the iconic EGREM Studio where Buena Vista Social Club and countless other legendary records have been produced. More sessions followed, other guests were invited, and after years of painstaking effort, the first volume of Mista Savona Presents Havana Meets Kingston was released in 2017 to worldwide acclaim.

Havana Meets Kingston Part 2 also features a lineup of incredible Jamaican and Cuban talent. including Jamaican stars Clinton Fearon, Randy Valentine, Prince Alla and Micah Shemaiah, Cuban talents Barbarito Torres, Changuito, Brenda Navarette, Solis, Beatriz Marquez, and many more.

GROUNDATION made waves with the announcement that their new album ONE ROCK will be released May 13, via a partnership between France’s BACO Music and Easy Star Records. Last month, the groundbreaking band, led by vocalist/guitarist Harrison Stafford, unveiled their first single from the upcoming album, “Original Riddim,” featuring guest vocals from the legendary roots harmony groups ISRAEL VIBRATION and THE ABYSSINIANS. This first single, which has already created a great deal of excitement in the band’s fanbase, deals with the universal history of music and its role in sparking the journey of our existence.

Today, Groundation presents “Human Race,” the second release from ONE ROCK. This track crackles with infectious energy, with Stafford singing about love and unification. “If love was the rule, would all this remain the same?” he asks, making a powerful statement in these polarizing times. The result is an instantly memorable song, well balanced between roots reggae and jazz, which has been Groundation’s signature style that has brought so many fans into their music. A corresponding official music video will also be released this week.

Stream “Human Race” on all streaming platforms here: http://moremusic.at/HumanRace

Harrison expresses about the song, “I love how this song carries the listener into so many different places; the lyrics coming in just after the blazing intro, the 6/8 section with the sax solo, the string trio arrangement, all while the band is locked into a groove of perpetual forward motion.” He adds, “I am very proud of ‘Human Race’ and what it’s saying lyrically, the song reaches the listener’s heart like an arrow!”

Groundation formed in 1998 when Stafford began a roots reggae/jazz fusion group with bassist Ryan Newman, keyboardist Marcus Urani, and drummer James Stafford, all of whom were in the same Jazz Performance program at Sonoma State University. The group’s first 2 albums (Young Tree and Each One Teach One) established their unique roots sound, while also beginning the band’s long affiliation with foundational reggae artists, as Each One Teach One features vocalist Marcia Higgs and drumming master Ras Michael. Stafford’s deep knowledge of the reggae genre led to him developing a course he taught at Sonoma State called “The History of Reggae Music,” where legends like Joseph Hill of Culture and historical icons like Abba Melchezadek (Haile Selassie’s private secretary) would come to share their personal experiences.

In 1999, while in Jamaica, Harrison met the legendary engineer Jim Fox, who was involved with the production of many of RAS Records’ most iconic releases. Fox remastered both Young Tree and Each One Teach One and recorded Hebron Gate (2002), the album that launched Groundation to international acclaim. Fox has continued working with the band on every subsequent release, helping to shape their sound on We Free Again (2004), Upon The Bridge (2006), Here I Am (2009), and Building An Ark (2012), creating a catalog of genre-bending, deep, progressive roots reggae music. Similarly, Groundation’s artwork had a consistent look and feel, in collaboration with Stafford’s childhood friend, Giovanni Maki, creating all visual designs from the very beginning.

Through the years, Groundation has performed in over 35 countries on 5 continents. The band, which had number of personnel changes over the years, but always built around Harrison Stafford’s leadership, continued to bring reggae into new worlds, with their last studio album, The Next Generation (2018) opening with a full jazz big band (featuring 12 horn players). This album beat out Ziggy Marley and others to win Reggae.fr’s “Best Roots Reggae Album of 2018,” voted on by over 16,000 media members, musicians, producers, and fans. This year, the group will be on tour in support of ONE ROCK. Groundation will be on stage in Europe, notably in France, but also in South America and the United States.

Get it at http://moremusic.at/OneRockAlbum.

Online:

https://groundation.com/

https://www.facebook.com/groundationmusic/

https://www.instagram.com/instagroundation/

https://www.youtube.com/c/groundationvideo/

Lies Every Day” is a catchy and solar reggae track with rich and modern sounds, which delivers a conscious and powerful message, through images shot in Martinique and Colombia. Mystic Firm’s musicians perform on this tune.

This tune is an extract from Mystic Firm & Friends’ next album “2ème Vague”, which will be released on March 11, 2022, compiling several amazing featurings. Mixed and mastered by Sébastien Houot at Wise Studio, produced by Mystic Firm Production.”

https://www.instagram.com/mystic_firm