From his humble beginnings experimenting with a 4-track
recorder at the ripe age of 19, Sola Rosa frontman Andrew Spraggon has
cultivated over 15 years of rich and well-crafted melodic beats. Fusing a
rotating mix of hip-hop, jazz, reggae, latin, neo-soul and funk topped with an
assortment of diverse vocalists, Sola Rosa have released five critically
acclaimed long players to date.
The latest construct of this collective sees this five-piece
strip away their collaborations with an array of session musicians, choosing
instead to record together as a complete band, which has allowed them to enjoy
a more simple and methodical creative process.
Currently Sola Rosa is made up of five key individuals. Matt
Short joined Sola Rosa in 2004 as an incredibly accomplished session player,
who has previously played with the Opensouls, Tyra & The Tornadoes and
Vietnam War. Ben White an accomplished jazz guitarist followed suit in 2007.
Vocalist, producer and MAINZ teacher Cherie Mathieson joined the band in late
2011 as their touring female vocalist. Mathieson has collaborated with
celebrated producers and artists like Mark de Clive Lowe, Dego (4hero), Lanu
(The Bamboos), Zed Bias and closer to home with The Relaxomatic Project, Solaa,
Manuel Bundy, Jason Eli ( Joosika) and Lewis McCallum.
The latest addition is British artist and The Streets co-vocalist
Kevin Mark Trail. Trail has collaborated with local jazz wizard Nathan Haines,
international heavyweights Nitin Sawhney, Estelle and Black Twang and landed
support slots for N.E.R.D, Massive Attack and Angie Stone.
Keyboard player, percussion, computer whiz, and all-round
beat maestro Andrew Spraggon began performing and touring for the first time in
his early 20s, as the lead vocalist and guitarist of indie rock band Cicada.
Six years later, in 1998, Spraggon made the leap from 4-track to software and
never looked back. He initially performed solo, but quickly recruited a
revolving door of Sola Rosa collaborative incarnations and a band of talented
session players that included players from Fat Freddy’s Drop, Opensouls and
Ladi6. Spraggon was also a member of Dimmer from 2000 – 2004. Most recently he
has produced local acts including Batucada Sound Machine and Tahuna Breaks.
Over the years Sola Rosa have enjoyed many achievements in
New Zealand, including a #1 on iTunes and the Independent NZ Music Chart with
their 2009 smash record ‘Get It Together’. It reached #15 in the album charts
and went on to achieve Gold status. The awards in Sola Rosa’s cabinet include
Best Independent Release in the 2000 bNet Music Awards for the ‘Entrance To
Skyway’ (EP) andBest Electronica Album in 2001 for ‘Solarized’. They also
received nominations at the Vodafone NZ Music Awards for Best Dance/Electronica
Album in 2006 for ‘Moves On’, Best Producer and Best Dance/Electronic Album in
2009 for ‘Get It Together’ and Best Electronic Album in 2012 for ‘Low and
Behold, High and Beyond’.
Internationally, the lead single from ‘Get It Together -Del
Ray’ was picked up for a number of compilations – including DJ Ease’s edition
of Stereo Deluxe’s ‘Coming Home’series, and Putumayo’s Latin Beats compilation.
The album’s full release in Europe and the USA, along with a successful debut
tour of both, received attention from radio stations such as KCRW (L.A.) and
Funkhaus Europa (EU) across both continents, was picked out as Marco Werman’s
album of the year for 2011, and several of the album’s tracks were licensed for
use on episodes of Criminal Minds, The Protector, Gossip Girl and Mob Wives.
Sola Rosa’s sixth album Magnetics sees the band introduce a
glorious assortment of fresh new vocalists from all over the globe: Kevin Mark
Trail (UK), Sharlene Hector (UK), Jordan Rakei (AUS), Georgia Anne Muldrow
(US), Tawiah (UK), Noah Slee (AUS) and Oliver Daysoul (UK). Expect a tour both
locally and internationally on release.
Sola Rosa continue to experiment and evolve, which is a true
testament to their success over the years. Expect big things this Summer.
Website: http://www.solarosa.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment