Philadelphia-based reggae rock-hip hop collective Rockers Galore are here to liven up our lives with their positively sun-soaked summer single. ‘Blood In The Sand’ previews the band’s debut album ‘Vamos a la Playa’, which will be released on September 13. Featuring Philadelphia guitarist Joe Jordan (Oxymorrons, Pure Hell, JJX), this song also includes a passionate spoken word performance by Sydelle Prosopio.
With a fantastic and infectious fusion of old-school funk and brand-new spunk, Rockers Galore’s music is a clever blend of roots, hip hop, reggae, rock, Haitian kompa music and Latin rhythms. The current single is a stunning and meticulously crafted case in point. Since debuting with their ‘Port Au Prince’ EP in 2011, they have released a steady stream of singles and EPs.
Founded in 2008 by seasoned multi-instrumentalist Blayer Pointdujour, Rockers Galore began as a solo project, gradually involving other artists who were passionate about vision and based on a fruitful songwriting partnership with guitarist Adam Benites.
About ‘Blood In The Sand’, Adam Benites recalls, “One of my best friends, Leo Mintek, took me to see a killer band named Locobeach in Brooklyn and, when I got back to Philly, I began writing this. Then everyone else did their magic. I did bass first, then I started layering guitars. Cleaned some stuff up and sent the idea to Blayer. He re-recorded the bass, did what he does and it really started to come to life. We wanted to write a jammed out ending, so we went to our rehearsal studio and started jamming. We all came up with the outro. We had been trying to get one of our best friends, Joe Jordan, to jump on something for a while now and I’m glad he’s on this one. He crushed it.”
Blayer Pontdujoir adds, “For this song, I struggled to come up with lyrics for a while. Inspired by the Latin-style guitar playing, I decided to write about the Taino Rebellion. The lyrics detail the last fight of a Taino couple against the Spaniards in the early 16th century. Adam wrote the guitar part. I added drums and bass. Our horn players added their parts. After composing the skeleton of this track, we started playing it live. Michael created the final drum arrangement. We went to Creep Records to record vocals, mix, and master. I asked my friend Sydelle to recite a poem I had written about the last battle on the beach, and Joe Jordan ripped the guitar solo on the outro!”
Truly a labor of love, the debut album ‘Vamos a la Playa’ is the product of four years of songwriting, rehearsals, pre-production and arrangements across distances. From initial sketches through to full realization, the tracks found on this album eventually crystallized in a professional studio, where the final recordings were completed and ultimately mixed and mastered.
While ‘Blood In The Sand’ was mixed & mastered by Arik Creep at Creep Records Studio, all other album tracks were recorded, mixed & mastered at Milkboy the Studio by Tommy Joyner (of Digable Planets), who has overseen recordings by James Taylor, Dave Matthews and Miley Cyrus, among many other notable artists.
“For this album, we took our time and waited until we felt inspired to write. This is a mix of rhythms we enjoy playing. We aim to honor our diverse backgrounds in music and create a new sound that people have not heard before. We believe this is our best work to date,” says Blayer Pontdujour, adding, “I grew up with a lot of first-generation Americans. We all came from different backgrounds but we learned to respect each others’ cultures. I try to mix the genres in an effort to bring everyone together.”
Since Rockers Galore released their debut EP ‘Port Au Prince’ in 2011, they’ve released the singles ‘Philando’, ‘Cultivation’, ‘Bloody Crown’ and ‘Big Haiti’s Dream’, as well as three EP’s – ‘Sak Pase’ in 2019, ‘Troddin Out of Babylon’ in 2021, and ‘Promised Land’ in 2022.
As of July 22, ‘Blood In The Sand’ is available from fine digital platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music and Bandcamp. The full ‘Vamos a la Playa’ album will be released everywhere on September 13.
-Official bio
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