Photo Credit: Sam Medina
NEW YORK, NY – April 23, 2021 –One of the most successful reggae groups of the 21st century, Rebelution, have announced the release of their anticipated seventh studio album, In The Moment,out June 18 as a joint venture between the band’s 87 Music label and NYC-based Easy Star Records. PRESS HERE to listen to their new single “Old School Feeling” which celebrates the influential reggae music to which Rebelution’s songs have often paid homage. In The Moment is available for pre-order now, and the full track listing can be found below. Late last month, the band released the album’s first single, “Satisfied,” which landed on 61 playlists across DSPs and racked up over 1.5 million streams in the first weeks since its debut.
Recorded remotely in the midst of the pandemic, the new album is deliberate and wide-ranging, infusing the quartet’s soulful, exhilarating brand of modern reggae with addictive pop hooks, alt-rock grit, and hip-hop grooves. The performances are bold and self-assured, and the production is equally ambitious, drawing on swirling reverb and trippy delay to create an immersive sonic universe that’s both futuristic and vintage all at once. Strip away the intoxicating atmospherics, though, and what remains is a work of profound reflection, a probing, revelatory meditation that balances joy and introspection in equal measure as the band contemplates the meaning of time and how to spend what precious little we have.
“Whenever I started to write, this notion of time kept coming up over and over again in the lyrics,” said frontman Eric Rachmany. “It can feel a little scary how fast everything moves, but you have to just keep reminding yourself to be present and make the most of every moment.”
With COVID safety precautions preventing the band from gathering together and capturing the album live as they had in the past, the quartet decided to record In The Moment remotely from their respective homes around Southern California. Operating with a hub and spoke model centered around touring guitarist Kyle Ahern, who took the lead producing the collection and fleshing out many of its arrangements, the group pieced together tracks one layer at a time, carefully crafting each song from the ground up with a wide variety of electronic and analog sounds. In addition to all their collaborative work, each member of the band teamed up directly with Ahern to quarterback particular tunes throughout the process, putting their personal stamp on the ever-evolving Rebelution sound.
“We all worked together with Kyle to bring our individual visions to life,” said Rachmany. “We wanted to make this the most diverse sounding record we could.”
That sonic diversity also gets a boost from the album’s all-star cast of special guests, which includes Jamaican artists Kabaka Pyramid, Keznamdi, and Busy Signal, as well as American soul singer Durand Jones. Ultimately, though, the record is pure Rebelution, a powerhouse collection of songs that challenges our perceptions and pushes us to live each day to the fullest; inviting fans to sit back, slow down, and live In The Moment.
