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Taken from Jamaica Gleaner (August 31, 2010)
Franti to release Sound of Sunshine
by Howard Campbell, Gleaner Writer
Michael Franti |
The Sound of Sunshine, the new album from singer/songwriter Michael Franti and his band, Spearhead, is scheduled to be released September 21 by Capitol/Boo Boo Wax Records. It is the follow-up to 2008's All Rebel Rockers, which was produced by Sly and Robbie.
Shake It, a duet with Lady Saw, was released as the album's first single on June 8. Franti and Spearhead recorded the song while working on The Sound of Sunshine in Jamaica last year.
Franti told Billboard magazine that the album was completed early this year while he was touring the United States with pop star John Mayer.
"We took our little portable rig on tour with us and every day we'd play the songs and then we'd go back into the dressing room and go, 'now, the chorus needs a chord change'," Franti explained. "It was made in the locker rooms of NBA and hockey franchises all around the country."
Franti's camp has high expectations for The Sound of Sunshine following the strong showing of All Rebel Rockers two years ago. That set yielded the Top-20 hit song Say Hey (I Love You) featuring Cherine Anderson.
Most of All Rebel Rockers was recorded at Anchor studios in Kingston.
Collaborations
Franti and his band returned last year to lay tracks for the follow-up, collaborating with local musicians such as keyboardist Robbie Lyn, percussionist Uzziah 'Sticky' Thompson and guitarist Dalton Browne, all of whom played on All Rebel Rockers.
During last year's Anchor sessions, Franti told The Gleaner he was pleased with the song Gloria, a Nyabinghi number, featuring Thompson and traditional drummer Count Ossie Junior of the Mystic Revelation of Rastafari. The track is one of the cuts on The Sound of Sunshine.
Franti is heavily influenced by classic reggae and early hip-hop. He formed Spearhead in Los Angeles during the 1990s and has recorded several critically-acclaimed albums which has earned them a loyal following in the US, Australia and Asia.
Though songs like Light Up Ya Lighter and One Step Closer To You were underground favourites, Say Hey (I Love You) has been the group's commercial breakthrough.
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