I like to make music. And stuff. Mostly Dubs, Jungle, and DnB. Big up all Junglists and Junglettes ;)

8x GRAMMY® Award-winning singer/songwriter/producer, Stephen Marley just released his new album Old Soul on September 15, 2023 - his first full-length project since 2016. Featuring a stellar line-up of special guests including Bob Weir, Eric Clapton, Jack Johnson, Ziggy Marley, Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley, Buju Banton, and Slightly Stoopid, the 14-track acoustic-inspired album is now available on all digital platforms via Tuff Gong Collective/UMe/Ghetto Youths International.  Limited-edition double LP vinyl in translucent yellow and green, CD, 2LP standard black vinyl and merch bundles are available for pre-order at stephenmarleymusic.com.  

Old Soul comes as a complete revelation. While grounded from the road during the COVID lockdown, Stephen set up a new studio on a remote family farm in the Florida countryside, holding nightly jam sessions in a converted garage. With a stripped-down ensemble comprising binghi drums, bass, acoustic guitar, and flute, Stephen played whatever he felt like — ranging from original compositions and reggae rarities with deep personal meaning to classics recorded by Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, and The Beatles. “Irie vibration,” Stephen says of the sounds made together on the farm. The lion’s share of Old Soul was recorded during these “unplugged” jam sessions.

Even as the album showcases Ragga’s versatility, the message within his music remains consistent. “We come to free the people’s minds,” says Stephen. “Only way you can free your soul is to free your mind. My father say, ‘No chains on my feet, but I’m not free.’ And then he come say, ‘Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery.’ Anywhere the music calls us, we are going to be there to spread the message of love and unity.” 

Old Soul explores a musical palette that spans a variety of cultures and genres alike, with hand-selected special guests furthering the spiritual journey that encompasses the album. 

In celebration of the new album, Stephen has embarked on an ambitious Old Soul Tour Unplugged 2023 through the fall.

Damian Robert Nesta Marley, also known around the world as “Junior Gong” and more recently as “Gongzilla” was born in 1978 to parents Bob Marley and Cindy Breakspeare, Miss World 1976.  As a young adult, he developed a passion and a gift to speak for those who cannot always speak for themselves. A self-proclaimed ‘Spiritual Revolutionary’, Damian has worked assiduously to carve his own niche in music history and to add a new perspective to the Marley legacy for the 21st century. 

At the age of 13, Damian began performing in a group called “The Shepherds” which comprised of Shiah Coore (son of Third World guitarist Cat Coore) and currently a member of his band, and Yashema Beth McGreggor, daughter of reggae singers Freddie Mcgreggor and Judy Mowatt and then began touring with his brothers, Stephen, Ky-mani, Julian and Ziggy. 

By 1996, Damian had already made his stamp as a different kind of Marley when he released his first solo album “Mr. Marley”, a heavily dancehall-influenced album produced by his brother Stephen Marley.  His second album “Halfway Tree” was released in 2001 by a major record label and showcased Damian’s unique gift for blending dancehall, reggae and hip-hop styles.  This album won Damian much recognition and remained on the Billboard Top Reggae Album Charts for 158 weeks and earned him his first Grammy for Best Reggae Album in 2002. 
While honored by this recognition by the global music fraternity, Damian continued to work in the studio, laying the groundwork for the tracks that would become his highly anticipated album, “Welcome To Jamrock”. The lyrics in this album presented Marley as a true spiritual revolutionary, as he used his talent to evoke a spiritual change while trying to enforce a better way of thinking.  He is described as “rhyming with the conviction of a street preacher with the intellect of a university economist”.  

Damian’s hit single “Welcome to Jamrock” was listed as one of the Top 100 Songs of the Decade by Rolling Stone, and at the 2006 Grammy Awards, he won Best Reggae Album and Best Urban/Alternative Performance for Welcome to Jamrock. Damian is the only Jamaican reggae artist in history to win two Grammy Awards on the same night. He is also the only reggae artist to win in the Best Urban/Alternative Performance category at the Grammy Awards. The New York Times called Welcome to Jamrock the “best reggae song of the decade.” 
Welcome to Jamrock led the pathway to Damian’s critically acclaimed collaboration with Nas for 2010’s much lauded album “Distant Relatives” – a project which explored the relationships between reggae, hip-hop and Africa. The album title refers not only to the bond between the artists, but the connection to their African ancestry, which inspired the album both musically and lyrically. USA Today referred to the album as a “potent and often provocative collaboration” and by Rolling Stone as “an Afrocentric winner.” The album debuted at Number 5 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart and Number 1 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, Rap Albums and Reggae Albums charts, with Billboard heralding the album as “a dynamic hybrid.”    

The Distant Relatives Tour kicked off in 2011 and saw Damian traveling and performing for thousands of fans all over the world, including South America, Europe, The United Kingdom, The Caribbean and North America.  

Damian continued to cross musical boundaries in 2012, as he went on to partner with Skrillex for their groundbreaking track “Make It Bun Dem”, which Rolling Stone called “a monster mash up of dubstep and dancehall” and has led to several remixes of the original version.  Damian recently released two other singles; “Set Up Shop” and  “Affairs of the Heart” which both received widespread airplay. 

Damian continues to tour with his band all over the world as a way of entertaining and healing as he continues to spread the message for those whose voices cannot be heard. He is working with his brothers Stephen and Julian under their Ghetto Youths International Label, to discover, develop and sign gifted artistes by applying their musical talent and vast experience to create new and different styles of music.  

Damian is currently in the studio working on his upcoming solo album.

Walk Off The Earth is an unconventional, multi-talented five-piece musical phenomena that is currently taking the world by storm. Based in Burlington, Ontario (just outside of Toronto), their brilliant 5-people-playing-one-guitar interpretation of Gotye's "Somebody That I Used To Know" recently exploded on Youtube garnering well over 35 million views in under 2 weeks. The massive fan response quickly drew attention to their collection of innovative songs and videos spanning their last 5 years and generated an unprecedented flood of media interest. New fans from around the world immediately fell in love with the band's organic, independent, sincere and honest original songwriting, cover interpretations and beautifully filmed videos. For the past 5 years, the band has built a massive following of dedicated fans from around the world through their unique and heartwarming approach to songwriting, filming and constant, open interaction with everyone their music touches.

The chemistry between the members of Walk Off The Earth is undeniable. Marshall, Sarah and Gianni's individual vocal stylings mesh seamlessly with Taylor's haunting harmonies and keys all the while soaring over epic melodic arrangements held together by Joel Cassady's driving and prolific percussion work. Their independent spirit, unstoppable work ethic and awe-inspiring creativity has catapulted Walk Off The Earth into new and uncharted waters with only bigger and better things on the horizon.

BAFTA and MOBO award-winning UK hip hop/alternative artist signed to self-owned indie label "Illa State Records".  Toured across the UK / Europe with the likes of Jay-Z, Audiobullys to Richard Ashcroft and Siousie Sioux.  Akala was the first hip hop artist to ever stage a hip hop concert in Vietnam with the British Council.

Akala Management/Enquiries: info@hiphopshakespeare.com

Akala Bookings: sam@diplomatsofsound.org

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