After a run of sonically mesmerizing singles, this Friday (April 21), acclaimed reggae group Easy Star All-Stars will release their highly anticipated album Ziggy Stardub. The project is a reggae reimagining of David Bowie’s The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, and features guest performances by Maxi Priest, Steel Pulse, Fishbone, Alex Lifeson (Rush), Vernon Reid (Living Colour), The Skints, Mortimer, The Expanders, Samory I, and many others. Packages of the album are available here, including royal blue colored vinyl along with CD and exclusive t-shirt offerings.
Ahead of the release, today the band has shared a final taste of the project with the single + video “Rock ‘N’ Roll Suicide.” The track features vocals by multi-award-winning musician, songwriter, and producer Macy Gray, showcasing her one of a kind vocals. The passionate rendition offers a fresh spin on the original, forging a laid back atmosphere across a bounding drum beat and swaggering horns. Michael Goldwasser, producer, arranger, and multi-instrumentalist of Easy Star says, “The main key was finding an emotive and groundbreaking vocalist, and we did just that with Macy Gray, who is truly inimitable in every song that she sings, including this one.” The track is paired with a stop motion video, taking viewers through the journey of two cats during an evening in a paper town.
Macy Gray is a multi-award-winning American musician, songwriter, producer and actress. She is renowned for her own approach to sound, lyrics and fashion, and is known for her distinctive raspy voice and a singing style. Gray has released ten studio albums, and has received five Grammy nominations. Her track “I Try” became a Top Five pop hit in 1999, and in 2001, she was awarded a Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. She also received multiple platinum certifications for the parent album, On How Life Is, shortly after.
Easy Star All-Stars will also be playing an album release show to celebrate Ziggy Stardub, April 20 at Sony Hall in New York City. The 420 show – an annual tradition for the All-Stars in their hometown – will also feature special guests Sister Carol and Cannabis Cup Band. Tickets are available here. The band will also be performing at the Sea.Hear.Now music festival in New Jersey this September.
Blending musical versatility, instrumental prowess, beautiful vocal harmonies, and a premier rhythm section, Easy Star All-Stars have established themselves as one of the top international reggae acts on the scene for over two decades. During this time, they’ve toured in over 30 countries on 6 continents, bringing together fans of reggae, classic rock, dub, and indie rock into one big family. Previous releases of the band’s long standing collection of tribute albums include Dub Side of the Moon (2003), a critically-acclaimed reggae re-working of Radiohead’s OK Computer, Radiodread (2006), Easy Star’s Lonely Hearts Dub Band (2009), and Easy Star’s Thrillah (2012), as well as the remix album Dubber Side of the Moon (2010). The All-Stars have also released two original collections, Until That Day EP (2008) and First Light (2011).
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