Irie Sol's founder, Junior Williams, moved to America from Kingston, Jamaica, with the dream of starting a band that would fuse the genres (reggae, dancehall, ska, and dub) indigenous to his native island with traditional American music forms (hip hop, funk, soul, rock, and jazz). He's "dubbed" (pun intended) the resulting music "Alternative World" to acknowledge its roots and routes in World and Alternative music and to conjure an Alternative World of global unity with music. Erupting out of...
Irie Sol's founder, Junior Williams, moved to America from Kingston, Jamaica, with the dream of starting a band that would fuse the genres (reggae, dancehall, ska, and dub) indigenous to his native island with traditional American music forms (hip hop, funk, soul, rock, and jazz). He's "dubbed" (pun intended) the resulting music "Alternative World" to acknowledge its roots and routes in World and Alternative music and to conjure an Alternative World of global unity with music. Erupting out of the Twin Cities with a musical blend that reflects diverse band members--who hail from Kingston, Jamaica; Nova Scotia, Canada; Providence, RI; Detroit, MI; Minneapolis, MN; and the Chippewa Valley of Wisconsin--Irie Sol delivers authentic Jamaican chat/DJing and soaring, soulful melodies backed by blazing bebop horns, wailing guitar, and tight drum and bass. Irie Sol has played shows with Natty Nation, Dred i Dread, Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, and too many other talented musicians to name. Irie Sol's music can be enjoyed at live shows throughout the midwest, on many radio programs, and by downloading the new CD, Solstice, on iTunes.
Press:
"A recent expedition to the Twin Cities uncovered this 7-man reggae/hip hop band. Irie Sol is a tight unit with a live show that will blow your joints out."
--O.J. Lima, Editor-at-Large, VIBE Magazine, President of limachips.com, an NYC-based hub of global DJ and hip hop culture.
Irie Sol is available for educational opportunities as well! We are well versed in reggae, hip-hop, jazz, and funk history and offer seminars, workshops, and presentations on diversity, civil rights, and music; discussion-based analysis of hip hop artists and lyrics; creative writing workshops on lyric writing; seminars on music composition, production, and sound engineering; classes on music and (the) art(s); and participation-based classes on percussion, improvisation (instrumental, vocal, and lyrical), and DJing as well as DJ culture.
We offer workshops and performances from K-12 to the university level.
Qualifications:
Among our ranks we number college students, recent graduates, and a college professor. Bandmembers have or are seeking degrees from the following institutions: Rhode Island School of Design (art), Oxford University (doctorate in English), Masters Recording Institute of Flyte Tyme Studios (production), University of Wisconsin Eau Claire (philosophy, poli-sci, and business), University of Minnesota Twin Cities (finance, biochemistry) and Providence College (English and music).
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