Band Bio: Since 1999 Sola Rosa’s Andrew Spraggon has been tantalising listeners with otherworldly aural experiences, honing his craft and taking Sola Rosa from a self-released one man project to fully-fledged live powerhouse along the way. He’s kept good company on the road and in the studio, Sola Rosa counting members of Dimmer, Fat Freddy’s Drop, Goldenhorse, Pluto and Sommerset amongst the ranks over the years, not to mention pilfering the best members of Che Fu, King Kapisi and Anika Moa’s bands and tapping the talents of internationally renowned artists like Nathan Haines and Spikey Tee. Add to the mix a succession of highly regarded releases the world over on a slew of stunning labels that includes household names Ministry of Sound, Guidance, Different Drummer, Stereo Deluxe, and Satellite K, and you’ll see why so many eager ears and heavy-lidded eyes are always fixed to fasten on what Sola Rosa does next.
First coming to Kiwi music-lovers’ attention as guitarist and vocalist for angular rock band Cicada in the 90s, Spraggon’s first outing as Sola Rosa came in the form of the Starter For 4 EP. Hand-made and self-distributed, it consisted of four experimental electronic instrumentals that caught the attention of curious cognescenti and paved the way for the more widely appreciated Entrance To Skyway EP (which saw him take home a b-net award for Best Independent Release), as well as inclusion on Round Trip Mars’ outstanding Sideways compilation. Subsequently snapped up by Festival Mushroom Records, Sola Rosa has gone on to release three critically acclaimed albums - 2001’s Solarized, 2003’s Haunted Out-takes, and Moves On in 2005 – and went on to pick up more recognition nationally. Solarized nabbed a NZ Music Award for Best Electronica Release and Haunted Out-takes snared Best Downbeat release at the b-net Music Awards, as well as other nominations at the prestigious NZ Music Awards over the years (Haunted Out-takes for Best Downbeat; Moves On for Best Dance/Electronica).
All those different nods don’t just show how well Sola Rosa’s recorded material is regarded, but how hard it is to categorise, fusing elements of diverse genres with skewed soundtracks rubbing shoulders with elements of dub, hip hop, lounge and jazz along the way. This diversity comes to the fore again on the much-anticipated new album from Sola Rosa – Get It Together. Taking in a wide swathe of genres, and walking an ever-erratic line between organic and electronic elements, the songs continue to pull off Spraggon’s patented trick of bewitching and beguiling ears in equal proportion and is further proof of the solid sonic sorcery that is Sola Rosa.
Picking up where the performance-based Moves On album left off in 2005, there’s a sweating, smoking live band at the heart of the new record, made up of long-term members of the Rosa roster - Will Scott (drums), Matt Short (bass), and Ben White (guitar). Get It Together‘s songs have then been swathed in Spraggon studio sorcery, tooled-up for maximum dancefloor impact, and bolstered by a roll-call of vocalists, musicians, and compositional contributors running headlong into Sola Rosa’s sonic stirrings at full force – with vocal cuts from Spikey Tee (best known for his work with Jah Wobble, Bomb The Bass, Mark Rae and on some of Sola Rosa’s finest moments); German globetrotter, poet, and singer Bajka; UK MC Serocee; and emerging Wellingtonian songstress Iva Lamkum. Underpinning these outstanding lyrical performances you’ll find an eclectic batch of collaborators that includes the likes of Victoria Kelly, Julien Dyne, Juse, Scratch 22, Haydn Godfrey, John Highsted, James Duncan, and Miguel Fuentes.
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