Roots of Creation is excited to release their newest single “Arabia” ft. Mihali! The new single is the first release from their upcoming album Dub Free or Die Vol #1 due out this April 30th!
The new song features a unique team-up with Roots of Creation and Mihali, Twiddle-famed bandleader, to share lead on RoC's first instrumental original in many years. “Arabia” was originally conceived for Roots of Creation’s 2006 album Rise Up and has found its way to completion through a solid instrumental arrangement. The new song was created by packing the studio with guest musicians, including a horn section filled out by acclaimed trumpeter Andy “AG” Geib from Slightly Stoopid, longtime collaborator Billy Kottage on Trombone, alongside Roots of Creation’s own Andrew Riordan on Saxophone. The highlight is guitar solos performed by Brett Wilson and Mihali, taking turns from Brett slowly building the melody to Mihali speed picking, and finally to scorching layers. With all of those musicians diving into a simple-yet-energetic melody, the song harkens back to the style of Jamaican reggae guitarist Ernest Ranglin.
Brett recalls, “‘Arabia’ is a song that I’ve been working on for over a decade… we usually put 1-2 instrumental pieces on each studio or live album. This is finally a chance to showcase this signature style we have developed over time at the forefront. I always wanted “Arabia” to emulate Jamaican Treasure - Ernest Ranglin with some good ol’ hard rock’n’roll blended in.” Mihali continues, “When I first heard the song it reminded me of Ernest Ranglin, who is and has been my favorite guitar player since I was 13 and felt like a great fit from the start! ‘Arabia’ combines two of my favorite styles of music, Reggae and Instrumental music."
Brett adds, “My longtime friend Mihali (from Twiddle) is one of my favorite guitarists in the scene. We've always bonded over a love of all thing’s Jamaican music. You may know him from his incredible group of Jambanding brothers, Twiddle...selling out theatres and constantly innovating. However, don’t sleep on his incredible solo material whether its live solo multi-instrumentalist looping or a more singer-songwriter skank studio-focused style. I knew through our mutual adoration of Ernest, jamming and Reggae/Rock that he would be able to crush a guitar solo that took you on a journey through time and space.” He continues, “It’s the 802 meets the 603! I added guitar army layers at the end to bring the listener to a peak before the riffs kick back in. I’m super stoked for everyone to hear this epic collab and join us for a ton of new music coming out in 2021 and beyond!”
“Arabia” kicks off the announcement of our new album due out this April. Reflecting back, Brett says, “the upcoming record Dub Free or Die vol #1 is all about focusing on our instrumental songwriting. It was created for our diehard fans who travel to multiple shows a year, listen to bootlegs, pay attention to set lists and always score the latest merch drops. We are extremely blessed to have our tribe of ‘RoC family’ members to be there to support us through these crazy uncertain times and let us experiment, create and have a blast. These compositions tend to lend themselves to progressive rock, improvisation, songscapes, rapid genre switches, and Dub Reggae EFX.”
Roots of Creation has earned two #1 Billboard Reggae chart debuts, two #1 Relix/Jambands.com chart debuts, along with charting at NACC and FMQB. Their most recent song on the various artists compilation The House That Bradley Built reached #8 on Billboard Compilation Charts and hit the Nielsen charts at #1 Current Reggae Album! Roots of Creation regularly livestreams on Facebook live, IG TV, Twitch, and You Tube and over the past year the band has made appearances at live streamed festivals including California Roots, Dazed Between Festival, and many more, landing Roots of Creation on Pollstar’s Top 100 Livestreamers Chart for 2020 at an impressive number 33! Check out their livestream and tour date schedule below and catch the new single here: https://fanlink.to/RoC_Arabia_ft_Mihali.
Livestream and Upcoming Tour Dates:
February 20th @ 1 pm PT/ 4 pm ET on Rootfire & Law Records Youtube channels [Livestream]
March 4 - Portsmouth, NH - The Goat - Facebook event page
March 6 - Hampton Beach, NH - Wally’s - Facebook event page
March 13 - Portsmouth, NH - The Goat - Facebook event page
April 1 - Portsmouth, NH - The Goat - Facebook event page
July 2 - Hampton Beach, NH - Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom - Tickets
August 28 - Pittsburgh, PA - Rock, Reggae and Relief 2021 @ Market Square and Forbes Avenue - Tickets
