On August 19, 2016, HIRIE will release Wandering Soul, her highly anticipated sophomore album on the forward-thinking Rootfire Cooperative record label. True to the title, one can get lost in the soulful reggae grooves, pop lyrics and riddims that the album has to offer. HIRIE elaborates, “I’ve definitely felt like a gypsy – having lived in so many countries (Philippines, Italy, UK, Hawaii, Mainland U.S.) and even more so having toured and slept in so many hotel rooms, on living room floors, and more. This kind of gypsy existence excites me. Being a Wandering Soul can mean so many things, and I hope my listeners will find their own questions within the album about themselves and everything around them.”
Wandering Soul is funded by both a successful Kickstarter
The album’s first single “You Won’t Be Alone” is a playful track filled with catchy hooks and refreshing chords in the chorus that is poised to be a summer anthem. Boomshots premiere the track in early August and for HIRIE, " ‘You Won’t Be Alone’ is about our lives on the road and how it feels to leave everything behind, in order to pursue a dream.” The second single, “Renegade,” will be followed by a video release and features Nahko Bear of Nahko and Medicine for the People, and this song is a call to action. “It’s good to go against the grain in today’s society, in which being blind and following the herd is widely accepted. But if you want change, you have to go against all of that and become a renegade” says HIRIE. Another highlight is “Good Vibration” featuring Trevor Hall, a healing song that is a call to find your inner peace and balance in life. To HIRIE, “This song is meant to heal people. I wrote it as the “Smile 2.0” from our debut album, and having Trevor Hall be a part of this song takes it to a really spiritual level.”
More notable tracks include “Woman Comes First” featuring Nattali Rize, which is a female empowerment song with a retro Motown vibe, and the Don Corleon (Rihanna) produced“Boom Fire” tune that is dubbed out, soulful, and has a strong pop appeal. Wandering Soul also includes “Melody of A Broken Heart.” For HIRIE, “that song brought me to tears every time I tried to sing it in the vocal booth, so I never actually got through a full-take. Being about my daughter and the heartache I feel being away from her, this song brings the most emotion out of me. You can hear me running in place and sniffling, which Danny (my producer) left in there.”
HIRIE surged onto the global reggae scene with her infectious self-titled album HIRIE (released in 2013) that not only cemented her as reggae’s newest female sensation, but also spawned one of the biggest reggae hits of the year when “Sensi Boy” garnered over 500,000 YouTube plays. Born in the Philippines, and raised in Italy and Hawaii, HIRIE has taken her influences and carved a signature sound of island vibes, mixed with soulful roots and incredibly melodic motifs. In the past three years, HIRIE has gone on to nationally tour with Tribal Seeds, Iration, J Boog, Stick Figure, Collie Buddz – and she has supported bands such as Rebelution, Matisyahu, and The Expendables, catapulting her and the band onto the mainstage of festivals including California Roots Music and Arts Festival, Sierra Nevada World Music Festival, andReggae on the River among others.
In an exploding scene that is getting saturated with releases, Wandering Soul not only stands out with its high production value, top-notch musicianship, and special guests, but with each listen it will take you on a different journey that will withstand the test of time. HIRIE will be nationally touring in support of the album directly supporting Nahko and Medicine for the People this fall and then with Rebelution soon after. Full tour dates to be announced.
