The groove of Native Soul's new track Time sets off with a kicking swing from the bass drum. The vocals are deep, calm and persuasive. I’m hearing a bit of Fat Freddy’s Drop with the reggae groove, Sola Rosa with the funk and horns, but most notably, a definite Sade feel on the smooth and deep vocals. At about 2 minutes 20 seconds, the sound thickens, and the skank is met with some delicate guitar. Layers of electric grooves unfold on top of the main rhythm of the song, enveloping the vocalist too. The guitar is notably sweet and vivid, and it really adds colour to the song.
Time is contemplative, sweet and definitely lyrically philosophical. It's about time being the divine healer, the reason for good fortune, and the wise phrase that helps you let go of it all. It's a healing song; easily playable on any night adventure, be it studying, driving or dancing.
Carla Werner is a singer-songwriter with a lot of original music that evokes the spiritual and emotional mind. This song, complete with its skanking beat, is a lustful tune. You definitely need to give it a good listen.
Native Soul Project is a reggae-inspired, dub, electronic project by New Zealand singer, songwriter, producer, Carla Werner featuring Californian bassist, Alison Wunderland. Introduced in the Summer of 2015 in Los Angeles, the pair played their first show together that same year at popular roots festival, ‘Reggae on the Mountain’ with regular band mates, drummer Rock Deadrick (Ziggy Marley) and key/horn virtuoso John McKnight (Fishbone). The group were invited back in 2017 to play alongside long-time idols, Toots & the Maytels and Sly & Robbie while regularly playing their own shows around Los Angeles at popular venues The Piano Bar, Hotel Cafe and the Echoplex. Many guest appearances with Fully Fullwood and Soul Syndicate crew on Sunday's at Don the Beachcomber in Orange County, provided great exposure for their original music. Native Soul Project has gone on to support and work alongside the likes of Pato Banton, Piracy Conspiracy, Stokely ‘Trim Dred’ Molineaux, Zeb Delfonsky (Tribal Seeds), Knights of the Dub Table (NZ) and Regan Perry (NZ).
The forthcoming album True Nature takes stock from the roots reggae genre but is hybridized by a fusion of electronic and dub, giving it a contemporary appeal. A culmination of tracks written by Carla Werner over several years drawing influence from Alpha & Omega, Massive Attack, Fat Freddy’s Drop, Lee Scratch Perry and Bob Marley with key defining feature of Wunderland's deep meditative dub signature the common thread throughout. The album was produced and partly recorded in the US and completed in New Zealand during the lockdown period of 2020, forcing Werner to work remotely with various musicians/artists in the US, Australia and New Zealand. In that time, a remix emerged of the flagship track One To Ten from the forthcoming album by producer Paddy Free of Pitch Black (Salmonella Dub - Inside The Dub Plates). One To Ten - Paddy Free Remix was released October 1, 2020 and features as a dub version on the producer’s own album Paddy Free In Dub #2 releasing April 2, 2021.