Tomorrow People is one of my favourite kiwi reggae acts. There's something about them that's very genuine, something that (for me at least) really stands out from the sea of other reggae bands (and they're even better live!). So as you can imagine I have been waiting for this since I first heard it was coming out, and the name One.5 had me curious from the start.
Upon hearing this was going to be an EP (a “mini album” for those of you didn't get that) I will admit I was a little gutted (yeah I'm greedy ok) but now that I have it in my (greedy) hands I'm feeling a lot better about it.
So I saw a track called Rocky Reggae and I'm guilty of skipping straight to that before listening to the whole album in it's entirety and I don't even feel bad about it. That track kills, by far my favourite off the whole album, the gravelly vocals just grab you and make you listen, you have no choice don't even try to fight it, he'll waste you bro.
Even within only a couple of songs they manage to show off their varied song writing skills, from the laid back Daydreamer, which takes it all back but still manages to keep a full sound throughout the track, to a couple of remixes of songs from their debut album One.
I gotta be honest though this whole EP is pretty amazing, and I didn't expect anything less from Tomorrow People, I just hope the next release is a whole album cos this mini album stuff is a bit of a tease, and I'm already eagerly awaiting the next release.
Out of the 100+ reggae bands currently active in NZ, not one of them has moved up the ranks faster than Wellington band Tomorrow People. From their humble garage to an award winning debut album, the band has gone from strength to strength and showing no signs of slowing down.
A studio project turned live stage show, the 7-piece band are purveyors of what they describe as ‘sunshine reggae’. Focused on providing a mid-tempo sound that, while clearly reggae-centric, adds touches of dancehall ragga to its colour. It is a sound built around strong vocals, soothing harmonies, catchy hooks, aggressive ragga raps, and feel good riddims (rhythms).
Together, the members of mixed descent (NZ/Maori/Pacific Island) have decades of experience in the music industry, citing previous careers in hip-hop, R&B, gospel, funk and soul. Taking their name from a Ziggy Marley song, Tomorrow People live up to the futuristic allusions it casts, having built their fan base via social media (www.facebook.com/tomorrow.ppl) and demo tracks uploaded to YouTube. While they gather their musical influences from Jamaican and Hawaiian artists alike, once combined with their roots in NZ music, they bring a sound that is clean, laid-back and easy on the eardrums.