I was embellished into their music after their first release One Drop Love EP. The mix of reggae, dub, and ska was a delight to the ear. Since then they have just released their first full self-titled album Ghetto Sunrise which brings a new twist to their sound in the shape of hard hitting, in your face cross of drum n bass and dubstep.
I have to confess these genres are not a favourite of mine; I would compare them to a peaceful beautiful walk along the promenade only to be interrupted by a group of football supporters singing songs about
Firstly, these guys have obvious talent in what they do, taking a complete turn in direction is not easy, but they have achieved a sound that people will enjoy no doubt. The album flowed very coherently with a good mix of different sounds within each song. It's very easy to get caught into one sound that might work, considering the limits of such genres as dubstep, this is quite a diverse album.
I like the use of a female vocalist (Emma Petera) in Lost and Trouble The Water, the calming effect really compliments the heavy hitting beats, and steadies the flow of the songs respectively. I am a sucker for build ups, and this group really do a sterling job on slowing down the pace of a song, and then bringing it back up to a formidable arousal.
My one major critique is based around the production and sound. In some songs there is just too much going on. A friend of mine agreed that the mixture of heavy guitar and drum n bass really hurt the sound and thus he soon wanted to stop listening. If you are a fan of hard hitting music and the sub genres I would always recommend supporting
Ghetto Sunrise hail from the city streets of Auckland and play a bombastic fusion of reggae, ska, dubstep and electronica. Ghetto Sunrise are on the cusp of releasing their debut record "One Drop Love". The EP was mastered by Mike Gibson, responsible for the many NZ urban albums including classic reggae records by The Black Seeds, Rhombus through to the killer grooves of the Native Sons. Ghetto Sunrise have been compared to everyone from Sublime and Katchafire but feature heavy bass driven electronic sections reminiscent of early Salmonella Dub mashed together with the latest Dubstep from the UK. Ghetto Sunrise are currently booking their first tour and are set to mash, smash and crash sound systems across the country.