If you want to be transported away to hot summer days and music festivals, then go no further than Sons Of Zion brand new EP titled The Jukebox Suite, four songs including a new single featuring Aaradhna called Is That Enough. This band is the epitome of smooth balmy summertime sounds.
Sons of Zion’s musical style have evolved over the years to form a solid foundation of reggae layered with rock, gospel, soul and RnB elements. Bob Marley and Kiwi Icons such as Kora, Katchafire, The Black Seeds and House of Shem to name a few, are influences which has helped shape this young band whose roots are in South Auckland.The band’s latest offering of a 4 track EP titled The Jukebox Suite is so catchy that it has zoomed up the official nz music charts at lightning speed and as I write this is at number three, a quick check on their FB page tells me the latest music video Is That Enough ft Aaradhna has a mere 4.2k likes, loves and wows. This comes as no surprise "Sons Of Zion have carved a very successful path with more than 12 million streams on Spotify, more than 10 million views on YouTube and 100k plus following on social media". If you listen to the music which this band has been playing past and present since 2007, you will understand why they have a heap of love.
Aaradhna has a beautiful, silky voice which pairs perfectly with Caleb’s vocals. Indeed next level stuff.
The first track on this EP to be released was Live It Up, it is a funky tight and catchy number, which I know will be blaring out of car sound systems at your favourite holiday hotspot in a few months’ time and also gives you a pretty good indication that this is one highly polished EP.
The next two tracks, The Way That I Am and In The Sky continue along in the same vein with that velvety smooth and unique sound.
The Jukebox Suite has been a tasty teaser to the 2018 summer festival sound, a tempting morsel of sunshine, sand and sunscreen and another indication that New Zealand can drop those dub/reggae/RnB beats up there with the world’s finest.
Sons of Zion have well and truly earned their place in the upper echelons of New Zealand music. From their humble Kiwi beginnings, to playing shows across the globe and dominating charts, Sons of Zion have amassed an impressive 48.5 million streams on Spotify, more than 15 million views on YouTube and 100,000-plus followers on social media.
For members Rio, Sam, Joel, Matt, Ross, and Caleb, it’s a track record that has established them as one the southern hemisphere’s most-loved and well-respected bands. In autumn 2018 the band made their mark with latest single Drift Away. Drift Away has been the #1 most played song on New Zealand radio for 3 weeks running, achieving the #1 NZTop20 NZ Single and almost 3 million streams and over 130,000 video views.
The track is featured on their brand new album Vantage Point, alongside a slew of their other hits including Now and Is That Enough (Ft. Aaradhna) – both #1 NZ & Urban Airplay Singles. Vantage Point hit #3 on the iTunes Album Chart, as well as entering the Billboard’s Reggae Chart at #9. Sons of Zion made their mark in 2009 with their self-titled debut album, following it up in 2013 with their full-length studio album Universal Love, which included the smash singles Be My Lady, Good Love and Tell Her - the latter two songs achieving #1 Urban and #1 NZ Airplay respectively. The hits continued to flow with Stuck on Stupid, Fill Me Up, I’m Ready and Hungover, winning over new and old fans alike.