05 February 2021 - 0 Comments

Aotearoa chart-toppers Tomorrow People are shaking things up with #FirstFridays, which sees the release of a new single on the first Friday of every month - for the whole of 2021 - including today’s drop, Just A Little Bit.

LISTEN HERE

The sun-infused tune - perfectly crafted to be blasted on outdoor Bluetooth speakers OR in front of a 20,000-strong festival crowd – features guitarist Snow Chase on lead vocals, with support on the breakdown by rapper A-Kel. This will be Snow’s debut release for the band.

Just A Little Bit is the second release this year from Tomorrow People and officially marks the launch of #FirstFridays; the bands mission to release a new song on the first Friday of every month, for the entire calendar year. The attention span of their listeners had shortened so much over the past few years, that the band felt the need to adapt and change their approach to releasing music.

“In the past, artists would release between 3 to 4 songs per year as singles, or release 1 album every 2 to 3 years.” says band leader Tana Tupai. “For us, it seemed either too slow or too fast.” Their solution is to give the audience something new every four weeks to quench their thirst, whilst creating anticipation for what the next release would sound like.

Tomorrow People have always been innovative in their approach to the music business, and this idea is no different. They wanted to change the release model so it would allow them to keep things fresh, and pivot to experiment with different styles that their audience may request. At this stage they have no idea what they will be releasing in March, but they will base it on what the people want, and their customer feedback. It also means that they will have multiple songs rotating or charting at once.

“Doing it this way means we are in for a busy year recording, writing, mixing, promoting, interviews, live shows, social media and everything else that will eventually come along.” says producer Avina Kelekolio. “I mean, New Zealand’s biggest bands Six60 and L.A.B have shown us that we can have multiple songs out at once and people are okay with that. This was unheard of a few years ago”

Tomorrow People’s first release for 2021 was Take It Away - Acoustic Remix, on January 1 - a gorgeous stripped-back version of their classic tune. Listen HERE. Now comes Just A Little Bit, which arrives just in time for the band to take the stage at this weekend’s One Love Festival, which is being held in Tauranga on February 6 and 7 and is set to attract a 20,000-plus crowd.

The seven-piece band, made up of Kenape Saupese, Te Aranga Savage, Snow Chase, Avina Kelekolio, Duane Te Whetu, Hennie Tui and Tana Tupai - is one of Aotearoa’s most loved reggae bands, with a string of Gold and Platinum hits to their name, including Souljah Feeling, Feel Alright and Take It Away.

Since emerging in 2010, Tomorrow People has released two full-length albums and two EPs, including 2018’s critically acclaimed BBQ Reggae, which debuted at #1 in the Official NZ Album Charts and earned them a number of awards. In total, they have released an impressive 25 radio singles and 17 music videos. The band has achieved all of this - recording, producing, mixing, editing music videos, designing artwork, managing their own strategies, creating their own marketing plans and booking their own tours - all the while holding day down jobs.

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