22 September 2012 - 0 Comments

Local Rasta man Ed Ru is back to deliver Sweet & Irie’s sophomore album Irie Inspiration, out 12 October.

Irie Inspiration harks back to a special time and has been crafted over the last three years with Sweet & Irie’s lead singer Ed taking time off to go ‘Back To The Islands’ (the 1^st single & Video filmed in Rarotonga) and reconnect with the local music community. On the new record, Ed takes the drivers seat and takes the listeners on a journey to his music foundations, incorporating Ukele and traditional melodies into the album and working with Rarotongan music royalty Brother Love on the ‘Feels Like Magic’ Raro Remix and ‘Aotearoa’, a transition to the place he calls home now.

Shaping out his organically grown style, Ed show’s the influence of Uncle Bob on the beautiful song ‘Psalms Of Bob Marley’, and stands behind his signature sound with album tracks ‘Sunshine Reggae’ & ‘The Love That Comes From You’.

Raised on a strict diet of Bob Marley tunes in his early years, Ed spent his youth living between New Zealand and the island of Rarotonga (a small outer island called Palmerston to be exact), and this tropical paradise forms the backdrop of his signature sound “Sunshine Reggae” (bouncy good time Reggae, crafted under the Pacific Sun with a healthy dose of that classic one-drop rhythm).

Sweet & Irie debuted on the New Zealand Reggae scene in 2007 first appearing on Brotha D’s single ‘Take It Out South’. The refreshing new sound created a significant presence for the group who followed it up with their debut RIANZ Top 20 album Localize It in April 2009, featuring the GOLD selling single ‘Feels Like Magic’ with the Horsemen Family.

National tours followed and performances at music festivals “I Love The Islands” and “Raggamuffin festival” cemented their energetic live shows before the group returned to the prominence in late 2009 winning the “Fuemana Most Promising New Act” at the Pacific Music Awards.

With his community behind him, major Reggae festivals on the horizon and a new dual career in acting debuting on screen in 2013, there’s no time like the present to experience Irie Inspiration from Sweet & Irie – available from all good retailers from October 12.

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