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Naptali - Long Journey

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Naptali - Long Journey

Naptali - Long Journey

By Karl Pearson on Wednesday, March 17, 2010 - 2 comments

Conscious, Righteous, Roots.

Sampler

A chance meeting in Germany, when Naptali was there visiting his cousin, brought him and Oneness Records together. It was here that he heard the live riddims of the Oneness band and felt the vibe and energy of their music and thought it would be the perfect backdrop for presenting his songs of consciousness and righteousness while expressing his firm beliefs in the livity of Rastafari.

Naptali - Long Journey The majority of tracks on the album are produced and recorded with a live band and this really gives the album a classic roots sound. The lyrical content and Naptali’s singing style also give the album a very soulful feel and no more so than on songs like the excellent 'What We Fighting For', the slightly sugary sweet 'Grandma', performed with fellow country man Arofat, which actually rides the soul riddim and 'Law of Attraction', a song that I feel could have a promising commercial crossover appeal thanks to these soulful, pop sensibilities.

Naptali has a rather engaging voice, with a soft dulcet tone; although not the most powerful he uses it well and never over stretches himself. When dueting on 'And They Cry', which features fellow newcomer, to me anyway, the young German singer Sara Lugo, who possess a very soothing, soulful voice. The pair blend very well and heighten the lyrical sense of dejection felt by those consumed with poverty and suffering, as we turn our backs on those less fortunate than ourselves.

Naptali also sounds very comfortable when dueting with established stars like Lutan Fyah, on General Key riddim powered, ‘More Love’, which also features Arofat. For 'Seven Miles' he is joined by Luciano, for a Marcus Garvey inspired song of 'strangers, living in a strange land' and fulfilling his vision of repatriation.

The riddims from the Oneness band are all competently performed with strong bass lines pushing them forward, but what catches my ears most is the bright classic sound from organ that runs through many of them as it dances and skips along with a joyous panache and none more so than with the classic hopping style employed on ‘Long Journey’, which when taken with Jah as a companion and protector means everything will be alright.

So when all these things are mixed together the result is a very well-built and positive debut album, let’s hope this great start continues.