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Rootz Radicals - Lion Outta Den
Rootz Radicals - Lion Outta Den
Straight Outta Bavaria, a Righteous Reggae EP.
Sampler
Rootz Radicals, the five member band from Regensburgh, in the Munich-Austria-Czech triangle, has just reinforced their presence in the world of reggae with their EP, Lian Outta Den.
Bursting of out the Bavarian lion’s den are Benjamin Feldmeier, Henry Shell, Thomas Eibl, Christian Moll, and Uno Jahma. The young quintet has delivered a short but sweet collection of roots reggae (along with a couple of related videos) that is righteous and well worth listening to. One thing is clear, this band is dedicated to reggae. They have been cranking it up in European clubs and this EP indicatesthey are here to stay.
Rootz Radicals plays modern roots—so I was caught by surprise in the opening two bars ofLost Paradise. I sat straight up at what can only be described as an ear-opening two bar slice of be-bop that gives this fine number a 40’s jazzy feel. It wasn’t that it didn’t belong in classic roots, I love bands that do what they want to do, but it made my ears perk up.After a few listenings I felt right at home with the jazzy riff and theUno’s patois,andwhen I heard the lyrics he worked out with Christian I knew I was in good reggae hands.
she nah know nuttn inna di winter but sleep a lot
she compensiet dat truu di nait a well hot
di gal start fi wine where di baseline a rock
se di night a well hot, di night a well hot
Way We All Come From follows and is more driven and insistent than its predecessor but equally effective. Again they surprised me, this time with Christian Moll’s rock guitar solo. Guitar solos are not unheard of in reggae music of course. Junior Marvin rocked one out with Bob in Heathen for example. But they are rare enough but that didn’t deter Rootz Radicals from going where they wanted with their music. You might want to check out the video of this piece on YouTube.
The conscious cut Deya reinforces the serious side of Rootz Radicals. I never got the feeling these social and spiritual words are put on; they seem heartfelt under both careful delivery and the tight bass and drum work behind the lyrics. In the middle of this cut there is a shout out by Uno that reminded me of Junior Delgado singing, “Fort Augustus!”—high praise indeed.
Rootz Radicals is a young band but there is a seed of seriousness here that could grow as their maturity and forcefulness do, and perhaps we can hear them chant down Babylon with ever stronger tunes, because the base seems firmly in place with songs like Deya. The last piece on the EP is Israel, another conscious effort, and its good reggae too. This band is not afraid of expressing its commitment to its spiritual purpose.
Rootz Radicals is a young band, and I await a full-length album of their work. It’s all there, the musical ability, the spirit, the commitment, and a certain fearlessness about reggae. Check them out and support them: Modern roots reggae is alive and well in southern Germany
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