Kirsty Rock - Slow Burn '2022

Tracks list

       Kirsty Rock, best known around the world as a member of the
internationally renowned reggae super group Easy Star All-Stars, brings the fire
with her own distinctive, soulful, and earthy reggae sound on her solo album
debut, Slow Burn, out now on Easy Star Records.

Kirsty Rock came up in the Brooklyn music scene of the 1990s, including her
celebrated stint in Trumystic Sound System (at one time, this band included Dr.
Israel as a member and collaborator). Her first lead vocal with Easy Star
All-Stars was on their 2003 album Dub Side of the Moon, performing “The
Great Gig In The Sky,” which has garnered millions of streams, and earned
praise from Clare Torry, the original vocalist on Pink Floyd’s Dark Side
of the Moon. In 2003, she joined the touring version of Easy Star All-Stars and
since then has toured in over 30 countries on 6 continents with the band. She
was featured on vocals on their studio albums Radiodread (“Paranoid
Android,” 2006), Easy Star’s Lonely Hearts Dub Band
(“She’s Leaving Home,” 2009), and Easy Star’s Thrillah
(“P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing),” 2012), as well as on First Light,
the band’s album of original songs from 2008. Rock is currently back on
the road with ESA after a COVID hiatus, while there is a new record due from the
band for the first time since 2012.

The first single “The Feeling” may appear to be the most
lighthearted song on the album, it “was the most difficult and cathartic
to write,” Rock recently said. “It’s a reminder to myself
that when we release grief, sorrow, pain, and anger, it leaves so much room for
love and joy.” Her next single, “L.E.O.” pulses with a steady
bass groove and slapping drums that draws you in with Rock’s lyrics:
“The space between us pulls me in with thoughts darker than your skin.
It's incredible. Burn my solar wings and carry me towards L.E.O.”

Many of the songs on Slow Burn were started on the road with Easy Star All-Stars
and with her own long-running band Trumystic, as Rock often found inspiration
while in motion. With a busy tour schedule, no intention to be a solo artist,
and no rush to put out “product,” she left all expectations behind
and let the songs evolve. Observing how relationships unfolded and how political
agendas came and went – and what was left in their wake – inspired
much of the lyrical content of the record. After the bones of the songs were
recorded in her home in Vermont, Rock began reaching out to her friends to
breathe more life into the fire until finally the record was ablaze.

The first few tracks completed were co-produced and mixed by Grammy-nominated
producer (and longtime friend and collaborator) Matt Stein (Method Man & Redman,
DMX, Jason Mraz, Bill Laswell, Blondie). The rest of the album brought in many
of Rock’s closest collaborators in Easy Star All-Stars, including
guitarist/vocalist Shelton Garner Jr. (who co-produced some of the songs),
keyboardist/vocalist Elenna Canlas (who also co-produced the title track, while
co-writing and performing on others), drummers Ivan Katz and Cliff Simpson, and
the horn section of Jennifer Hill, Buford O’Sullivan, and Matt Bauder.
Keyboardist Matt Goodwin – also a member of The Movement – sat in
on some sessions, while bassist Nate Edgar of John Brown’s Body and The
Nth Power, also laid down grooves. Easy Star All-Stars bassist Ras Droppa is a
featured vocalist and bassist on the track “It’s Not The
Same.” Other reggae veteran horn players, including Pam Fleming (Burning
Brass), Anant Pradhan, and Billy Aukstick also contributed. As you can see, Rock
really did call on her extended musical family to finish this labor of love.

Slow Burn is a stunning “debut” for Kirsty Rock. She is already at
work on new songs and looking forward to bringing this music on the road with
both ESA and on her own in the coming year. 

Tracklist:
1.01 - Kirsty Rock - Green Is (3:43)
1.02 - Kirsty Rock - She Glows (4:16)
1.03 - Kirsty Rock - L.E.O. (4:00)
1.04 - Kirsty Rock - Like Water (3:27)
1.05 - Kirsty Rock - It's Not the Same (3:23)
1.06 - Kirsty Rock - Slow Burn (4:04)
1.07 - Kirsty Rock - The Feeling (3:22)
1.08 - Kirsty Rock - Light It Up (3:34)

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