New Kingston – Kingston City
- Written by Rob Crozier
A family music business that is based in Brooklyn is embarking on creating modern reggae? Maybe not the most obvious surroundings, but New Kingston are not your typical reggae band.
Firstly, the band is a family, as it’s made up of brothers Stephen Suckarie, Courtney Panton Jnr and Tahir Panton. Secondly, they are mentored by their father Courtney Panton Snr, who also doubles up as the bass player on the album. Thirdly, as the father is a veteran of the reggae scene, he has used his Jamaican connections from back in the day to sign up a host of collaborators to join his sons on their new album Kingston City.
So armed with a new album and with their father’s watchful gaze, New Kingston announce their arrival. The brothers waste no time in demonstrating their ability to construct laid back yet powerful reggae. The family stay true to the traditions of Jamaican music as they combine the old school 1970s roots reggae vocals alongside the new breed of conscious roots dancehall which is currently powering the whole reggae scene forward. The record also has plenty of wonderful soulful vocal melodies and is everything you’d expect from a modern reggae album, regardless of where the artists hail from or where it's been recorded.
Tracks such as ‘Mystery Babylon’ featuring Madd T-Ray are positive downtempo numbers, and feature the signature of all great reggae tunes, that of a pulsing bassline. The collaborations continue throughout the album, with Hawaiian singer Kimie Miner stepping into the family circle on ‘You Are Mine’; she brings wonderful sweet melodies to accompany the brothers’ harmonies.
However, the stand out appearance and best track of the album has to be the ‘Protect Me’, on which the Grammy-nominated reggae vocal group The Wailing Souls join to create an authentic roots vibe. The vocals are complimented superbly by piercing horn licks and shimmering percussion. The laid back nature of the track allows you to slip into a wonderfully relaxing world; you can almost hear the Caribbean waves lapping at your feet.
As if there were not enough collaborations… the late, great reggae legend Sugar Minott layers vocals on ‘Certain Girls’, it’s evident that Dad must have pulled a few strings to get him to appear on the album. The fact that he did speaks volumes of New Kingston’s place in the international reggae scene.
The album closes with ‘Conquer Dem’, featuring another legendary artist in Sister Carol, renowned for her signature vocal style. Carol also moved to New York when she was a teenager, and her presence in the thriving New York reggae scene has now been echoed by New Kingston.
The album is as diverse as reggae can be; it brings together rocksteady, dancehall and reggae. It is easy to see why the band is already creating a big noise in The Big Apple. With a strong foundation and regular airplay on UK and Jamaican radio shows, alongside a big touring schedule, this year promises to be a hugely important year for the Brooklyn boys.
Kingston City is available from amazon.