ToeJam: ‘Musical Soldier’ – Like a ray of reggae sunshine to your ears!

ToeJam is a producer from London, who produces everything from home, and then working with various singers on the vocals. He released an EP in 2014 called “DubJam”, and a single in 2015 called “Wasted Soul”. ToeJam brings many styles into his music, which consists mainly of Dub, Reggae, Electro and Soul. His latest single ‘Musical Soldier’ is out on Spoons Records in Paris.

‘Musical Soldier’ is features Zack Woolfson on vocals and Alessandro La Barbera on guitar. The track was Mixed and Mastered by Blanka at Kasablanka Mastering. This recording makes me wistful for the days when razor-sharp super tight rhythm sections, wonderful harmonies, conscious lyrics and good melodies were standard fare in Jamaican music. Sadly, automation and dancehall simplicity have eaten the music. Luckily ToeJam gives us some of that magic back with an authentic-sounding production. Here he creates a dense, complex and mind-blowing musical backdrop for Woolfson’s haunting voice.

This is some seriously classic roots, people! The fun starts with the powerful horn opening, and then steps forward without ever letting go. ‘Musical Soldier’ is breathtaking if you are a Reggae or Dub aficionado – the first time I heard it, I couldn’t believe this genre of song could still be done this convincingly in the ‘technological era’. Musically, ToeJam keeps the track at a fierce boil throughout, threatening to incinerate your iPod with a well-layered arrangement.

Only a handful of times in my life have I listened to a song for the first time and felt I already knew it by heart. This happened with ‘Musical Soldier’. Like a ray of sunshine to your ears, this track will shine right through to your soul and you will find yourself trying to sing every word and shaking your hips to this music.

No doubt ToeJam knows how to jam like a Jamaican with this production and Alessandro La Barbera’s guitar brings just the right strum and tone to match Zack Woolson’s raspy Rastafarian vocal delivery. This rhythmic blend of earthy organic sounding instrumentation and soulful vocals makes the whole package highly irresistible.

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