Kumar ADD

Review

Album Review: Kumar meets The 18th Parallel - Tales Of Reality

10/18/2024

by Gardy Stein

In a time where most of us would rather flee the grim realities of this world, singer Kumar teams up with the band The 18^th Parallel to deliver an album entitled Tales Of Reality. Instead of feeding the omnipresent doom & gloom narrative, however, this musical masterpiece is a beautiful reminder of what really matters in life: faith, love, unity, knowledge, endurance and patience. 

A joint venture of Switzerland’s Fruits Records and US-based Easy Star Records (their first!), the release is the logical continuation of a collaboration between Kumar and Fruits Records that started back in 2016 and had resulted in three successful singles so far. The six tracks on Tales Of Reality were recorded at Geneva’s Bridge Studio by Léo Marin and Mathias Liengme, who have blessed the world with the phenomenal album Roots Architects earlier this year. They have again, for this oeuvre, assembled a whole orchestra of talented instrumentalists, including Antonin Chatelain (drums), Stan Breynaert (guitar), Stuf Addis and Quentin Stern (bass), Jil Addis (rhodes & synth), Solal Excoffier (guitar), Loïc Moret (percussion) and Michael Pellegrini (tenor sax), while Léo is heard on guitar and Mathias on piano, glockenspiel and percussion.

“Salvation lasting, with Jah love always forgiving, open up your hearts, receive him, and do the best that you can…” Salvation is a perfect opening, rolling smoothly from your speakers in warm, earthy tones, with special highlights added by glockenspiel, bass flute (played by Claude “Jah See” Jordan) and Maria Smith on backing vocals. For those who remember Kumar as lead singer of Raging Fyah, it might bring back that special vibe – a powerful voice finding the exact right words and harmonies for the chords provided by the musicians!

The subsequent World Wide Love was the first single out and has been making waves on stations around the world ever since. Its infectious, bubbling beat, the catchy bright trumpet line provided by Alexandre Schneiter, coupled with Kumar’s cordial vocals and the unambiguous message, make it my personal favorite. It clearly speaks out against guns and bombs, suggesting that “we need world wide love, and natty dready bring it come!”

Starting with an impressive drumroll, Clean Up Your House sits on a driving, almost steppa-like riddim that is rich in drums, percussions, claviers and trombone (played by Anthony Dietrich Buclin). The lyrics focus on the need for self-reflection (in order to overcome greed and envy) as well as unification for us humans to progress. Continuing this uptempo vibe, Things We Once Knew comes as extended mix with the full brass section, while Never Give Up is slightly slower, featuring a soothing flute once more. It urges us in mantra-like repetition to “never give up, never lose hope”, and I can affirm that you will feel better by just singing along, loudly! The alum then closes with Everything Takes Time, a disco-themed tune that showcases Kumar’s vocal versatility and might have played an important role in inspiring the artwork by Mister Burton Design which evokes a certain ‘70s aesthetic.

Tippy I and Jah David of the prestigious Zion I Kings mixed the whole album and also provided wonderfully organic dubs for five of the tracks from their Holy Mountain Studio in St. Croix. Throughout the release, you can hear the care and diligence of everyone involved in its creation, a pleasant counterbalance to the digital productions often cobbled together hastily that flood streaming sites nowadays. Tales of Reality is roots rock reggae at its finest, “a tribute to the golden age of Jamaican roots music done in a modern way”, as the press release informs us, and a must-have for lovers of the genre.

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