Peace, unity and life.
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These are the messages seven-piece outfit Sol Nation strives to promote through its music.
Now, with the release of the band’s debut album, these themes will be more evident than ever before.
“Everybody has a journey and it’s about talking to the right people and I think with music, it does that,” the band’s lead vocalist Paulo Almeida said.
“Music is like a vehicle that drives a message.”
The debut album, entitled Melting Pot, is just that – a melting pot of sounds, styles, beats, and rhythms.
With each of its musicians coming from various backgrounds, Sol Nation masters everything from reggae, punk rock and samba, to soul, salsa, jazz and afro beats.
Almeida is at the band’s heart. Hailing from East Timor, his voice soars and weaves through the music in a mixture of English, Portuguese and Tetum.
He said it was difficult to describe the record as anything other than a melting pot.
“It is such a melting pot because every song is different to the next,” he said.
“It’s just such a mix of rhythms and beats and because the band is such a diverse group, you can imagine what the album is like.”
For many years, Sol Nation has been travelling the nation and taking its sounds to new audiences all over.
The band formed in 2007 and has since performed at various festivals including St Kilda Festival, Reggaetown Festival, the Sydney Road Street Party, the Canberra Multicultural festival, the Australasian World Music Expo, and Woodford Folk Fest.
Currently on the last leg of its Australian tour, these guys have so far covered thousands of miles of terrain.
“We already had a lot of the songs from the album ready but instead of releasing the album we put out a single and worked towards (our record),” Almeida said.
“We wanted to make sure the songs were good and ready to go.
“A lot of these songs have been played live and had a great response so we thought, you now what, it’s time to put out an album so that’s what we did.”
Sol Nation is known to have one of the most exuberant, colourful, intoxicating and exciting stage shows in Australia.
Featuring charisma, high-energy and a strong global conscience, their shows have been described as a must-see musical experience.
Almeida said he hoped the shows gave audiences an idea of what the band was all about.
“A lot of our songs come with a message but if you go and spread this message you need to put a nice beat behind it so it makes the message more interesting,” he said.
“It’s interesting because everybody keeps asking us, are you reggae? But we’re not a reggae band. We do have a reggae influence but we don’t only play that. We mix it with all different styles.”
Sol Nation will perform at Suttons House of Music on Friday, September 4 and at Theatre Royal on Saturday, September 5. For more information, visit solnation.com