Summer kicks off with the month of June and it’s a jam-packed month of new LP & EP releases. Band’s are getting into festival & tour mode and are excited to share new music while hitting the road. Lets take a look at the 11 new releases from 11 different artists that debut this month..
Of the 11 new releases dropping in June, 4 are EPs, leaving 7 brand new full length albums. I’d feel a bit redundant telling you Rebelution dropped a new album as that kind of goes without saying considering the album debuted had it’s best debut week ever. The month’s biggest surprise, was the out-of-nowhere album release from Trevor Hall. EPs were released from Ballyhoo!, Street Pharmacy and a debut release in the form of an EP by LIFE as well as Jo Mersa, son of Stephen Marley.
This scene has gotten HUGE and some releases tend to fall under our radar, so please, if there are any albums we missed for the month of June, drop them in the comments below or on our Facebook or Twitter.
Check out the Album Releases from prior months:
June 2014 Album Releases
Matisyahu – Akeda
Release Date: June 3rd
On June 3rd, Matisyahu celebrated the release of his fifth studio album, titled Akeda that was released on Akeda Records and Elm City Music. Matisyahu has admittedly kept the production in-house, recording in Brooklyn, using the talents of Studio G’s Joel Hamilton (Pretty Lights, Dub Trio) and allowing Stu Brooks to step up as producers. The album features 15 total tracks with guest appearances by Collie Buddz and Zion-I.
Said to be a more organic fusion of sounds and styles, the album has a traditional live, analog feel as well as featuring more modern electronic elements. As Matisyahu explains, “the vocal and musical styles are drawn from many places in order to create my current sound, which cannot be categorized very easily.”
Read more on the new album by clicking HERE!
You can pick up Akeda on iTunes by clicking HERE!
Gonzo – Red
Release Date: June 3rd
Gonzo, a Southern California based solo artist and the newest member of Tribal Seeds, released his sophomore solo album, RED, on Tuesday, June 3rd. The album features guest appearances by E.N Young, Koa ofi Inna Vsion, Pedro of True Press, along with Gonzo’s studio and backing band, Beyond I Sight. Complete with 9 total tracks, the album art was once again provided by Tommy Rocksit of Riverside, California.
“I named it ‘RED’ for a few reasons… I thought it was appropriate for the cover,” says Gonzo. “Also because Pablo Picasso went through a ‘Blue’ period. This is Gonzo’s ‘RED’ phase. A phase of love… Most of the tracks are love songs or about love making.”
Read more about the album by clicking HERE!
You can pick up Red on iTunes now, by clicking HERE!
Rebelution – Count Me In
Release Date: June 10th
Via their own label, 87 Music, in partnership with Easy Star Records, Rebelution‘s fourth studio album, ‘Count Me In’, was released on June 10th debuting at #14 on Billboard‘s Top 200 Albums chart. This is the second consecutive album to debut in the Top 15 and it’s the best selling debut ever! In addition, the album makes a Top 5 debut on Billboard’s Independent chart (#2), comes in at #4 on the Digital chart and marks the bands third successive release to bow at #1 on Billboard’s reggae chart.
Count Me In was recorded between September and December of 2013 in Miami at Inner Cirlce’s Circle House Studios and in Burbank, CA at Steakhouse Studios. The album features special guest appearances, one by Collie Buddz & Don Carlos.
Read more about the album by clicking HERE!
You can pick up Count Me In on iTunes now, by clicking HERE!
Cisco Adler – Coastin’
Release Date: June 10th
Cisco Adler’s new sophomore solo LP, Coastin’, dropped on Tuesday, June 10 via Bananabeat Records. The album includes 10 total tracks with special guest appearances courtesy of Matisyahu, Rome Ramirez & DJ Skinnie.
Adler & Matisyahu shot a music video for their song together, “Hypnotize,” in Topanga Canyon near Malibu, CA. With vivid detail, Cisco described the eerie house where scenes were shot that was out of a Grimm’s Fairy Tale, “it’s Hansel and Gretel gone wrong” but the song is “all about the silver lining.” The video is scheduled to be released in the next couple of weeks while Matisyahu and Adler are talking about a possible tour together in the fall of 2014.
Read more about the album by clicking HERE!
You can pick up Adler’s new album Coastin’ on iTunes now, by clicking HERE!
JoMersa – Comfortable EP
Release Date: June 10th
The next generation of Marley’s are putting out music! Son of Stephen Marley and Grandson of Bob Marley, young artist, JoMersa released his Debut EP Comfortable on June 10th via the family’s imprint Ghetto Youths International (GYI). His musical debut release includes 6 songs with a guest appearance by Jemere Morgan & Wayne Marshall.
Each of the EP’s riddims, except for “Bogus” which was produced by his uncle Damian Marley, were created by Jo, working alongside his father’s keyboard player, Llamar “Riff Raff” Brown, with Stephen Marley handling the final productions.
You can read more about the EP release by clicking HERE!
You can pick up JoMersa’s Comfortable EP on iTunes now, by clicking HERE!
Trevor Hall – Chapter of the Forest
Release Date: June 17th
Trevor Hall posted the announcement on Monday morning, June 16th via Facebook with the following post: “Dear Villagers, IN FULLNESS OF HEART, I know a lot of y’all have been asking when the new album comes out. Just wanted to let you know that it comes out….TOMORROW!”. That was the level of notice given to fans before the album dropped on Tuesday June 17th – Amazing. And it still debuted at #3 on the iTunes Singer/Songwriter chart and #17 on the iTunes Overall Albums chart.
The 12 songs on Chapter of the Forest were created during a yearlong sabbatical where Hall returned to his beloved India, Vermont, and Maine. Hall explains in his own words, “This album is inspired by simplicity, by the roots of life, and by the beauty that one finds in solitude and in nature. I am more excited than ever before due to the fact that this is the first record that I have done entirely on my own…purely from the heart.”
Read more about the album by clicking HERE!
You can pick up Chapter of the Forest on iTunes now, by clicking HERE!
Ballyhoo! – Halo EP
Release Date: June 17th
Ballyhoo! is at it again with the upcoming release of their 3 song EP titled Halo via their own Right Coast Records. It includes a remix, a cover & another song that was re-done. The band got to work with producer & musician, John Feldman of Goldfinger for their song “Halo”. You’ll hear the hooligans covering Bruno Mars with “The Lazy Song” and the final song is the original recording of “No Good”.While the EP only includes 3 songs, they’re 3 awesome songs.
You can read more about the EP by clicking HERE!
You can pick up the Halo EP on iTunes now, by clicking HERE!
LIFE – “R.U.D.W.N.? EP
Release Date: June 17th
If you’re wondering whatever happened to Tomorrows Bad Seeds, then look no further than LIFE. Their debut EP R.U.D.W.N.? dropped on June 17 via the groups own Urbantone Records. The EP features the uplifting sounds of LIFE backed by lots of soulful harmonies. Drummers Omar Hakim, Josh Freese, and Jose Padillas of Incubus also make an appearance on the debut EP.
It includes 5 total songs and lead singer Moi best explains the transition from Tomorrows Bad Seeds to Life: “The evolution of our music had taken us a bit outside the realm of reggae. But if you know our sound, you know that we have always continued to push the envelope and attempt to tie all the loose ends of music together, whether it be reggae, rock, punk, hip hop, R&B even ballads. We wanted to take a little time out to continue to write and develop our sound as a band and the music was coming out so different that instead of releasing these songs as Tomorrows Bad Seeds, which isn’t over it’s just dormant, Tomorrows Bad Seeds gave birth to LIFE!”
You can read more about the EP by clicking HERE!
You can pick up the R.U.D.W.N.? EP on iTunes now, by clicking HERE!
KBong – Hopes and Dreams
Release Date: June 17th
Kevin Bong, aka KBong & current keyboardist for Stick Figure has released his debut album titled Hopes and Dreams. The album includes 14 total tracks with guest appearances from a number of artists in the reggae community including Scott of Stick Figure, Hirie, Alific, Nolan Clark of Stranger, E.N Young of Tribal Seeds, Sam of John Brown’s Body, Todd Smith and more!
You can read more about the EP by clicking HERE!
You can pick up the Hopes and Dreams by clicking HERE!
Giraffe Aftermath – Space Echo Beach Scene
Release Date: June 18th
From Vancouver Canada comes reggae/dub/hip hop group Giraffe Aftermath with their 3rd studio album that dropped June 18th, titled Space Echo Beach Scene. The album includes 12 total tracks & mixed by Craig “Dubfader” Welsch (10ft. Ganja Plant, JBB, Slightly Stoopid). The cover art was designed by Jimmy Ovadia from Ocean Beach, CA
Luke de Villiers explains, “I’m really proud of what we’ve created. The horns inject so much life into the music, and we found a way to capture the essence and energy of roots reggae without limiting our creativity. We were really excited to work with Craig on this album. He brings a subtle touch on the dub side of things that adds tons of color without taking away from the songs. He uses only vintage analog gear too so the sound, the tone of the record is really natural.”
You can pick up Space Echo Beach Scene on CDBaby by clicking HERE!
Street Pharmacy – Pharmanomics EP
Release Date: June 24th
On June 24th, Canada’s Street Pharmacy will release their new Pharmanomics EP, which is the first installment to a 2 part release. The second installment will be released on October 16, 2014. The EP includes 6 total tracks and the primary songwriter-vocalist, Ryan Guay, collaborates with fellow producers Will Marr & John Doherty (illScarlett, Trouble & Daughter), Ian Blackwood (The Artist Life, Jersey), Adam Tune (Keys N Krates) and James Robertson (Skye Sweetnam, Down With Webster) to create a unique blend of genre bending reggae, pop, rock, folk and hip hop.
You can pick up the Pharmanonics EP on iTunes by clicking HERE!
Article By: Mike Patti
