New Zealand is an ideal nesting ground for some of the reggae genre’s most eclectic and diversified sounds with The Black Seeds, Katchafire, Fat Freddy’s Drop and House of Shem all calling New Zealand home. KORA is another band making noise amongst the Kiwis.
KORA is a five-piece band, consisting of four brothers forming from the “Bay of Plenty” region of Whakatane, Aotearoa (New Zealand) back in 2003. The band then released their self-titled KORA album on October 22nd, 2007, consisting of 14 tracks filled with funky reggae with three and four part vocal harmonies laid over a powerhouse rhythm section. After KORA released their debut album, instantly the record shot straight to the top of the Official New Zealand Charts debuting in the # 1 slot, and has now reached double platinum sales.
Now, nearly five years later, the five-piece collective that seamlessly mixes funk, reggae, rock, metal, hip-hop, dubstep and plenty of electrically infused rhythms, KORA is set to release Light Years on October 26th, 2012. The upcoming album, Light Years will be more of the same musical melting pot from KORA, but shading closer to the electronic and dubstep side of reggae, rather than traditional roots-reggae. Nonetheless, with KORA’s track record after their debut album, Light Years is more than worthy of a few spins to grab your attention.
If you picked up The Pier’s Pacific Island Sampler in 2011, you might remember the songs “On My Mind” and “Skankenstein” from the sampler. Both songs are musical representations of the style KORA exudes from their music. Check out below for the track listing for KORA’s NEW album Light Years.
Track Listing:
1.) Little Star
2.) Last Generation
3.) Story Ain’t Over
4.) Dream Life
5.) Love In The Shadows
6.) Take You Down
7.) Hit The Wall
8.) Drop Dead Killer
9.) Bad Thing
10.) Galaxy Express
11.) Bring The Sun
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Article By: Kris Siuta
Watch the music video for KORA’s single “Story Ain’t Over”