Cornerstone Roots Brief History
Cornerstone Roots are an enduring entity within the New Zealand music industry. From their humble beginnings in Raglan, to the revered and respected band they are today. The band posses a list of admirable
achievement’s coupled with the fact they have played along side some of the biggest named reggae artist’s in the world. The band has remained loyal to their beliefs and their love of true grass root’s reggae music.
The band was formed in 2001 after a session at the infamous Raglan Musician’s Club, and consisted of a 3-piece outfit. They quickly developed a strong local following with many of their early show’s being filmed and recorded by fans. This prompted the band to record their first EP “One Fine Day” and proceeded to tour provincial New Zealand where the café’s were crammed and live show’s intense.
The following year they recorded their debut album “Soul Revolution” that was described by reviewers as “brilliant” and “impressive”. The album was recorded in Wellington with engineer Lee Prebble at Surgery Studio’s, where the rhythm tracks were recorded live in one weekend. The album release was complimented with a 20-date tour of the country, and climaxed at the Wellington Town Hall supporting powerhouse rhythm section Sly n Robbie.
2004 saw the band cross the Tasman 8 times with the release of the “Forward Movement” EP, which was nominated for best root’s bnet release the following year. Veteran Studio One DJ Rankin Joe also featured over cut’s off the EP. These remix track’s are still to be released sometime in the future.
Cornerstone Roots have supported such heavyweight reggae acts as Burning Spear, Toots and the Maytals, Sly n Robbie with Michael Rose, Jimmy Cliff, Lee Scratch Perry, Mad Professor, and very recently supported The Original Wailers from the ionic and legendary Bob Marley and The Wailers fame.
In 2007 the band released their long awaited and much anticipated second album “Free Yourself” which quickly found its way into the Top Ten Independent releases, and was in the Top Ten Indie Album sale’s for that year. The band has continued to gain many fans not only in Australasia but also throughout the world.
October 23 [12:00 EDT] -- There's more to Keith Richards than the Rolling Stones.
The guitarist has a new album due out this week called "Wingless Angels,"which features a style of roots reggae known as "nyabingi." The style combines African hand drumming with chanted hymns and spirituals.
Justin Hines, of the great reggae vocal group The Dominos, is a member of "Wingless Angels," which Richards recorded two years ago in the hills behind his home in Jamaica. The project began when Richards bought his house there 20 years ago, and some of the instruments on the album took just as long to mature.
"The original drums fell apart or got sold for various reasons, probably reasons we don't need to know about, so I had a new set made twenty years ago," Keith told MTV News.
"The guy who made them said, 'These are really good drums. I made the best set, I think, that I've ever made.' And he said, 'But they won't sound good for twenty years.' I cut this record in '95 and the drums were made in '75, and he was right on the dot."
You can learn all about nyabingi, not to mention the entire history of reggae in an informative new book, "Reggae: A Rough Guide." In it, you'll find everything from ska to dancehall, from Bob Marley to Augustus Pablo.
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1433766/19971023/rolling_stones.jhtml
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