Pablo Anthony - New Day (2017)

PABLO ANTHONY
Pablo Anthony (aka Pablo Antonio) hails from the Paris suburbs where he was born in 1988. His mother is a guitar player and his father is a Chilean political refugee, who raised him to be a good human being with a rebellious spirit and love for the Latin culture. He discovered the Paris reggae scene through the activities of his brother and already in 2004 he founded a band called Vagasound. In 2010 he founded a record label and with Don Obidaya and Elies Ene he formed the vocal and acoustic trio IBY (Irie Blessed Youth). The Small Axe Band was his next project, a group of seasoned musicians. On the other hand he was active as a solo artist. He issued his first solo project in 2012, the EP “Black Soul”. Performing throughout Europe he became known as one of Europe’s most promising reggae artists and this year saw the release of his album “New Day”.

PABLO ANTHONY – NEW DAY
The impressive 16 track album offers 13 vocal tracks and three dub outings. Musicians here are Hugo Sarton on drums, Lucas Veillet on bass, Martin Grenier on guitar, Jean-Baptiste Gentil on keyboards and arrangements, Alexandre Perrout en second keyboard arranger, Indy Eka and Nayeli to the choirs. The selection is a mix of lovers tunes and rootical tracks, most of them (except “I Really Love You”, which happens to be a perfect do-over of Dee Dee Sharp’s mid 60s soul hit) written by Pablo Anthony. His soulful, smooth and yet powerful vocal delivery makes it a treat to spin the album from beginning to end!

COMBINATIONS
He lets us know that “Jah love is real… a new day, a new life… since you came into my world” on the opener “New Day”, a gospel styled song about hope for the future. On the combi track “U.N.I.T.Y.” he teams up with King Lorenzo, the talented singer from St Ann, Jamaica. And you will find more combinations on this album. Ilements steps up on “Ruff Time” for some dancehall injections. This sufferers track is one of our favourite tunes here. Guinean born reggae star Lyricson (check out the review of his current album ‘Revolution Time Again“), joins him on the balladesque “Real Friends”. The decent (though with an annoying guitar solo) one drop song “Jah Will Never Down” expresses his 100% faith in Jah.

KILLER TUNE
We love the vibes on “Chant”. If you’re into Nyabinghi styled reggae, check out this one and don’t forget the dub version of this tune! Some really sweet vibes are being delivered with the lovers tune “I Really Love You”, perhaps a little too sweet for hardcore reggae adepts. The mood stays the same on “In My Arms”, a rich orchestrated song, which isn’t our cup of tea. The good vibes return with “Cyan Stop Me” as he sings about being a soldier in Jah Army. We kept spinning the killer tune “Guidance”, a tune that grabs you instantly! “This World” features attractive dub snippets and sees Pablo inna dancehall style. The solid dubs at the end are by Amir el Sawah.

Tracklist:
01. Pablo Anthony - New Day
02. Pablo Anthony Ft King Lorenzo - U.N.I.T.Y. Ft. King Lorenzo
03. Pablo Anthony - Jah Will Never Let Us Down
04. Pablo Anthony - Chant
05. Pablo Anthony - This World
06. Pablo Anthony Ft Ilements - Ruff Time Ft. Ilements
07. Pablo Anthony - In What Kind Of World
08. Pablo Anthony - Guidance
09. Pablo Anthony - I Really Love You
10. Pablo Anthony - In My Arms
11. Pablo Anthony Ft Lyricson - Real Friends Ft.Lyricson
12. Pablo Anthony - Cyan Stop Me (Remix Album)
13. Pablo Anthony - Highest Meditation
14. Pablo Anthony - Highest Meditation Dub
15. Pablo Anthony - Guidance Dub
16. Pablo Anthony - Chant Dub