After a wait of three years, reggae act Marcus Gad & Tribe have finally released their latest recording, “Ready For Battle.” The album is the fourth studio effort by the New Caledonian artist and his band, Tribe, who have been backing Gad since the 2017 album “Chanting.” The digital version of the album was released in North America on February 10th, 2023 and physical copies (double LP vinyl and CD) will be available from March 3rd in the region.
The album tackles recurring themes that Marcus Gad has explored in his music over the course of his young career, such as the importance of spiritual consciousness, deep love and reverence for nature, and the need for collective awakening to change our current way of living before it destroys us and the world. These topics have always been significant, but they have become even more crucial in our post-pandemic era. Through this album, Gad conveys a message that remains true to his guiding principle: rooted in reality while reaching towards the cosmos.
Although the album was written and recorded between 2018 and 2019, before the world was affected by the global health crisis, Marcus was already practicing what he preaches, striving to live consciously, and encouraging others to do the same. At the time, the songs he wrote for this album in many ways foreshadowed what was to come, but they remain just as relevant today: a call to reclaim our fundamental rights, which for many have become taken for granted. “Ready For Battle” proved to be prophetic, as we are now forced to defend our rights, our humanity, and our resources.
Marcus Gad reminds us that we must resist the manipulation of multinational corporations and complicit governments, who prioritize economic growth over all else, privatizing and taking control of essential resources like water, and genetically modifying the crops that feed humanity. He calls for battle, not with weapons, but with our spiritual, individual, and collective consciences, our will to remain free human beings, and our efforts to live in harmony with our environment. The 14 tracks of “Ready For Battle” serve as a call to solidarity, in opposition to the profit-driven, individualistic world that divides us and conquers us.
The album also embodies this collective spirit through its recording process, as all musicians played together in the studio in real-time, rather than through individual sessions and overdubs. This group effort in the studio leads to greater artistic collaboration, spontaneous changes in tempo, and a tighter overall sound, especially with a talented band like Tribe striving for unity in the sessions.
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Author: World Music Central News Room
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