Have a listen to this catchy-as-all-hell, beats-heavy track 'SO FLY' featuring Kevin Mark Trail from one of New Zealand’s most evolutionary and enduring acts, Sola Rosa.
With seven full-length Sola Rosa albums, three EPs, a handful of hits, countless collaborations and numerous world tours, it’s been a near 20-year labour of love for the man behind the music, MMF member Andrew Spraggon.
And although it’s punctuated with twists and turns in the form of constant change and innovation, one thing has remained the same – Spraggon’s steadfast commitment to making great albums that seamlessly blend a myriad of genres, from hip-hop and jazz, to neo-soul, latin and funk.
Now, the Auckland-based music-maker is poised to unveil the next steps in the Sola Rosa journey. It begins with the stonking beat-heavy track, ‘So Fly’ featuring British singer Kevin Mark Trail, who rose to prominence in the early 2000s working with The Streets.
The song, which Spraggon describes as having an “angular analog feel”, sits perfectly alongside the vibrant and eclectic Sola Rosa sound that fans have come to know and love. And yet, it pushes further into new musical territory. “The overall feel is an unusual one for me as a producer, but I wanted to make it have a retro kind of vibe. It’s pretty much a synth-laden production and heavy on the beats,” he says.
Written by Spraggon and Sola Rosa’s one-time guitarist Ben White, with additional keys later added by Michal Martyniuk, the track was originally created for the 2014 album Magnetics but it wasn’t finished. Trail then heard it over the 2015/2016 summer and wrote and recorded the vocals in one day.
Adding to the magic of ‘So Fly’ is the expert touch of Andy ‘Submariner’ Morton at Creative Orchard, known for his production and mix skills with the likes of Kiwi music icons like Fat Freddy’s Drop, Mark de Clive Lowe and Nathan Haines. And last but not least, mastering by Kelly Hibbert at Almachrome in Los Angeles, who’s worked with a lengthy list of who’s who in music, from Aloe Blacc, to J Dilla, Flying Lotus, Dam Funk and more.
It all makes for a kick-ass track that demands volume and is not only a sure-fire festival anthem but the kind of tune that has just what it takes to pack dancefloors across the globe.