Get It Together

A 11 track soul album (50m 11s) — released October 24th 2011 on Melting Pot Music

Kiwi soul is on the rise and we are most happy to welcome Sola Rosa as our latest signing from down under. Lead by musical mastermind Andrew Spraggon, Sola Rosa is already a household name in their native country New Zealand. Their unique blend of soul, reggae, hip-hop and whatnot is modern roots music at its best. New Zealand is blessed with exceptional musical talent – be it Fat Freddy's Drop, The Black Seeds, Electric Wire Hustle, or Ladi6. Keeping in mind that the total population of the south pacific island is no more than 4.5 million people, the sheer amount of quality music becomes even more impressive. Sola Rosa started out as a one-man project around 2000 and grew into one of New Zealand's most deadly live collectives. "Get It Together" marks the band's first international album release and, as the title suggests, they're clearly in for something big. Super crisp productions meet equally catchy songwriting with arrangements that go from string quartetts to wobbly basslines to El Barrio and back again. While mic duties are handled by an international ensemble of acclaimed singers, chatters and MC's. Spikey Tee (London/Melbourne): The London born and Melbourne based singer and MC is a former member of seminal UK rap group Sindecut and a long time affiliate of Jah Wobble (Public Image Limited, Holger Czukay, The Orb, Björk). He has worked with Mr. Scruff, Rebel MC, Bomb The Bass, Morcheeba and Marcus Intalex. For Sola Rosa, Spikey takes control over the reggae vibes. Iva Lamkum (Wellington): The first lady of kiwi soul. Only 23 years of age, the Wellington based songstress with roots in Samoa and China has voiced Sola Rosa's most successful single "Turn Around", which topped the New Zealand iTunes charts. Bajka (Berlin): The Berlin resident and daughter of world music pioneer Uve Müllrich (Dissidenten, Embryo) was born in India and raised in Portugal and South Africa. One of the most popular singers/spoken word artists of now, Bajka has lend her voice to artists such as Bonobo, Poets of Rhythm or Radio Citizen. Bajka appears twice on "Get It Together". Serocee (London/Birmingham). Born in Birmingham and raised in Kingston, JA, Serocee quickly became one of the best known british MC's. With strong vocal abilites and a delivery paying hommage to his dancehall upbringing, Serocee refines every production, be it straight UK hip-hop, grime or dance tunes of names such as Zed Bias, MJ Cole or Toddla T. Facts: "Get It Together" was awarded a gold record in New Zealand - topping the independent NZ album charts for more than 4 month, number 15 on NZ album charts (top 30 for 125 weeks). The first single "Turn Around" topped the NZ iTunes charts. "Turn Around" appears in the current tv advertisement for Molsen Beer in Canada. The video clip for "Turn Around" gained over over 120.000 clips on YouTube. Tour: Sola Rosa are touring Europe from Oct 24. - Nov 22. Bio: Since Andrew Spraggon's first formative releases as Sola Rosa at the turn of the 21st century, he's steadily built a reputation for his deft synthesis of styles and quiet disregard for the niceties of genre boundaries. With a catch-all sound encompassing the best of hip hop, reggae, jazz, latin, soul and funk, all six of Sola Rosa's critically acclaimed albums are a potent distillation of the music that's influenced Spraggon over the course of his decade long career as a musician and producer. From a humble, self-released one man project to a decidedly deadly live collective, Sola Rosa has grown from a national treasure into an act of international repute. While Sola Rosa's first three albums undoubtedly cast Spraggon as one of New Zealand's finest purveyors of downbeat-electronica – something that was backed up by a raft of accolades including a NZ Music Award for 2001's Solarized, and b-net awards for 2000's Entrance To Skyway and 2003's Haunted Out-takes – his fourth long player, 2005s Moves On, saw a change in tact. Not content to simply stay within the bounds of any one genre, Spraggon expanded the Sola Rosa sound, incorporating more live instrumentation and adding a healthy dollop of funk, soul and reggae to an already considerable list influences. The new direction not only reinvigorated the Rosa sound, but earned Spraggon another nomination for Best Dance/Electronic album at the 2006 NZ Music Awards. Despite the rapturous reception that all six of Sola Rosa's releases have garnered, it's Spraggon's latest album, Get It Together, which has so successfully captured the breadth of his vision and piqued the most interest from record labels, artists and fans the world over. Like its predecessor, Moves On, Get It Together builds on a more performance based template than Sola Rosa' early work, featuring a full band. It's also Sola Rosa's most ambitious to date, something which can largely be attributed to the talented musical cast Spraggon surrounded himself with over the course of the album's recording. Long-term Sola Rosa collaborators Matt Short (bass), Ben White (Guitar), and Will Scott (drums) were joined by vocalists Spikey Tee (best known for his work with Jah Wobble, Mr Scruff, and Bomb The Bass), UK MC Serocee, German-based poet and singer Bajka, and Wellington songstress Iva Lamkum. Beyond the outstanding vocal collaborations a bevy of New Zealand's most talented musicians have lent their hand on the album as well – Julian Dyne, Scratch 22, James Duncan, Victoria Kelly and Miguel Fuentes to name a few. As a result, it's no surprise that Get It Together has been so well received in New Zealand, chalking up the number one spot on iTunes and the Independent NZ Music Album Chart (where it stayed for four months), and reaching number 15 on the NZ Album Chart – all on the way to achieving Gold status. If that wasn't enough, Spraggon was nominated for Best Producer at the 2009 Vodafone NZ Music Awards, Get It Together was nominated for Best Electronica Album, and the album's second single, 'Turn Around', was nominated for Best Video. Perhaps most tellingly though, the success of Get It Together has spawned a remix album, Get It Together: The Remixes, which features the likes The Nextmen, DJ Vadim, Yes King, TM Juke and J Star reworking Sola Rosa originals for maximum dance floor effect. Along with attracting a who's who of international producers to remix the album, Get It Together's heady mix of hybrid funk and tough beats has caught the attention of various labels throughout Europe. Lead single 'Del Ray' has been licensed for release through Sony BMG Germany for its Exotic Lounge Sessions compilation, and DJ Ease of Nightmares On Wax selected 'Del Ray' for his edition of Stereo Deluxe's Coming Home series. This adds to an already impressive list of releases through revered global labels like Ministry Of Sound, Guidance, Different Drummer and Satellite K. Sola Rosa is slowly but surely spreading from their South-Pacific roots, letting the world in on what Kiwi music-lovers have been blessed with for years.
  • Kudos happily ship all items worldwide.
  • Shipping costs and delivery times are available here.
  • UK items are sent tracked as standard at no extra cost.
  • We aim to dispatch orders placed before 2pm on the same day.
  • We are unable to ship orders on weekends or Bank Holidays.
  • If you purchase a pre-order item amongst an order of in-stock releases, we will typically hold your order until all items are in ready to send.
  • Although we use all reasonable means to ensure that your order is delivered within a specified time, we cannot accept any responsibility for late deliveries due to circumstances outside of our control. We will do our best to inform you of any unexpected delay.