American reggae phenomenon SOJA
Reggae stars SOJA (Soldiers Of Jah Army) are going to play Pohoda 2018. The eight-member band coming from the capital of the United States have 2 Grammy nominations, 7 million followers on social networks and more than 300 million views on YouTube under their belt. On October 27, they released their brand new album Poetry in Motion, which, like its 3 predecessors, tops the Billboard Reggae Album Chart. In seven months, visitors at the 22nd Pohoda edition will dance to their songs.
07. December 2017
Reggae: a genre that belongs to Jamaica and the surrounding islands in the Caribbean. This is a stereotype that a group of high school friends started to break in one of the basements located near the capital of the United States almost 20 years ago. At the very beginning, there was a Bob Marley tape that front man Jacob Hemphill’s cousins brought to his attention. He was also influenced by his life in the capital of Liberia where his dad worked for IMF. After his return from Africa, he met bass player Bob Jefferson. They then met drummer Ryan Berty, keyboardist Patrick O'Shea and percussionist Ken Brownell in high school. The band recorded their first pieces already back in 1998. Two years later, they released EP titled SOJA and, in 2002, their debut album Peace in a Time of War (they later released a dub version of the album as well).
Their first noticeable success came with album Get Wiser (2006), which debuted in The Top 10 Reggae Albums on iTunes and has remained in the top 100 since its release. In 2008, they released an amazing live album featuring performances that took place in various locations across Hawaii. What followed was album Born in Babylon, which Allmusic named one of the best US albums of the year. Strength to Survive was their first album to top the Billboard Reggae Album Chart and their next album, Amid the Noise and Haste, ranked #1 in the Chart as well. This album features reggae stars such as Damian Marley; it made it to the Top 20 best-selling albums in the United States and earned the band their first Grammy nomination. Their live recording SOJA: Live in Virginia saw a similar success.
On October 27th, they released their latest album Poetry in Motion. With this album, they go back to their music roots and high school times during which they recorded in the basement. After many albums recorded with various producers, this one was made by the band themselves. Eight musicians went to the recording studio, where they gradually came up with new ideas and put them all together. In the last decade, SOJA played 120 concerts a year on average, which probably is the best proof of their music goal to “get people to fall back in love with life again.” Their summer songs can warm you up already today. At the beginning of July, they will play them live at Pohoda 2018.