Groundation is back. With The Next Generation the Californian group continues to move forward and transmit its message of universal peace. With albums like Each One Teach One, Here I Am or A Miracle, Groundation has established itself as a strong element of the reggae scene, a must whose latest album is a proof of its talent.
A completely overhauled group
In 2015 it's the drama… Groundation breaks up. The original and founding members of the group are no longer in the game. Paul Spina, Ryan Newman and the other members of Groundation stop the adventure. However, Harrison Stafford, the leader so recognizable thanks to his particular singing confirms the release of an album in September 2018. He formed a new team with Will Blades on guitar, Isaiah Palmer on bass and Jake Shandling on drums. In short Groundation will be reborn from its ashes but we already regret the initial group created in 1998.
But ultimately the vibe remains the same and Groundation does not lose the hand, or rather the ear. The Next Generation, which perhaps bears this title to symbolize this passing of the baton between the old and the new team, is a very successful album. The identifiable style of Groundation is still very present, again influenced by Jazz, offering new superb roots instrues that are no exception to the rule. But in addition to the classic effects of the group: the throbbing instrues, the repetitive skank that moves the head, and the superb way of Harrison Stafford, the group offers some superb musical lurches. Groundation lets go and allows the musicians, especially the drummer, more energetic than the old one, to offer some superb samples. The band, sometimes moves away from what it knows how to do to open up to an orderly musical madness but more lively than the classic Groundation.
