ARKAINGELLE - O'PEN (2008)

1 Run Come2 Attackin3 Rememba4 Yaddin a Da Hillz5 Burn6 Manifess Joy7 O' Pen8 Inna Manna9 Givin Tanx10 A chord in G ly11 Tek Ovah12 Royal Empress13 One Inna Milyon

Here is the debut album from Arkaingelle, an up-and-coming roots singer deeply inspired by rasta beliefs, hailing from Guyana who emigrated to the US in his teens. This new piece released in late March marks the meeting between the reggae scenes from Virgin Islands, United States and Guyana, a little country on the Caribbean coast of South America. Despite no Jamaican collaborations on O’Pen, it is conscious modern roots reggae for sure. The whole set is produced by the singer and multi instrumentalist Blaak Lung of Oakland (CA) based label Green Sphere, who already released albums by the female singer Malika Madremana -here on backing vocals- and Batch.

Across 13 tracks, the Rasta singer Arkaingelle delivers solid and conscious lyrics about slavery days and freedom (‘Rememba’) or corruption and injustice (‘Burn’, ‘O’Pen’, ‘Attacking’) over tough riddims played by All Star Virgin Islands musicians, including Midnite members.

O’Pen is a fresh release gathering spiritual, positive and smooth songs (‘Manifest Joy’, ‘Giving Tanx’, ‘Inna Manna’) and several heavy tunes (‘Yaddin A Da Hillz’, ‘Run Come’, ‘A Chord In G Ly’…), which proves Arkaingelle is a gifted promising vocalist with a energic flow over heavy V.I style riddims. Lovers of the captivating VI sound won’t be disapointed ; and If you’re tired of the gangsta ras ‘concept’, you will also probably appreciate this release.