Beauty In The Silence

Description

Charismatic bandleader Jacob Hemphill writes SOJAs lyrics as an attempt to find a path to unity in the world. ¬ NPR

SOJA has cultivated a dedicated global fanbase with their socially conscious lyrics, catchy sound and a ceaseless touring schedule. MTV

Contemporary reggae with a forthright social conscience. Billboard

Over the course of their near-20-year career, SOJA has amassed a loyal following for their social justice-minded brand of roots reggae. USA Today

The transcendental appeal of SOJA has as much to do with their simply and traditionally constructed reggae tunes as it does with their universally appealing messages of hope and peace. Relix

SOJA continues to grow musically with each subsequent effort and the bands message remains clear.
Live For Live Music

NEW YORK, NY July 1, 2021 SOJA, the internationally acclaimed, two-time GRAMMY-nominated eight-piece from Washington D.C., will release their highly anticipated new album, Beauty In The Silence their first in four years on September 24th via ATO Records (pre-order available now, and full track listing can be found below). PRESS HERE to listen to their new single Press Rewind ft. Collie Buddz and J Boog, which instantly sets the albums mood of soulful celebration; a track that first took form late one night on Buddz tour bus and is a gloriously radiant tribute to how music enlightens and sustains us. When we first fell in love with this band, we were kids, says frontman Jacob Hemphill. We worked our other jobs. In a band, if youre lucky, music eventually becomes your real job. While thats amazing, if youre not careful, it becomes more job than awesome. Thats when you gotta press rewind and remember why you fell in love, and why youre still in love, with music. I was on Buddz bus after a show we did, and he was playing beats he made. Hes a dope producer. He got to this riddim and I freaked out and said wait, dude pause it. He paused it for like 30 seconds and I wrote the hook, then he started it over and I sang it. It was on after that.

Late last month, the band released the albums first single, Something To Believe In ft. Stick Figure which racked up over 2.3 million streams across DSPs in the first weeks since its debut.

Fueled by the sheer force of the bands connection and chemistry, Beauty in the Silence makes for a much-needed antidote to fractured times, infusing so much warmth and wisdom and unstoppable joy into each and every track. Like 2014s acclaimed Amid the Noise and Haste (a GRAMMY nominee for Best Reggae Album), the title to Beauty in the Silence references the opening lines of Max Ehrmanns beloved poem Desiderata: Go placidly amid the noise and haste and remember what peace there may be in silence. My dad had that poem memorized, and before Id go out on tour hed sort of whisper it in my ear, said Hemphill. To me its a reminder of what we lose when we get caught up in the distractions all around us. You get so used to life being loud and fast and goal-oriented, but then you go out in nature and hear the silence and realize, Damn, I got tricked. Life doesnt have to be all go, go, go. The real key to life is in being still.

SOJA deliberately took their time in creating Beauty in the Silence as they explored new sonic terrainrecording in such iconic spots as Miamis Circle House Studios and Dave Matthews Bands Haunted Hollow, and teaming up with producers like Niko Marzouca (Bob Marley, Pharrell, Rick Ross, A AP Rocky), Mariano Aponte, and Johnny Cosmicthe band eventually phased into working remotely as stay-at-home orders set in across the country. In that process, lead guitarist Trevor Young (formerly SOJAs guitar tech) took on a much greater role in the bands creative direction, co-producing alongside Hemphill and carefully shaping the albums hypnotic sound.

I really love that this record is a mix of all of us together in a room and all of us far apart, said Hemphill. Its something that Id love to keep doing in the future: lets get together, lets get the vibe and the groove, and then lets go off into our own worlds and discover whats there. SOJA deepens that communal spirit by collaborating with some of the biggest names from all corners of the reggae world including: UB40, Slightly Stoopid, Stick Figure, Dirty Heads, Rebelution, Common Kings, Mihali, Nanpa Basico, Eli Mac and more. And while each artist brings their own distinct sensibilities to the mix, all of the guest musicians are deeply aligned with the bands mission of uplifting the masses.