By Liam Monaghan
Straight out of Dominica, Oriel Barry projects his music! Growing up, he was part of a drum band and was an active member of his school and church choir. Having experimented with the sounds of music his first serious involvement occurred when he migrated to Pittsburgh Pa and formed the sound system vybz Machine with friends in 2005. Oriel quickly settled in and earned his right as a popular club Dj, talented Studio Engineer and is among the best Graphic Designers in the region. This July 2nd ORIel Premiered his 2 EP’s here on World A Reggae with An Unprecedented, 24 Hours preview of his “Confidence 2.0″ and “Love SoulJah” EP’s
Love Souljah
Cruise
Relaxing and easing us into the album Cruise, has undertones of a Lovers Rock in a slow style. As a sucker for Basslines this song is has the bass lines that carries the song underneath Oriels soulful voice. With the romantic tones, Love Souljah is set up to be a nice EP
Special
Instantly keys bring us in to this song, which makes me with out soul/gospel, which is refreshing as a lot of new reggae music has a lot of emphasis on bass and sound fx. Oriels voice is extremely husky and is perfect for creating romantic/chilled vibes.
Get Me High
Female vocals work well in contrast with Oriels voice, Female voices can accompany show different sides to a males voice a prime example being Nadine Sutherland & Buju Banton. Oriel unleashes his ability to Rap in a Kabaka Pyramid style delivery on this recording bringing something new to the EP, one of the favorites on this EP.
Love Souljah
Album title track Love Souljah takes us to nearer to the finish line of this EP. A Pop/R&B style beat for this one, “killer killer killer, but im a love Souljah” echoes through the record, which is actually quite serious. A nice listen.
Those Days
To close the EP, another modern take on Reggae/R&B. What’s great about this EP is the clear fusion of Caribbean sounds and the use of Spanish guitar and the range of instruments. Musically there is not too much happening but the focus is in the words of the EP and this is summed up in ‘Those Days’ a basic beat but powerful and thought out lyrics finish the EE nicely!
Confidence 2.0
Confidence
Big beats and a guitar ring out to kick off the EP, an injection of attitude from Love Souljah maybe. Oriels suttle tones echo out lyrics of Love and relationships. I really like the harmonies in this track. A chilled track to kickstart the EP.
Wake Up
A powerful political record, with news samples of issues. “when I was a child the world was such a beautiful place” is a stand out lyric for me. That lyric alone made me think about how carefree and innocent a child is. Surreal. A insightful record.
Down Where I Live
Another simple song from Oriel, chilled guitar strumming, which will induce you into a foot tap or head bop, is apparent throughout the record. More insightful and thought-out lyrics from Oriel set the tone for the EP, no one can say that Oriels songs are not well produced and are mondain.
Give Thanks
Double Bass! Give Thanks is a prime example of what I mentioned earlier on about fusing sounds. This is no stand-alone typical reggae riddims. There are hints of blues in this riddim in the way the music is arranged. Another chilled easy listening record.
Confidence Dubstyle
I was excited to see the word DubStyle, Oriels take on Dubbing. Which is GREAT! Not a typical Jamaican style dub you’ll get out of Water House but cleverly crafted and stripped back to give the EP a completely different sound which was needed. Oriels Voice is as strong and consistent as it always has been and is a good way to close the EP.
