SOJA (Soldiers of Jah Army) is an American reggae band headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, that has won Grammy awards. Their music is currently produced under ATO Records, and they were formed in 1997. SOJA – Live in Hawaii is one of the many singles, albums, and DVDs issued by the eight-member band. Born in Babylon, their third full-length album, reached #11 on the Top Heatseekers chart, while Strength to Survive, their 2012 album, topped the Billboard Reggae Album Chart. The band is still touring and recording new music.

History

The members of the band had been performing together on and off for several years prior to the formation of the band. Jacob Hemphill (vocals, guitar) and Bob Jefferson (bass) met in first grade, shortly after Hemphill’s family returned from Africa, when Jacob’s father worked as an IMF resident representative in Monrovia, Liberia. In middle and high school, Hemphill and Jefferson met Ryan Berty (drums) and Ken Brownell (percussion). Jacob Hemphill, Bob Jefferson, Ryan “Byrd” Berty, and Kenneth Brownell formed SOJA in 1997 and released their first album Creeping In in 1998.

In 2000, they self-released their first EP, SOJA, at LION and FOX Recording Studios, with sound engineer Jim Fox. It received a great response. Peace in a Time of War, the band’s first full-length album, was released in 2002. In 2005, SOJA released Dub in a Time of War, a Dub version of their Peace in a Time of War album.

With a label

Get Wiser, the band’s second full-length album and their first on the Innerloop label, was released in 2006. It debuted in iTunes’ Top 10 Reggae Albums and has been in the top 100 ever since. The State Theatre in Falls Church, Virginia hosted the record release party on January 6, 2006. It was split into two parts, with the first set consisting of older songs and the second set consisting of Get Wiser in its entirety. On November 21, 2007, the show was videotaped and released on DVD as the Get Wiser Live DVD.

They released an EP called Stars and Stripes in January 2008. SOJA recorded live concerts in Oahu, Maui, and Kailua-Kona in Hawaii the same month. On January 8, 2009, SOJA – Live in Hawaii, a DVD of the concerts, was released. The band had one significant album under their belt and played primarily in Virginia. Nick Yuen put in a lot of effort to promote their new live album, Live in Virginia. On August 21, 2009, DMV Records released SOJA’s third full-length album, Born in Babylon. On the Top Heatseekers chart, it reached #11, while on the Independent Albums chart, it reached #38. In late 2011, Trevor Young, formerly of SOJA’s guitar tech, was promoted to lead guitar and backup vocals.

Amid the Noise and Haste, their fifth album, was released in 2014 on ATO Records. Supa Dups produced the album, which was recorded over the course of 2013. Damian Marley, J Boog, Anuhea, and Collie Buddz are among the special guests. Hemphill wrote the songs’ lyrics, chords, and melodies. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart and garnered a Grammy nomination for “Best Reggae Album.” “Moving Stones,” “I Can’t Stop Dreaming,” “Tried My Best,” “More,” “Fire in the Sky,” and “Everything to Me” are among the tracks on their sixth album, Poetry in Motion, released on the ATO label in October 2017. SOJA performed at a few events in the United States in 2018 and toured Europe in the summer.

Recent years

SOJA’s track, “A Brief History,” was produced by Collie Buddz and mixed by Stick Figure’s touring guitarist, producer Johnny Cosmic, and was featured as one of several reggae bands on Collie Buddz riddim album, Cali Roots Riddim 2020, on May 22, 2020. SOJA’s seventh studio album, Beauty In Silence, was released on September 24, 2021, after a three-year gap. Niko Marzouca and Rob Marks recorded parts of the album in Inner Circle’s famed Circle House Studios in Miami, Florida. It was also recorded at Sterling Sound in New Jersey.

Beauty in the Silence is nominated for the 64th Annual Grammy Awards for Best Reggae Album, according to SOJA’s Facebook page. Additionally, their song “Press Rewind,” which features Collie Buddz and J Boog, is up for Best Global Music Performance. At the 64th Annual Grammy Awards on April 3, 2022, SOJA earned their first Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album for 2021’s Beauty in the Silence. Since 2015, they’ve been nominated three times. They made history as the first American reggae-rock band to win the prize.

Iya Terra is a Los Angeles, California-based American roots reggae and dub band. Iya Terra was founded in 2012 by vocalist and lead guitarist Nathan Feinstein and long-time friend and bassist Nick Loporchio, who chose the name “Higher Ground” as the band’s name. Both began their musical careers in the summer of 2013 while jamming together on the UCLA campus. In the spring of 2014, the duo expanded their band by adding Luis Tovar on the keyboard and Danny Monar on percussion. The band recorded its first raw album with the new members, a 6-song self-titled EP that was released in the spring of 2014.

Albums

Full Circle

They released their first studio album, Full Circle, on April 14, 2015, after adding Blake Bartz on drums in the fall of 2014 and Nick Sefakis on rhythm guitar in March 2015. J.P. Hesser, an award-winning producer, engineered the 10-song album, which was recorded at Castaway 7 Studios in Ventura, California. It debuted at #4 on iTunes’ Reggae Charts and #12 on Billboard’s Top Reggae Albums.

Sacred Sound

Sacred Sound, Iya Terra’s second album, was released on March 17, 2017, and included numerous reggae artists, including Stick Figure and E.N Young from Tribal Seeds. On April 8, 2017, the album reached #1 on the Billboard reggae albums chart.

Coming to Light

Despite the departure of Blake Bartz, Tanner Arebalo joined Iya Terra on drums in 2019. Coming To Light, the band’s third album, debuted at #2 on the Billboard Top Reggae Albums chart on July 26, 2019. The Movement, Zion Thompson of The Green, and Jesse Royal were among the reggae performers who performed. Iya Terra Live @ Sugarshack Sessions, a live acoustic CD, was published on May 29, 2020. With their track, “Monterey Sunshine,” produced by Collie Buddz and mixed by Stick Figure’s touring guitarist, producer Johnny Cosmic, Iya Terra was featured as one of several reggae bands on Collie Buddz riddim album, Cali Roots Riddim 2020.

Iya Terra was featured on The House That Bradley Built, a charity compilation commemorating Sublime’s lead singer Bradley Nowell and assisting musicians with substance abuse, in September 2020. On the Deluxe Edition, they covered Sublime’s “Mary.”

Ease and Grace

On July 30, 2021, Ineffable Records published the band’s fourth album, Ease & Grace. On the Billboard Reggae Albums chart, the album reached #11, just missing the Top 10. According to sales tracker MRC Data, Ease & Grace debuted at #1 on the current chart after selling 372 copies in its first week in the United States (formerly Nielsen SoundScan). The album sold 974 units in total, including pure album sales and stream equivalent albums. In the United States, there were 743,160 audio streams and 5,083 video streams.

Tours

Iya Terra’s maiden tour, which was planned by Nathan and Nick L. without any further management, was a success in August 2014. With Ital Vibes, it was dubbed “The Link Up Tour.” After The Link Up Tour, the band signed with Rude Entertainment Productions and went back on the road, performing with Arise Roots, Barrington Levy, Black Uhuru, Collie Buddz, Easy Star All Stars, The Expanders, The Green, House of Shem, John Brown’s Body, Julian Marley, Ky-Mani Marley, Marlon Asher, Matisyahu, Nahko, Pepper, Stick Figure, Yellowman, and others.

In August 2015, the band made their debut at the 31st annual Reggae on the River festival in Humboldt County, California. Then there were gigs with Tomorrow’s Bad Seeds and Hawaii’s own Ina Vision to follow. Iya Terra will open for Stick Figure on their Once In A Lifetime summer tour in 2020. That same year, they were also set to support Iration on their Heatseekers spring tour. Due to the COVID-19 epidemic, both tours were canceled. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the group instead performed as part of the “Cali Roots: Can’t Stop The Music An Online Music Festival Experience,” despite having initially announced their participation in the 2020 California Roots Music and Arts Festival before it was canceled.

Awards

Iya Terra came in third place for the fans’ pick “2021 Album of the Year” by Surf Roots TV & Radio on December 26, 2021, with the third highest votes from Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter users for their album Ease & Grace. This is the band’s first nomination with Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, and Roku’s reggae rock streaming TV channel.

The Rubens are a Menangle, New South Wales-based alternative rock music band. Zaac, Sam, and Elliott Margin, as well as pals Scott Baldwin and William Zeglis, make up the band. Their self-titled debut album The Rubens was a domestic triumph, reaching number three on the ARIA Charts and earning them a J Award nomination for Album of the Year.

Career

The Rubens are brothers Sam Margin (vocals/guitar), Zaac Margin (guitar), and Elliott Margin (keyboards/vocals) who formed the band in 2011 in Menangle, New South Wales. They are joined by longtime friend Scott Baldwin (drums).

“Lay It Down,” their debut track, was voted number 57 on Triple J’s Hottest 100 in 2011. “My Gun,” their following single, was nominated for Best Music Video at the 2012 ARIA Awards and was ranked number 10 on Triple J’s Hottest 100 in 2012. The band released “Hallelujah,” the lead song from their second album, in May 2015. Hoops, the album, was released in August of 2015. The title track “Hoops,” the album’s follow-up single, peaked at number 25 on the ARIA Singles Chart in 2015. On Australia Day 2016, it was also named number one in the Triple J Hottest 100 of 2015. (26 January).

The record re-entered the charts after its triumph on the Hottest 100, peaking at number 9 on the ARIA Singles Chart in February 2016. Lo La Ru, the band’s third studio album, was released in June 2018 and became their third to debut in the ARIA top 5. In the same year, the band accompanied Pink on her 46-show Australian tour. 0202, the band’s fourth studio album, was released in February 2021. It was the band’s first album to debut at number one on the ARIA Albums Chart.

Mr Margin stated that the band was looking forward to the coming year and that they would be spending time in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe prior to the Groovin the Moo festival.

The band name

Zaac’s, Sam, and the younger brother, Jett, plays the drums, which Scotty taught him. The band really asked him if he wanted to join the band at the time, but he declined since he didn’t like their music. So, in spite of him, the three guys named the band Ruben, which was his nickname at the time.

Where did they go to school?

The Rubens will follow up their Hottest 100 victory on Friday with a performance on Triple J’s Like A Version, in which they will cover another artist’s song, and he said they are looking forward to playing in the studio. Mr Margin stated that all members of the band grew up in Camden. Macarthur Anglican School was where the Margin brothers went to school.

They were never really the cool kid sor losers, they were in the middle, being friendly with everyone around them. Once they picked up playing songs, they got famous real quick around their area, and you know the rest of their story.