Tribal Seeds and Fortunate Youth

Reggae band Tribal Seeds, who hail from San Diego, take to the stage in this huge room with its cool atmosphere. The haze hangs over the whole venue as they walk out on stage. “619” is the opening song from these Reggae giants. The down tempo Reggae beat is enough to get this audience on their feet with their hands in the air for the duration of this huge one hour and twenty minutes performance. There are a fair few virtuosic moments throughout this band with the singer, Steven Jacobo playing his heart out on the electric guitar in an impressive guitar solo, making a change from playing on all the off beats. One of the things that impresses me is the keyboard player, E.N. Young, who isn’t just playing the keys like a piano or Rhodes, he adds applicable effects here and there, with blankets of synthesizers washing over the sound, adding to this Reggae party atmosphere.

Fortunate Youth definitely wants to convey the true art of reggae through their music. They have the drive to present the laid back vibes of reggae and spread the joys of living the simple life through music.

Their music is heavily guided on the feeling of the music, which often leads to sessions of improvised jamming. Their music has a wide vibrant sound that sticks to the style of traditional reggae. The bass lines in the music follow the classic dub style of reggae with great low end and a rich sound that provides the heart-beat of the music. The percussion in the music is mainly produced on the bongo drums and really drives the energy into the band’s sound. There is also another percussionist in the band that plays a traditional drum kit that helps bolster the overall rhythm of the music. The guitar is presented with a clean, crisp sound with hints of reverb to convey that funky slap-back effect. Fortunate Youth’s keyboardist uses his synthesizers to create various sounds that add great layers to the music. He is able to use his synthesizers to create the sounds of steel drums, xylophones, saxophones, and the traditional piano sound that is occasionally run through delay to achieve some psychedelic effects.

Lead vocalist, Dan Kelly, has the reggae style of singing down pat. At points his voice sometimes resembles the soothing, soulful voice of Bob Marley. You can tell that Kelly is singing with great passion and that he is truly dedicated in conveying the peaceful vibes of reggae music. Everyone in the band is swaying along to their jiving music and the audience is just as engrossed in the smooth vibe that is instilling them with the desire to dance to the music.

Fortunate Youth have already established themselves in the reggae community through their accomplishments of being on the iTunes and Billboard reggae charts. Their good vibes and chill music is starting to become highly contagious and are increasingly garnering the attention of people who are looking to be serenaded by the old school sound of reggae music.