Back to discography index

ROCKIN' PON TOP

Album cover

This was our second album. Released in 2002, it marked a different direction from the first.
Here Ruben Rott Dalen produced and played the drums. John Lilja had joined on bass, the sound is drier and we branched out in several directions at once.
The main direction was us trying to combine a dancing mood in reggae with some inspiration from US soul and funk. This is perhaps best heard in "Moon By Night" and "Another Story", both with references to soul music of past and present.
The title song, "Rockin' Pon Top", is us in a pop mood. Together with "Private Eye" (a song about both Harry Chandler's universe and the inner guide), "Lonely Surfer", "Getting Good" and "Bright Burnin Fire" are still in our live sets. The last one being one of yours truly absolute favourites amongst our own songs. This one is about those moments in most people's lives when everything falls into place and you are one with some energy that tells you something that you can't pass on to others. The only sane thing to do is to dance in the spirit and fire of the Holy Ghost.
"Solid As A Rock" is the most roots-reggaeish of these tracks. A little Taoism lesson in there, for those of you who wonders what those words might mean. :-)
"Walk The Town" is a kind of Country & Western RockSteady. The trombone at the end is another favourite moment on the album for me. Arne and his horn is joined by some whales, sending up their voices through a thousand meters of cold and dark water.
"Walkabout" is another diversion. This rhythm is more of raggalike, but the words stay in a more meditative mood. We even tried out some wild electronics on this.
All in all this collection of songs gave us rhythms for concerts, radioplay and fair reviews, as well as some of our own and our admirers' favourite songs.
Check it out and see if you can't find some nourishment and shelter inside these assorted words and sounds.

Musicians:
John Lilja on bass.
Arne Kolstad on trombone.

Glenn Brun Henriksen on saxophones
Didrik Ingvaldsen on trumpet
Ruben Rott Dalen on drums.
Jan Petter "Rulle" Taarland on keyboards.
Børre Jacobsen on guitar and bacing vocals.
William Helvik on vocals and guitar.

Producing and mixing:
Ruben Rott Dalen and William Helvik

Arranging:
Ruben Rott Dalen and William Helvik.