Breaking into the mainstream music arena is no easy task, but for reggae band Uprising Roots it is a challenge they eagerly embrace.

Drummer/vocalist Rashawn ‘Kush’ McAnuff says the quartet are gradually getting recognition overseas for their brand of roots music.

Members of the Uprising Roots Band

“Our music is spiritual, uplifting and it’s a direct link to the celestial being of the universe,” he reasoned.

In August, the band heads to Europe for shows in Toulouse, Bardot and Montpelier in France, before moving over to Spain.

When it comes to Jamaica, bass player Ruel ‘Pot a Rice’ Asburn, says they are yet to enjoy that kind of demand.

“We have to go where they embrace our kind of music,” he said, adding that today’s generation of music fans have little appreciation for their sound.

“You can’t blame them really, cause when a man’s drunk and you give him great wine, he will have no appreciation for it,” he explained. Similarly, if you feed junk to them, they won’t appreciate great music.”

For Uprising, it is not just about performing, they also build rhythms with their latest effort being The Rebirth.

Uprising formed in 2006. In addition to McAnuff and Asburn, its other members are dub poet/keyboardist Lloyd Palmer and percussionist Joseph Sutherland.