Music fans familiar with the Truckee region of Northern California are aware of its strong links to reggae and Jamaican culture. Karlee Shannon, a native of that town, has been to reggae events there which helped her develop an appreciation for the sound.
She is lead singer of Karlee Shannon and The Orbits, a multi-ethnic band that released its first song, Deep Water, on May 8. It is produced by Jamaican Damian Ebanks for his Typhoon Music Group (TMG).
Deep Water incorporates different elements including reggae.
“Pop and reggae are definitely huge influences to our sound, but we also include jazz, indie and classic rock influences in other songs we are working on. Music is all about art. Artists often work with different media (paint, charcoal, pastels, etc.) just as we work with genres. It’s all to create a comfortably unique sound,” said Shannon.
Shannon and The Orbits have been together four months, recording and rehearsing original material for a potential album with Ebanks, who was raised in Fletcher’s Land and Spanish Town.
A protege of Stephen Marley, he lives in Southern California. Ebanks has been producing music since 1993, most of which are dancehall projects such as the Sunset Boulevard and World Peace rhythms.
He has also worked with American Rhythm and Blues and hip hop acts. Collaborating with Karlee Shannon and The Orbits was another opportunity to spread his wings.
“Wi don’t put music in any box ’cause wi make music for everybody. Wi call it world music,” he said.
Though it has less than 20,000 residents, Shannon’s hometown has a vibrant reggae scene. Over the years, it has hosted shows like Reggae At The Lake and Reggae in The Park which showcase mainly Jamaican roots acts.
Her bandmates in The Orbits are Elias Williams of Sweden on drums; Luis Ortega (American) on keyboards; Sophia Damiani (American) who plays bass; Eric Pires Gorza of Brazil (guitar) and Elbert Michael Christian of Indonesia on guitar.
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