With his highly
anticipated acoustic album, Soothing Sounds: Acoustic, now on
pre-order at iTunes, and an official album release date of October 23,
accomplished reggae singer, Richell ‘Richie Spice’ Bonner, is setting the pace
with a new video and a series of gigs across the US.
Spice kicked off his
five-show set on Friday, October 5 with a stand-out performance at The Mint in
Los Angeles, California. The following night saw Richie Spice in superb form,
playing to a sold-out crowd at Moe’s Alley, in Santa Cruz, which also recently
played host to reggae singer, Junior Kelly.
Armed with his
catalogue of solid hits, along with select pieces from the soon-to-be-released
album, Soothing Sounds: Acoustic, the musical maestro has been
thrilling fans and enjoying himself, both on stage while performing and off
stage doing interviews, signing autographs and posing for pictures with his
legion of fans.
“So far the vibes have
been great. The fans have been so appreciative and responsive. It’s a wonderful
feeling to be on stage and feel the love flowing and hear the sing-along. What
more could any artiste ask for?” Richie Spice said in an interview backstage.
He added that he was still quite amazed that there was so much interest in the
acoustic set.
“There is so much
interest in this album that I think I should have put it out long ago,” Richie
Spice said with a laugh.
After the gig on
October 8 in San Francisco at The Independent, Spice and his entourage moved on
to the state of Oregon, where he is booked to perform at the Star Theatre
in Portland on Friday. He ends the mini US tour on October 13 at the Nectar
Lounge in Seattle, however, Richie Spice is steadily building the momentum as
the release date approaches.
He explained that
15-track acoustic offering of socially-conscious, roots reggae songs has
somehow put him on another level, musically, and has instilled in him a greater
appreciation of the fusion of genres.
Soothing Sounds:
Acoustic has been hailed
as a keepsake which showcases an eclectic mix of musical elements that fuse
classic reggae vibes with modern day acoustic rock, Spanish guitar, jazz and
African drum beats.
The first two
singles, Free, an uplifting call for unity and Crying,
which depicts Spice's signature chanting-style as he conjures
socially-conscious questions, are currently available on iTunes. They are in
heavy rotation in Jamaica and across reggae airwaves, worldwide.
The video for Free,
produced by Richie Spice and directed by Scorpio 21, debuted on television
channels in Jamaica recently, while the video for Crying was
shot on location in Jamaica two weeks ago and will be released later this month
Standout tracks
on Soothing Sounds: Acoustic include True Love, My
Heart and My Girl, which put a new spin on classics from
Spice's catalogue. For this album, Richie Spice teams up with some of reggae's
top musicians, including Mitchum "Khan" Chin who co-produced the
album, Robbie Shakespeare and Stephen "Lenky" Marsden. He also makes
it a family affair with his brothers Spanner Banner and Snatcha Lion on the
collaboration More Love.
For further
information on Richie Spice, including upcoming tour dates, log on to
Richiespice.net, and follow his musical mission at
Facebook.com/RichieSpiceMusic and Twitter.com/1RichieSpice.