Album Review: Florida's Joey Calderaio is Moving Mountains with an awesome deluxe album dropping December 17th
Photo courtesy of Joey Calderaio.
In 2021 we've had the pleasure of covering incredible new releases from the all stars of the reggae scene including Rebelution, SOJA, and Paula Fuga, as well as fantastic up-and-coming talent in the likes of Marcus Gad, The Late Ones, and Kyle Smith. On December 17th one of our favorite rising artists, Joey Calderaio is dropping a wonderful album titled "Moving Mountains (Deluxe)" just in time for the holidays. An accomplished musician in the Florida reggae scene, Joey quickly started growing a fanbase with the release of his 2019 EP "Moving Mountains". In the following two years, he released well-received singles, with his hard work and positivity culminating in the new "Moving Mountains (Deluxe)" album release.
The project features the six songs originally released on the 2019 EP, but all revamped and supercharged by renowned reggae producer and mix/master engineer E.N Young at Imperial Sound Recording Studio. E.N added new musical elements and his well-honed flavor of mix engineering to the tracks that will excite fans of the initial releases. Following these songs are a 2021 remaster of the single "Right in Front of You", Joey's collaboration with Passafire's Ted Bowne titled "Rise Up", and a tasteful acoustic version of "Déjà Vu".
The sound of this record is a testament to the musical and career growth Joey has gone through over the past couple of years, and for new fans is the perfect way to get to know the South Florida artist.
"Moving Mountains (Deluxe)" begins with the song "Déjà Vu". The track starts with a catchy rhythm guitar riff, a staple of Calderaio's sound, quickly followed by a punchy reggae rhythm and horns harmonizing with the guitar riff. The heavy grooviness of the drums and how it's laid with the rest of the instrumentation is mixed in perfect E.N Young fashion and sets up Joey's vocals well. The vocal harmony choices add a lot of depth to the sound of this track and help the hook get easily stuck in the listener's head. The biggest difference between the Deluxe and original versions of "Deja Vu", aside from Young's mix and master, is the addition of a tracked horn section throughout. The horns give the tune energy it didn't have before and make it sound bigger and more memorable.
"Reputation to Protect" was the breakout hit that began giving Calderaio notoriety in the scene. A song of motivation and positivity, Joey's lyricism is showcased on this more uptempo reggae track. Guitar, keyboards, and horns work together seamlessly over a heavy bassline. A call to arms of peace and love is a hard thing to execute, but Joey manages to do so with the chorus lines "We've got a reputation to protect, to kill them with kindness and respect". If this is your first time hearing of Joey we would recommend checking out this tune first.
The last track we want to highlight is "Rise Up" featuring Ted Brown of Passafire. The melody lines of the various synths and horns compliment the catchy vocal melodies of the hook very well, and the way in which the chord progression is structured gives great movement in the song between its various sections. The drum pattern and percussion selection allow the song to hold a steady groove, while still possessing a slightly laid-back feel at its slower tempo. All of these elements come together to create a track with great listenability, especially during a nice drive.
To check out more of Joey Calderiao's music go to www.joeycalderaio.com and our interview with Joey at https://www.dailyreggae.com/artistprofiles/joey-calderaio-starts-2021-fresh-with-dub-collection-ep-release
“Treading Water (Deluxe Version)” is the Daily Reggae Song of the Day.
By Chris Lawrie.
