Common Kings take the band’s music to another level in the recording of “Celebration”
Photo courtesy of Common Kings. Photo credit: Pep Williams.
Daily Reggae caught up with Common Kings to learn about the band’s sophomore album, “Celebration”, how the reggae rockers approached writing and recording the LP, and which new songs they love jamming on the road!
We are getting so excited for the release of your sophomore album, “Celebration”! How has the band’s creative process evolved since recording your GRAMMY nominated album, “Lost in Paradise”?
The creative process for us has evolved since the completion of Lost in Paradise. For "Celebration" we had more of a purpose and focus on the direction and creativity for the album. Along with being more purposeful, we have applied much of our knowledge we've learned along the way, which has made the creativity process much easier this time around.
There are so many incredible artists featured in the album from J Boog, Kabaka Pyramid, to Demarco. How did you go about choosing which artists to include, and can you tell us about the experience of working with one of these artists?
First and foremost we have always been fans of all the artists we have featured on the album. So for us, it was just a matter of seeing who would not only fit best but also push the song to another level. That's what we love about the collabs that we have featured. It created a fresh whole new take on the song making it even that much better.
It’s so cool to hear that “Celebration” is made up of songs that were literally recorded around the country - Miami, Hawaii, Orange County, Nashville, and L.A.! What were two of your favorite studios to work in and what songs resulted? What was inspiring about the vibes in those studios?
The writing camp we had in Miami was the most memorable. We had the opportunity to link up with some amazing Grammy award winning songwriters and producers in Miami. Being amongst these major hitters like Poo Bear, The Audibles, Don Corleon, SpreadLof, Vibarco, and Seth Reger it really helped us to focus on our creativity, drive, and inspiration. Our singles "Celebration" and "Hideaway" were born out of these Miami writing camps. When you're placed in an environment with certified winners, you can't help but come out with some amazing certified winning content. And "Celebration" is just that.
The album’s title track is has amazing vibes and I love Jr. King’s vocals! It’s the perfect song to get any group turned up and appreciate of living in the moment. Why did the band choose to name the album “Celebration” and what messages do you want fans to feel?
The track "Celebration" is exactly what it is, a Celebration. The song has such a nostalgic feeling to it, that it made sense for us to use it as the single. At this point in our careers, we feel that this song embodies our journey as artists. We are always looking for reasons to celebrate. Celebrate life, love, and also struggle. We are all here, everyone should celebrate that. It was an easy choice for us to name the album "Celebration".
You’ve been keeping it busy on the road this summer! What have been some of your favorite new songs to play live?
Raggamuffin has to be one of our favorite tunes to play because it has that authentic feel good vibe to it that you can sway and dance to. It makes you feel good and instantly teleports you to summertime. Celebration is another song we love to play live. It's another one of those songs that you can sing to with a group of your friends celebrating life together!
