NEW ALBUM
Holy Colony Burning Acres
Out Friday, July 12th on
AllGood Absolute Alternative
(Triple A Records)
Troy Kingi and The Upperclass’s first single ‘Babylon Grows’ is out today on all DSPs with album closer ‘Truganini‘ being released as an unofficial B-Side.
Inspired both thematically and sonically by the innovative reggae from the 1970s, ‘Babylon Grows‘ politicised lyrics directly address “the man”, oppression and the price of life with a sparse, dark and dubby rhythmic track, with a cameo by Cuban folk singer-songwriter Domingo Candelario.
‘Truganini’ celebrates the life of the woman widely considered to have been the last full-blooded Aboriginal Tasmanian. Troy says of the single “Her struggles and her enduring strength is a great metaphor for all Indigenous people around the world. All the shit that our ancestors went through and yet here we are still standing, and we’ll continue fighting for our people, for our land, for our culture – that fight never leaves, because our ancestors live in us.” Opening with a traditional Aboriginal voice/chant, Troy took the sparse percussive Nyabinghi essence of songs like Bob Marley’s ‘Selassie Is The Chapel’ or ‘Rastaman Chant’ to lend ‘Truganini’ a true earthy spirituality’, the perfect accompaniment to Troy’s clear and soulful voice.
The third instalment of Troy Kingi’s aspirational 10|10|10 Series (ten albums in ten genres in ten years), Holy Colony Burning Acres featuring a new incarnation of his band the Upperclass, delves into the dark corners of worldly Indigenous politics, namely colonisation and its (c)rippling effects on today’s social climate.
A stark contrast to the space psychedelia of Kingi’s sophomore offering Shake Your Skinny Ass All The Way To Zygertron, Holy Colony Burning Acres is a motivated commentary on Indigeneity wrapped in an electrifyingly 70s-styled deep roots/reggae offering reminiscent of such bands as The Abyssinians, The Upsetters and The Congos.
A hard-hitting exploration of major issues facing Indigenous peoples all around the world through Kingi’s distinctive sonic quality, vocal style and poetry, all underscored with empathic Marley-inspired political consciousness.
Babylon Grows – Written by Troy Kingi
They catch you sleeping it’s an early grave
They suck you in and spit you out
If only there was another way
We wouldn’t have to scream and shout
It grows, Babylon Grows x2
We see the flames in the distance
And nobody wanna put them out
Epitome of persistence we might as well scream and shout
It grows Babylon Grows x2
History swept under the rug
Forgot who was original
We are the People of the Land and that’ll never change
Mountains watched since the dawn of time
And remain until we’re gone
As long as there’s Queens
There will never be peace
Now everybody wanna helping hand
Or somebody that’ll understand
We send a message to the Western land that they live in castles made of sand
It grows Babylon Grows
