If I was pleased to hear the vocals of Devizes singer-songwriter Sammi Evans would feature on a single, I was even more delighted when I asked Sammi if it was an electronic dance track, and she replied “it’s reggae!” Well now, this is really pushing my buttons…..
West London producer Andy Kent founded Innereyefull in 2005. Fusing breakbeat with jazz-funk and dub, the solo project then signed to Dusted Wax Kingdom three years later. By 2014 he started his own label, Inner-I Records, to self-release his music.
A prolific artist who received airplay on The Craig Charles Funk & Soul Show, took his debut album Playground on tour with a collective of musicians. This though, Andy says he’s “excited” about, and he “can’t wait for you all to hear the new single, which means a lot to me,” explaining because it’s the first Innereyefull music in six years.
Sammi is a Devizes-based singer-songwriter, often seen gigging locally accompanying Matchbox Mutiny, and attending open mics. She released her debut solo single in January.
The Thinking Tree is a rootsy, rolling heavyweight dub, and I must say, fits Sammi’s wistful and evocative chanting vocals perfectly. There’s the rockers one-drop to it, reflecting dub classics of Prince Jammy. Yet with contemporary echoing phrasing elements, subtler on the vocals than traditionally used at Tubby’s dub origins, reminding me more of Zion Train’s nineties outpourings, appeasing the alt-reggae crusty scene.
In theme too it blends, The Thinking Tree being a metaphoric place of solitude and reflection, it’s mellow, plodding and uplifting; all the right ingredients flow. With Robert Livsey’s percussion, guitarist James McMahon and mastered by Doc Paul Colin Moody, Sammi corrects my vocal accompaniment, telling me it’s a 50-50 collaboration with more in the pipeline. The single is from a forthcoming album, Return of The Inner Eye, due in 2027.
If this tune is solid, and up my street pounding on my front door, I’m over the moon at the prospect of Sammi becoming a vocalist for this rebirth, because I’m hoping she’ll encourage some local live shows, and as much as I love our local music scene, it needs more reggae….much more reggae, in my honest opinion!
As it happens, this new Innereyefull band plays the Trowbridge Festival this month and is supporting Dub Catalyst at The Pump in October. But for now, try this taster for size, out now on Bandcamp. On streaming platforms from 30th June.
devizine.com 