StoneTribe talks forthcoming album ‘Sync or Swim’

Coming into 2024 blazing, an alternative reggae and hip hop-inspired band has created a multifaceted album to drop March 15th with astounding blends and lyrical content. The gents of StoneTribe are keen on their sound and artistry! DandeLion (of San Antonio, Texas) and Natoven (residing in Wilmington, North Carolina) laid down Sync or Swim — an 11 –track album with plenty of surprises for your eager ears!

Their authenticity will leave you in awe, listening and absorbing the different sounds, collaborations, and lyrical content.

This dynamic duo has been sharing their artistry together since high school, with a music career that has escalated quickly with the single “Blood Brother” — a remix that featured StoneTribe by Luca Debonaire. Reaching #6 in the UK, StoneTribe is recognized globally!

It is refreshing to hear this band’s music, especially since they hop genres in the mostly ‘rootsy’ American reggae scene. Never have I ever heard a band like StoneTribe! The listener is lured by rap, hip hop, R&B, pop, and surf rock elements woven between a reggae sound, opening your mind’s eye to such eclectic musical love! And let us tell you, there is much to love with Sync or Swim…

“Wind Change” has such a clean ocean breeze style with a beautiful flow of reggae beats and soothing vocals to lighten your mood and keep you in the moment! The lyrics “time to take a stand // and be a soldier on a mission” is a message to be better humans and stand up for what is right. This song resonates with so many of us today!

The second song on the new sync or swim album, “One Love”, is more intense, with lyrical storytelling and an echoing fluid mix, while “Take A Leap” has a more tropical audio ambience.

Every song on this album has a message.

“Heart of Lion // On the edge of a mountain // Take a leap and dive into the fountain.” Lyrics like this make you envision tropical landscapes, with mist rising from the water… Every track bringing wholly different scenes to life through eccentric collaboration and melody. One simply cannot place these gents in a genre, because they cover so much with beautiful fusions of melodic melodies and deep-rooted intentions!

As we crawl closer to Sync or Swim‘s release, we got to sit down with StoneTribe to find out what inspires them to write the way they do and how they got to be where they are today.

What a great connection you two must have — like brothers! How did you come up with the band name ‘StoneTribe’?

• ST: We wanted to come up with something that related to ‘Unity’. Like most bands probably do, we were throwing ideas out there and doing research to see if any of the good ones were available. StoneTribe made it all the way down the list… and we really liked how it represented all of us on this giant spinning rock together, as ONE big tribe! It highlights the main messages we sing about — one love and collective consciousness. Plus, it sounds cool and looks great on a shirt.

What inspires your style of writing?

• Music is a powerful phenomenon that can be used for healing and unification, and that’s one reason we’re so inspired by roots reggae music and the ideals and cultural movement that embodies it. It’s uplifting and spiritual music in its raw original form. The artists who pioneered the genre shared stories of the power struggle within humanity and ongoing oppression of people, which exists in many forms today. Human rights, freedom, and mutual respect are all cornerstones in our message and that’s what motivates us to write music.
• We were both lost in this world in the past; tough losses and life experiences left us with little hope… but the good Lord and music took us in and gave us a new life. We say One love to acknowledge that Jah is Love, which is present in all of us and what unites us. We’re definitely not ‘Gospel music’, but we’re comfortable giving credit where it’s due.
• We [also] grew up listening to a wide variety of rock, hip hop, reggae, blues, and even a little flamenco and country. Having a nice wide variety of influences is what makes our music so eclectic. Our writing process is unique, being that we live on different coasts of the U.S. (Texas “Third Coast” and North Carolina). So, rather than jammin’ around in person as most bands do, our music writing process is slower as we record and send layer by layer across the Internet. We get together in person throughout the year for writing, recording, performances, and photoshoots. We really enjoy the time we get to hang out; it makes the process much easier, but we’re also thankful that modern technology allows us to continue this project together being thousands of miles apart most days.

Your music was remixed over in the UK, reaching #6 on the pop charts for weeks. Did this open doors for you?

• The ‘Blood Brother’ remix was something we did not expect at all. Our debut 2019 release was a five-song reggae fusion EP called Tank Man and we thought ‘Blood Brother’ was the strongest song, so we made a lyric video for it and reached out to every resource we could get an address for to announce our first single. 
• A few months later, a deejay from the UK reached out after hearing ‘Blood Brother’ and said the world needed to hear that song and had an idea to remix it into a dance song. A collaboration was born and we were lucky enough to connect with several popular deejays, including Luca Debonaire, which led to a full remix package that our friends over at AudioFreaks Music (shoutout to Matt Meyers) pitched to their worldwide radio network. We had the best response overseas, where we received consistent play in the UK club scene. 
• The song ended up charting twice at different positions on Music Weeks Commercial Pop Charts, the highest position being #6 and the longest stretch being three weeks! It was never a goal to edge out Madonna, but we unexpectedly topped her new song ‘Medellin’ that month.
• These opportunities gave us fuel to embark on writing a full album… and then COVID began and our momentum slowed way down, so we focused more on networking and releasing singles, waiting for the live music and club scene to kick back in. We made some amazing connections and did another Dance/Electronic-style collaboration with world famous DJ Funkstar De Luxe, who co-wrote our 2020 single ‘Grace’. ‘Grace’ has a roots reggae mix where we feature Funkstar and multiple dance mixes that we’re featured on; it’s a really powerful remix package, full of driving vocal mantras, meditative rhythms, and grooves with huge bass and bright melodies. 

Your band has many accomplishments and successes! You were on Rootfire’s ‘Reggae Release Radar’ for your “Island time” single, tell me about that!

• It felt great to be releasing music alongside the likes of Stick Figure and other successful acts. We really love Rootfire and how they support all reggae artists, both big and lesser known acts. We are very thankful and fortunate to have the support of Rootfire and Top Shelf and so many talented people in the music scene. We’re continually inspired by the feedback we receive and we’re stoked to see our music streams picking up with the new singles. We’re steadily growing and just have to keep grindin’ and eventually get StoneTribe out in the live scene. Given our locations being so far apart, we aim to first build up enough demand in different cities to ensure show attendance and cover our basic travel expenses and all that. We’re hoping with the new album coming out that we’ll quickly build enough momentum to support a tour and we’re really excited to get there! So, please, share the love by sharing our music and help get us over to your city soon!

Yes, let’s chat about your new album!

• The world is changing and ,whether any of us are ready for these changes or not, they are upon us and we are inspired to talk about some of them. This album is a little more raw and experimental, mixing a lot of influences and over a dozen featured artists who pitched in to give it such a rich and powerful vibe. We selected our songs and produced the album to be a good mix of energetic and chill vibes, sort of a counter balance. It’s not a concept album, but there is a constant theme throughout; it’s about challenging yourself to be in control of your own destiny… assuming you’re not destined to be a total lunatic, of course! The name Sync or Swim is a nod to the movement of free thinking and challenging the status quo of any old system that no longer serves the greater good of humankind. 

What inspired the song “Winds Change” featuring Storm of Kaya Kotura?

• ‘Winds Change’ was the first single released from the album, because it’s a powerful combination of Cali-style reggae grooves and west coast hip hop that hits hard and gives a good impression of what to expect from the rest of the SOS album. The song is a total mud slingin’, freedom bell ringin’, party for your eardrums! The content may be a little heavy at times (ripping on corporate greed, governments, and big banks that aren’t held accountable for their actions), but we deliver the message in such a way that makes you want to sing along with the empowering idea that we need to change ourselves in order to change the world.

“Night Surfer” is also fantastic. Did you all write that song together?

• Dan brought in a song idea inspired by art that our mutual friend painted for Duddy B from Dirty Heads. I heard the idea and knew it belonged on the album, so we sat down and worked on structure, harmonies, and the hook. We both decided the best way to showcase the song was to make it appear as though it was recorded right on the beach in a small jam session around a bonfire type of thing… so we added the soft ocean sounds to the background to really give the sense that we’re just chillin’ on the beach jammin’. We plan on recording a full band version of ‘Night Surfer’ in the near future, so be on the lookout for that.

Any crazy reggae scene stories or any ghost stories?

• We got to hang out with the guys from Sensi Trails recently and, let me tell you, that’s not just a clever name! They really live up to it — total overachievers! [Laughs] Other than that, Dan says he saw a UFO… or UAP or whatever… while up in Alaska visiting family. I think they tried abducting him, but got a contact high and bailed. Either way, he’s never been the same.

Can we have a sneak peak of next year?

• StoneTribe has been in planning mode for getting out on some tours to support the release of the new album. While we’ve traditionally been a virtual-only group, Dan’s been playing a lot of solo shows in Texas to get our name out there, but we haven’t put on a full StoneTribe production yet. 2024 is looking bright, as we’ve just secured an incredible bassist named Matthew James from Roots of Creation in our live lineup. We are currently holding auditions for a drummer. 

Any final words for fans and aspiring artists?

• Happiness is found within, but music sure helps soothe the soul! Thanks for your support and listening to our music, we hope it brings you joy and positive vibrations! We gotta do this together y’all; nobody can do it alone, so encourage others to succeed and root for them! We’re all in this together and if we look out for each other, we can create the world we all want. Chase your dreams, but live in the moment and cherish the day as tomorrow is never promised and Love is all that matters. Boom! One Love.

StoneTribe may be a small tribe of artists, but they represent the people and are extremely loyal to their fans! Make sure to mark your calendars for Sync or Swim‘s release date on March 15th!

StoneTribe – “Tomorrow’s Troubles” feat. Zoe Mazah

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