The Appetizers - Listen Up! (Digital Album)

Born from a gathering of fine reggae musicians around Milan, The Appetizers spin their own flavor on the foundation of golden-era Jamaican music. On, Listen Up!, their inaugural release via Badasonic Records, the album boasts ten original tunes from sweet rocksteady to dark early reggae moods, plus a masterful dub scorcher by Victor Rice.

The Appetizers naturally came along from a collective of fine reggae musicians and avid collectors based around Milan, Italy. Born from the ashes of previous projects, the core of the band already had a solid musical connection, the desire to play authentic Jamaican music, and a handful of ideas that would then evolve to become their first recording effort "Listen Up!".

Entirely self-produced and recorded through the hard times of 2020 and finally pressed on wax by Badasonic Records, the LP features ten original tunes ranging from sweet Rocksteady ("Pick Up The Pieces,” "Wondering,” "Fancy Make Up"), to Funk/New Orleans inspired jams ("Dem Talk", "The Message", "Ol' Louis") and Early-Reggae scorchers ("Walk The Long Waym” "Pressure,” "Tears"). As a bonus, dub master Victor Rice kindly offered to put his own spin on the instrumental mix "Dub Fruit.”

Channeling the vibes from their Studio One, Treasure Isle, and classic Funk influences, The Appetizers flow through organ cuts with toasting on top, hypnotic guitar and clavinet grooves, and come back to the roots of Reggae riddims in a creative and stylistic mix of sounds and lyrics while delivering organic messages on themes such as heartbreaks, socially accepted rules and contradictions and perspectives on life and music.