Makin Waves Song of the Week: "Evolution" by Alex Tea

By Bob Makin

originally published: 12/30/2022

Jersey City reggae veteran Alex Tea’s recent single “Evolution” is the Makin Waves Song of the Week. PHOTO COURTESY OF ALEX TEA

The aim of Alex Tea’s Jan. 17-bound LP, “Evolution,” is to see how the veteran Jersey City reggae artist has evolved throughout the course of several singles released since 2020.

The title track is the Makin Waves Song of the Week.

As the Makin Waves Song of the Week, “Evolution” also can be heard between 6 and 8 p.m. on Dec. 30 on “Radio Jersey” at ThePenguinRocks.com. If you miss it, you also can tune in any time in the archives at The Penguin or MixCloud.

A “roots sensualist,” Alex’s preaches "evolution" on his latest solo release as a collection of steady burners recorded over the past few years, along with new tracks and remixes.

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Brazil-based Pipa Music will release the array of singles with extended dub versions mixed by producer Victor Rice (Slackers, Pietasters, Scofflaws), a Latin Grammy Award winner.

“‘Evolution' came out of a poem about facing life's challenges through evolving, changing, revolutionizing yourself,” Alex said. “It was recorded remotely during the first months of the pandemic in 2020, with the collaboration of musicians in the U.S. and Canada, and mixed/mastered in Brazil. It has a roots reggae base of loose drums and heavy bass, rich brass, with psychedelic moments in the arrangement, and a deep and dark sound. This single represents another step in my history as a solo artist, continuing the work of nearly 20 years cultivating and refining my unique accent in reggae music."

Another single featured on the “Evolution” LP is “Borderline,” which dropped just two weeks ago.

Born in Russia, Alex immigrated to America as a child. Raised in a musical family, he later discovered the Afro-Brazilian art form Capoeira and built relationships with fellow practitioners, as well as kindred musicians in Brazil, adding new rhythms and melodies to his music.

In the 2010s, Tea cultivated his own fusion of sounds and rhythms in the Jersey City bands Kiwi and Sananga, and his international project, Orquestra Raiz, whose 2021 EP, “Iris,” was a collaboration with São Paulo-based producer Klaus Sena (Tom Zé, Ceu).

A third “Evolution” single, “Distractions,” actually is the latest release by Orquestra Raiz, but featured on the forthcoming LP as a testament to Alex’s musical growth.

For more about him, click https://bio.site/alextea.

Bob Makin has produced Makin Waves since 1988. Follow Makin Waves on Facebook and contact Bob at [email protected].

About the author:

New Jersey Stage is proud to be the home of Bob Makin's Makin Waves column since 2017. His Song of the Week column comes out every Friday. He also writes an Album of the Month and Interview of the Month as well.

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