Work From Home: Rebelution's Eric Rachmany

Had there not been a worldwide pandemic and, consequently, a shutdown of the touring industry, reggae rockers Rebelution would have just wrapped their Good Vibes summer tour. What they were able to do, after a deliberate delay, is release Dub Collection, a 15-track collection full of reimagined fan favorite songs. We caught up with frontman Eric Rachmany to talk about the album, the message Rebelution hopes to spread through their music and what he is looking forward to. Watch:
Work From Home: Rebelution
"Through the arts, through dance, through music, through any sort of artistic expression, it's a way to connect people, and make you see that, oh, we're not so different from each other."
Setlist.fm: So what were your plans for 2020 originally, and what are they now?
Eric Rachmany: This is the first summer in 15 years we haven't toured at all so it's a little bit weird. I'm just spending the time at home with my family and just writing as much music as possible. We just released a dub album, a new album, it's sort of an instrumental remix version of our songs already.
Setlist.fm: You’re promoting sort of this album in an entirely virtual realm but it's songs they kind of know already, it's just different versions, so is it a little bit easier?
Eric: Yeah, exactly. People already know the songs and you know, for the die-hard reggae fans, I think this is a favorite record of theirs already.
Setlist.fm: I know Rebelution along with maybe like 98% of the other bands out there took a stand on the Black Lives Matter movement when it came up on socials and I read a Tweet that said you were surprised and disappointed at some of the responses. Did you get into it with any of those fans or did you just say "go back and listen to our lyrics?”
Eric: Yeah, that's exactly what I said. Man, it kills me sometimes to see just hateful comments. You know, what we're talkin’ about is a life that matters, just matters, that's it, you know, and so to see some of the negative comments is a little hard to see.
Setlist.fm: Is there one Rebelution song, one or two, that maybe is your like thesis statement, like that best expresses what your music is about?
Eric: Yeah, well I think the song, "Good Vibes” is all about what I just mentioned. It's about you know encouraging people to learn about the culture opposite. I don't think that that message is gonna stop, I think that if anything people need it more now and I'm glad we have the catalog out there that already exemplifies that.
Setlist.fm: What do you think the first physical show back is gonna feel like?
Eric: It's gonna be weird. It's gonna be weird to have that microphone on and the crowd there and then there's nothing quite like hearing the fans sing back to you, so it's gonna be incredible. I can't wait for that moment. I don't know how big of a show it's gonna be, I don't know when it's gonna be, but it's probably gonna be something that I remember forever.
Listen to Rebelution’s Dub Collection:

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Last updated: 28 Mar 2024, 18:37 Etc/UTC