Signal Fire

Signal Fire opened a roots reggae twinbill at SOB’s last night that was as much a delicious throwback to the golden age of roots reggae as it was a look at where slinky one-drop sounds might go in the future. You might assume that Wilmington, North Carolina would be a hotspot for Americana sounds – Mark Sinnis calls the place home now – but it’s actually a college town with a surprisingly eclectic music scene. Signal Fire fit the mold of current-day American roots reggae bands, but they keep the sound closer to the ground, rooted in the earth. Guitarist/singer Sean Gregory would hit his distortion pedal for a blast of fire when the smoke threatened to go out, but otherwise he and the rest of the band – bassist Cullen Seward, drummer Ken Forrest and keyboardist Carl Blackmon – kept the low-key, blue-flame vamps going, closer to the Roots Radics in the late 70s at their most purposeful. In an age when so many so-called reggae bands are really just upper-middle-class white stoners taking a stab at funky rock through a ganja haze, what Signal Fire are doing is awfully refreshing. - New York Music Daily

Back in October, Rootfire premiered the track “Lift Up,” from Wilmington, NC’s Signal Fire. Last month, we featured a Throwback Thursday article about the Jamaican roots reggae vanguards, Culture.

What do these two bands have in common? For one, Signal Fire keyboardist, Carl Blackmon, has toured with Culture and is a friend of Kenyatta Hill, the son of the late Joseph Hill, founder and lead singer of the band.

Additionally, Signal Fire’s primary songwriter and singer, Sean Gregory, has been a fan of Culture for years. As such, he loosely modeled the band’s latest single, “Conquering Lion,” after a crucial Culture track, “See Them A Come.” Today, Rootfire brings you a first listen of this latest single, featuring Kenyatta Hill. - Rootfire

In anticipation of Wake Up, the forthcoming third studio album from North Carolina roots rockers, Signal Fire, Rootfire premieres one such collaboration featuring vocals from Jackson Wetherbee of The Elovaters. And what a beautiful pairing it is! Wetherbee’s award-worthy voice would improve any song, but his higher pitch and easy delivery mesh particularly well with Signal Fire bandleader and vocalist Sean Gregory’s Jack Johnson-ish, understated tone and lower register. - Rootfire

Over the last half of 2020, North Carolina’s Signal Fire released five singles, all of which were super chill. What’s behind the trend of laid back tunes? Has the birth of head-honcho, singer/guitarist Sean Gregory’s son immersed him in an extended sense of euphoria? Has his muse been dosed with wine and Xanax?

Whatever the case, Gregory has pivoted and come out swinging in 2021 with Signal Fire’s latest single, “False Reality.” Officially releasing tomorrow but premiering here on Rootfire today, it is a collaboration with Reggie Froom, singer and bandleader of Jensen Beach, Florida band The Ellameno Beat. The duo has crafted a heavy-hitter both musically and lyrically, a song with a rocking groove that expresses disdain for the bitter bipartisan groupthink fostered by many Trump supporters that has perpetuated lies and fomented fear and hatred. - Rootfire

A signal fire, also known as a smoke signal, was used during pastoral times as a way to transmit information, warn of danger and gather people together. A perfect name for a band who describes themselves as “a group of diverse musicians with a common goal, to spread unity through music.”

With this quest in mind, Wilmington, North Carolina’s Signal Fire has taken a giant step forward with the release of a brilliant album, Lift Up. True to its title, this LP offers 13 well-crafted songs to soothe souls with serenity, encouragement, and hope. Marked by top-notch production from Llamar “Riff Raff” Brown (whose credits include Stephen and Damian Marley, Raging Fyah, Richie Spice, T.O.K and 2016 Grammy Award winners Morgan Heritage) Lift Up boosts great songwriting, beautiful singing, and tight instrumentation.

Today Rootfire premieres the title track, “Lift Up”, which appropriately kicks off the album with a quick flourish of drum licks and lush brass, courtesy of the legendary Jamaican saxophonist, Dean Fraser. Over a slinky groove, singer Sean Gregory croons with a smooth, smoky voice, “Why-oh, why-oh, we will be the ones who will make this change, together as one.” It’s a catchy chorus, one that will stick in your consciousness, the type that you’ll find yourself singing absentmindedly throughout the day.

“Life is short to keep forgetting

I know we won’t move on like this

No more will we stand, won’t stand for this

With the love that we find up in our hearts

We’ll find a new way to bring it back to the start.”

While this lyrical passage does not refer to anything specific, it seems particularly poignant after the horrifying tragedy in Las Vegas last week.

Symbolic of the album’s numerous calls for unity, the song continues with the second and third verses sung by guest vocalists. Prowla, of Fear Nuttin’ Band and Gary Dread, of Rootfire Cooperative’s The Movement, both deliver sermons in a more raggamufffin style over a bouncy beat, embellished by bursts of horns. Fraser’s lovely sax work comes to the forefront with a rousing solo as the song winds down.

For many people, one of the major draws of roots reggae is the positive messages of the lyrical content. As a genre fueled by Rastafarian tenets and performed by God-loving people, for decades reggae music has called for a close connection to Jah and one another, the upliftment of humanity through spirituality and solidarity. These days, when tuning in to the news of the world can often feel like getting punched in the stomach, when society proves to be regularly divisive and contentious, our reggae scene provides an oasis of peacefulness and family. - Rootfire