Rocky and the Pressers

Rocky and The Pressers is a seven piece contemporary reggae band based in The Bronx, New York. The Pressers refresh the traditional genre tropes with lush vocal harmonies and flares of American folk, jazz and soul music. In September 2011, they began tracking the basic rhythm section elements for their forthcoming debut record, on a remote island in coastal Maine. Since then, working from a home studio, they have crafted thirteen original compositions. Firstly they over-dubbed the necessary elements like keyboards, percussion and vocals, then expanded into the orchestral palette, employing horn players from Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings and Antibalas, and violinists The Villalobos Brothers. This additional musicianship helps to compel a listener through lengthier pieces, if the lyrics and voices delivering them weren’t compelling enough. The result is rhythmically rooted and easily identifiable as reggae, and should satisfy, even delight purists. Yet, content is topically atypical and makes no mention of expected themes; Rastafari, ganja, revolution. Never wishing to be pigeon holed, Rocky and The Pressers sing about what they do know and take loving care of a musical style which could be seen as misappropriated in their hands.