The Archives Release Their Latest Album "Carry Me Home. A Reggae Tribute To Gil Scott-Heron &am

Washington, DC reggae band The Archives recently released their music video for their single "A Toast To The People" along their latest album Carry Me Home. A Reggae Tribute To Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson on May 27, the date of Scott-Heron’s passing.

DC’s The Archives began when Thievery Corporation’s Eric Hilton began a quest to explore the roots of reggae music. The first self-titled album, Archives, was released eight years ago to critical and public acclaim. Now, Hilton has teamed up with Darryl “Trane” Burke, founder of The Archives, to co-produce a reggae tribute celebrating Gil Scott-Heron’s Jamaican heritage; his father, Gilbert Heron, was a famous Jamaican footballer and the first Black player in the Celtic league in Scotland. The tribute also highlights Scott-Heron’s still-relevant reflections on social justice and change. “Like Gil’s compositions, reggae contains elements of jazz and soul,“ says Hilton. “It’s the perfect backdrop to Gil’s revolutionary pan-Africanist lyrics.”

Carry Me Home was led by the Pieces of a Man classic “Home Is Where The Hatred Is” which features singer Puma Ptah who hails from St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands and tours and records with Thievery Corporation’s live band. Other featured artists on the collection include: Jamaican dub poet Mutabaruka; soul singer Raheem DeVaughn; percussionist Larry MacDonald, a member of Scott-Heron's band Amnesia Express; Addis Pablo and Kenyatta Hill, offspring of reggae legends Augustus Pablo and Joseph Hill (Culture), respectively; Mustafa Akbar (RIP); and a special guest appearance by the one and only Brian Jackson.

“I’ve been meditating the proper way to approach this project for a few years now. I was fortunate to grow up in a home where Gil and Brian’s music played often alongside The Wailers, Burning Spear, Steel Pulse and many others. Reggae is also dubbed “Island Soul,” which to me makes this a perfect setting to present the music through

a different lens while simultaneously highlighting the similarities.”