Cover Drive
The biggest Bajan invasion of the past 12 months, Cover Drive come with their much anticipated debut album Bajan Style which is released through Polydor Records on 7th May.
Singer/ songwriter Amanda Reifer; guitarist Barry "Bar-Man" Hill; bassist Jamar "Toast" Harding and drummer/vocalist T-Ray Armstrong are a band on a mission to bring the sunshine and sounds of their native Barbados to the world, having already ignited the UK charts twice with debut single Lick Ya Down reaching the Top 10 last year and its fabulous follow-up Twilight shooting straight to number one at the tail end of an otherwise dreary January.
Their YouTube views are over eight million, their fans include the likes of Ed Sheeran, Emeli Sandé, Labrinth and Jessie J and they have shared the stage with both their fellow islander Rihanna and UK chart-topper Dappy, as main support acts.
Jet-setting from Barbados to London, L.A. and New York to record Bajan Style only strengthened Cover Drive’s signature fresh, fun, sun-soaked sound. Collaborating with A-list producers including Steve Mac (JLS, Kelly Clarkson), StarGate (Rihanna, Jennifer Lopez), Future Cut (Lily Allen, Estelle) SuperDups (Bruno Mars,Estelle), Boi1da (Eminem, Drake) and J Remy (Jay Sean, Lil Wayne), Cover Drive have created an album that couldn’t have come from any other band and they look set to dominate the airwaves in 2012.
Bajan Style’s title track is slinky pop-rap that suggests a dancehall Salt-N-Pepa. Headphones is an entire summer of fun squeezed in to four, frisky minutes. That Girl begins with a nod to Rihanna’s Rude Boy before bursting in to a glorious chorus that tips it’s hat to the sounds of Shakira. Can’t Live In A World is a beautiful ballad that shows off lead singer Amanda’s vocals combined with a more mature yet still feel good Cover Drive sound.
Hot on the heels of the breezy, bass-driven Lick Ya Down and Twilight’s Carib-Euro-pop, the album’s third single will be Sparks, a gorgeous, mid-tempo, electro love song that sees Amanda duet with T-Ray, out April 22nd.
Cover Drive’s T-Ray commented "The album is the result of twelve months of hard work and shows what we’re all about. We’re excited for the finished product and for people to finally hear it!"
Bajan Style will surely have the same effect on the fans who sent Twilight to number 1 as those who are about to discover the sunniest sound of 2012.