Introducing Sola Rosa: blending the rich textures of soul to perfection – Happy

LISTEN: Sola Rosa - 'For The Mighty Dollar'

Sola Rosa is the funk-fuelled brainchild of New Zealand musician, Andrew Spraggon, who intertwines the rich textures of many genres to create a wholly original sound. 

After his powerful June release Searching For Love, Sola Rosa has followed up with new single For The Mighty Dollar, one of the finer releases to come out of New Zealand in 2020. This is all ahead his new album Chasing The Sun. 

Sola Rosa

Sola Rosa oozes magnetic soul energy on every release, his latest single For The Mighty Dollar standing against the continuous issues that a capitalistic world faces. 

To bring his sonic vision to life on his latest single, Sola Rosa teamed up with UK singer, songwriter and producer Kevin Mark Trail of The Streetsas well as one of UK’s most stunning female vocalists, Sharlene Hector.

Topically, the track is not shy in displaying the faults of the world and the dark side of commerce which controls so much of our lives. However the song does offer light, with the COVID-19 pandemic presenting a newfound opportunity to pause and reflect how our personal and collective values are driving our fate.

Trail opened up about the new track, sharing some insight into its lyrics:

“Money has been placed as the most important thing in the world and the divide between the rich and poor is still very wide. Many governments and corporations are still corrupt. Inequality, sexism, racism, and injustice continue to reign.”

“The aim of the song is to get people to think about the life we are living. The Covid-19 pandemic has given us time to question our values and direction, personally and globally, but what do we want? Who are we? What do we need? Where is the love? Could we be living better with each other and the planet as a whole?”

Chasing the Sun is the first new album in five years from the Kiwi musician and will span the genres of electronic music, funk, hip-hop, nu jazz, R&B, and soul. Reflecting on the creative journey of the album, Spraggon said:

Chasing the Sun has been five years in the making and I really put my all into this one. There’s been multiple trips around the world and collaborations with some incredible musicians and artists. This is easily the most collaborative album I’ve ever made.”

Chasing The Sun is due for release on September 25th. You can preorder it here.