“Irie Idea, take a traditionalist view of blues, ska and rocksteady reggae and juice it with the energy of the punk rock on which they were weaned.” -The Big Takeover
PORTLAND (May 14, 2014)–The ultra-full sound on Irie Idea’s new album Blues Like Sandpaper | Rocksteady Like Dirt is being praised for the duo’s “innovative chemistry” by The Aquarian Weekly. Jersey Beat’s Rich Quinlin highlights the albums multi-faceted genres calling it “a musical blender.” And Earbuddy points out that Curtis Irieand Morgan Smith “maintains an eclectic mix of traditional blues, rocksteady, ska, punk and funk.”
Irie Idea breaks down the barriers of genre. Irie and Smith both grew up playing punk because it was fast, loud and against the grain of mainstream music. Along their journey they have matured and learned about music. These days, the boys subscribe to educating themselves on roots music while making contributions to it’s ever-growing evolution and progression.
