Reggae band Rootz Underground has joined musical giants such as Steely & Clevie and Mikey Bennett and partnered with digital distributor Rebelmix. Rebelmix will be making Rootz Underground's music available for legal download/purchase worldwide via the Internet and mobile phones by way of the Apple iTunes Store, eMusic and other digital retailers, including worldwide deals that cover new markets such as South Africa, India and China.

Rebelmix will begin by distributing Rootz Underground's promotional EP Lightning Theory, which comprises the album version of Victims Of The System and Herb Fields, a live performance of 20 Centuries and studio jam sessions of Psalm 131 and In My Hut (Acoustic). By September, the 13-track album, entitled Movement, will be ready for distribution.

"It is similar to Rootz Underground being able to put their CD for sale in stores across the whole world almost instantaneously - which of course in reality is hard to do even for a major act that is signed, much less an unsigned band from Jamaica," says Christopher Edmonds, President of Rebelmix, "Rebelmix will also help push Rootz material, working with the retailers to get better product placement (being featured on the intro page of the iTunes store for example), putting the material in rotation on our streaming radio station and featuring it on our mail outs."
The six-member group unites Stevie Newland (lead singer), Charles Lazarus (lead guitar), Jeffrey Moss-Solomon (rhythm guitar), Colin Young (bass guitar), Paul Smith (keyboard) and Leon Campbell (drummer) to form the revolutionary reggae band.

Rootz Underground's first single, Victims Of The System, has already been heating up local airwaves and the video has peaked at # 2 on Hype TV's video chart and at # 4 on RE-TV's video countdown. The band has only just begun digging its 'rootz' in the industry, but has already enlisted a core of followers - some who already saw the world through like eyes and are glad to hear such sounds of social commentary and life/love lessons on stage; others who are simply just converts.

"And the revolution continues, now we can reach a wider audience, spreading a JAH-inspired message to the masses. We are most excited to be a part of iTunes, which allows us to be apart of a larger arena of Rootz lovers as well as music lovers. This partnership also allows us to break the time and space barriers in a much more effective way and shorter time, not only with our music, but our videos as well. This will stand as a precursor to when we hit the road with a lightning wave, giving the fans worldwide a taste of Rootz before they see us on stage," said Stevie Newland who is very excited about the partnership.

Charles Lazarus is also excited about working with Rebelmix. "Chris Edmonds has been supporting us at our shows for years. He's a real music lover. It's great working with him because we know he has the best interest of Rootz Underground, as well as all the artistes in the new live scene in mind, add that to the fact that he's extremely thorough and it leaves us feeling comfortable and excited about the future. We'll be working together for a long time to come."

Edmonds says he has been a fan of Rootz from the very beginning. "Rootz Underground has one of the freshest and most exciting sounds that I have heard in a while, and I have watched them evolve over the last few years, and we are excited to expose the more alternative/progressive side of Jamaican reggae music to a global audience."

The partnership with Rebelmix will give Rootz Underground access to global markets in an affordable and accessible way, which puts them on an equal footing with more established artistes.

In other news, Rootz Underground is also featured in the latest television ad campaign from WISYNCo/Ocean Spray. The spot, which was previewed for the audience at Wednesday's launch of Jamaica Wellfest at Hope Gardens, should begin airing on local stations next week.

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