AUGUST 23 is the release date for One World, the first studio album from The Wailers in over 20 years. It is co-produced by Emilio Estefan, husband of pop superstar Gloria Estefan.

One World will be distributed and marketed by Sony Latin. The Wailers’ previous studio albums were distributed by independent record companies; Aston Barrett Jr, the band’s leader and drummer, says the promotional muscle of a major company should be a game-changer.

“Those albums were not done with any company that had the power of Island Records and we didn’t have a producer, so this is a big difference,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

Island Records was the influential London-based company that distributed Bob Marley and The Wailers’ albums during the 1970s when they enjoyed their greatest success. JAH Message, The Wailers’ previous studio effort, was released in 1994 by RAS Records, an independent company from Washington DC.

One World has already produced a single in One World, One Prayer which features Skip Marley, his mother Cedella, Shaggy and Puerto Rican singer Farruko. It was released in February, not long after Emilio Estefan approached Barrett about a possible collaboration.

Estefan wrote and produced One World, One Prayer which like most of One World, was recorded at his Crescent Moon Studio in Miami.

Barrett and Wailers lead singer Joshua David Barrett (no relation) co-produced six songs for the album.

The 29-year-old Barrett is son of Aston “Family Man” Barrett, the legendary bassist who took over as leader of The Wailers after Bob Marley died in 1981.

Barrett said his father stopped touring in 2017 after suffering a series of strokes. He joined the band in 2011, previously playing bass for Lauryn Hill and Julian Marley.

The younger Barrett said working with Estefan is something his father and Bob Marley would have welcomed 40 years ago.

“He always told me that he and Bob wanted a top producer to work with and they were thinking of Quincy Jones but it didn’t work out. I guess with Emilio we have something they wanted,” he said.

Estefan was the main force behind his wife’s numerous hit songs which made her massive in North and Latin America. He has also been a mentor to several artistes including Jon Secada.

Destiny, one of the songs he produced for One World, features his daughter Emily. It was originally done in 1996 for Gloria Estefan’s album of the same name.