Groundation's Proclamation: Here I Am

There’s a misty air about the work from Nor Cal’s Groundation. And while that might be a pervasive feature out of any musical work from the foggy coast over there, the band represents one of only two viable international reggae acts from the States – the other being John Brown’s Body, who could simply be thought of as the East Coast forbearer to this ensemble. That coastal difference, though, don’t provide for too much sonic differentiation. The bands aren’t identical, of course, but in each group’s pursuit of whatever the intangible JA sound is, both ride rough shod over their influences, bringing in some more soul and jazz than those originators may have intended.

That eerie, not irie, feeling dripping off of the band’s most recent album, Here I Am, stems from that inclusion of jazz that seems so dogged in its persistence. The group, made up of an ever growing North Bay contingent of players and singers, at some point a few years back saw fit to come together with San Fran guitarist Will Bernard as the newly constituted ensemble counted Leroy ‘Horsemouth’ Wallace. That point only illustrates thee players the make up Groundation seem more than capable of throwing down with not just that jazz and groove guitarist, but a living legend. The deference afforded this group, while remaining significantly less known than JJB, is set to change on the heels of this newest disc.

Counting twelve tracks in its ledger, this isn’t a conceptual effort as Groundation’s debut Young Tree was supposed to be. But there is a consistent tone to Here I Am that goes beyond the simple trappings of the genre. Even if there was some hook or gimmick, though, the odd warble of singer Harrison Stafford – who apparently has begun teaching a History of Reggae class at a local college – draws enough attention away from the instrumentation that sometimes it all just melts away as the vocal simply becomes the focal point – “Blues Away” being a decent example of such a phenomenon.

While the musical prowess of Groundation can’t be broached as a subject for debate, the album’s lead off work, “Run the Plan,” finds the group forgoing any sort of traditional JA concept of music and instead heads into an electro-funk jam for a three minute portion of the song’s seven. It eventually shifts into a reggae track, but announcing an album in that fashion seems like risky business. Oddly, though, Groundation is able to make it functional. After getting that bit of funk out of their collective systems, the band more conservatively sprinkles the influence throughout the rest of Here I Am – as on parts of “Beating Heart.”

Groundation isn’t gonna snag a Grammy or some other high profile, nonsensical award/reward. They will, most likely, continue to put out vaguely forward thinking music. But one must wonder at what point can this sort of genre bending break the form. Groundation could eventually become some groove act – probably not, but if they don’t, there doesn’t seem to be too much more room for the group to grow.