Locos Por Juana, the Miami-based, GRAMMY® and Latin GRAMMY® nominated reggae fusion band, is proud to release their newest single “Children of the Light” off the new album Crazy for Jane recently dropped. This is the third release from the forthcoming album and combines dubby textures with alt-rock vibes. Based on Simply Reds’ “Holding Back the Years,” the new single is truly spectacular. The inspirational track is full of emotion and takes on a new meaning for Locos Por Juana with a focus on a new generation.
Mark Kondrat reflects, “I think what makes this single different is that we are more mature as artists and writers and we each have children of our own, so this song really hits home for us. Children are coming to this world smarter than ever and we need to do better as parents, brothers/sisters, aunts, and uncles to leave them a world where they can reach their goals and fulfill their destinies. Also, not to mention, that the new generations will have more important work and greater obstacles than we ever had so we are blessed to be the ones to bring them up and teach them right.”
The new single was a collaboration with Locos Por Juana and Tony Gonzalez, founder of the tastemaker imprint Rock the Moon, and the demo was recorded at Mark Kondrat’s home studio, Blue Room Studios. Tony recalls, “One-day Itawe and I were sitting at his house and I played Simply Red’s “Holding Back the Years” and shared the new lyrics with Itawe – and it just worked – then Mark reggae’d the track up with his musical talents. We presented the track to Simply Red and he immediately jumped on board and gave us his blessing to release the song,” Jesse Chirino, daughter of the famous Cuban singer Willy Chirino, lent her vocals for the song.
“Children of the Light” was finished at Studio 26 in Miami, where most of the upcoming album was recorded. Gennaro Schiano (Stephen Marley, Damian Marley) mixed the song and Chris Gehringer from Sterling Sound in NY was the master engineer. Tony concludes, “The new song captures the spirit of what it is to struggle and persevere in life. We all have a positive light inside of us – we just need to fight in order to let it shine and never give up hope – no matter the circumstance.”
