It's becoming quite a task to keep track of all the projects coming out of Roberto Sánchez's A-Lone Ark Muzik Studio, especially when many of them feature overlapping musicians.
By Jah Rebel
Message is an instrumental project built around the melodica of Javier ‘Bass Lee’ Arkotxa and the trombone of Gorka ‘Junior G’ Fernández, and has already recorded two full-length albums. As their titles suggest, both albums are showcases, each featuring seven instrumentals and an equal number of dubs; deliciously vintage-sounding compositions that will undoubtedly be a real treat for fans of both Augustus Pablo and Rico Rodriguez.
Javier ‘Bass Lee’ Arkotxa also plays in Upyard, a reggae band hailing from Mungia, just north of Bilbao, alongside Alex Rivas (drums and vocals), Gorka Sánchez (bass and backing vocals), Alex Zabala (guitar) and Arkaitz Alberdi (keys and backing vocals). With Sufferah’s Time, the band now presents its debut full-length album.
The track list is packed with vintage-inspired conscious tunes bearing titles like ‘Poor’s Harvest’, ‘Revolution’, ‘False Prophets’, and, of course, ‘Sufferah’s Time’.
But Upyard also proves it’s firmly rooted in the present. The track ‘Free Yemen’, for instance, highlights our collective human shortcomings; pointing out how the spotlight seemingly only has room for one humanitarian crisis at a time.
Finally, Jata, the name of the band’s label and also the title of one of the tracks on ‘Sufferah’s Time’, refers to a mountain peak separating the fishing village of Bakio from Mungia.
Instrumental or vocal, whichever you prefer, the choice is yours (or just treat yourself to both)!
Founder alongside Jah Shakespear who transitioned to this role in late 2014. Previously worked as critic and reporter, balancing passions for music and Haile Selassie spirituality.
July 20, 2025