International music artist ALANDON has released his new music visual for the bubbling inspired dancehall anthem “1980” , premiered on The Fader and featured on DanceHallSoca.net, HipHopWeekly, ThisIs50, and AllHipHop. Although born and raised in the Waterhouse neighborhood of Kingston Jamaica, the video was shot in Alandon’s current home of Hartford Connecticut and features the likes of superstar dancer BLACKA DI DANCA who works regularly with Diplo’s Major Lazer massive.
In a recent conversation with FADER MAGAZINE Alandon stated quote: “We shot the video in Hartford, my city. What made this video so interesting are the different locations .. Nuff respect to Blacka Di Danca and his whole team. The dancers added the finishing touch to the video!”
The track “1980” which FADER calls “a catchy for-the-ladies track that features buttery melodies offset by just a touch of EDM glitch”, is gaining worldwide recognition and is currently available on iTunes
Watch SmokeStack Presents: ALANDON Promotional Video
Connecticut is not a place you’d think you’d find the next dancehall star, but it’s not such a stretch. The state just northeast of New York City is home to one of the largest Jamaican expat communities, most notably in the area of Hartford. Kingston native Alandon calls that city home now (after relocating from Waterhouse, home of the legendary King Tubby’s studio and sound system), and judging by the strength of his debut single, he just might soon put “the Constitution State” on the map for Caribbean music. His “1980”—which was first heard on the radio broadcast of a Los Angeles Dodgers baseball game, of all places, and which you can stream here in full for the first time—is a catchy, melodic dancehall tribute to di gyal dem doing old-school bubbling (dancing) styles.
There’s more than a touch of Vybz Kartel in Alandon’s flow, and a bit of pop-mode Gyptian, as well; the multi-layered riddim isn’t your typical dancehall instrumental, though, with a touch of Latin flavor, and a trance-style breakdown. We wouldn’t be surprised to see this one follow Kranium’s “Nobody Has to Know” onto urban-radio playlists this summer. “1980” is also in heavy rotation currently on the reggae mixshows of WWPR (Power 105.1 NY),WQHT (Hot97 NY), WZMX (Hot 93.7 CT), B87 (87.7 Boston) and WQSH (105.7 Albany/Capital District/Southern Adirondacks).
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