Tower Band makes the transition to recording act

With the release of their new single, Rich in Spirit, Tower Band is ushering in a new era, transitioning from a backing band into a genuine show and recording band.

Comprising of Rayon 'Prof' Smith, Corey Coombs and Andre 'Kryss Ras' Barnes, Tower Band has been together for eight years. The act has developed a burgeoning reputation backing music industry luminaries like Marcia Griffiths, Ken Boothe, Tanya Stephens, Jahshii, and Kevin Downswell. This new musical project is about taking things to a new level.

The video for Rich in Spirit was shot on the roof of the Digicel Headquarters in downtown Kingston, sections of Half-Way Tree, St Andrew, and at a radio station. It was directed by Barnes and Smith. The song delivers a message of empowerment, and was produced by Tower Music Media Group.

"The visual is out and it is uplifting music. It's about showing different aspects of skills and fun and enjoying what you do as a creative," Barnes said. "We are a band, musical entrepreneurs. We are empowering our generation to say step out and do you, put your skills and talents to use. Don't waste time, don't procrastinate."

Barnes explained that the decision to make the transition to a recording band was borne out of the band's growth over the past few years. With growth comes change, and according to Barnes, that change begins now.

"We want to share our music with the world," said Barnes, who highlighted that Rich in Spirit is just the first taste of an EP that is currently in production.

"Being in the dancehall space playing for currently hot dancehall artistes like Skeng, Valiant, TeeJay and Stalk Ashley and seeing how people react to our music, we decided that we wanted to put words to melody and melody to music," he said. But Barnes explained that the band has no intention of abandoning its backing band duties.

"We are just adding our repertoire to the industry with a standard knowing that clean music still lives on. So being around artistes like Beres Hammond, we realised that we need to do clever music, make it nice. People will love it, and based on how you project it, people will buy into it because there is a market for every genre. It all depends on how you market it," he said.