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Going back to their roots as singers, Voicemail says their upcoming album 'Next Level 'will showcase their vocal range.
Speaking with THE STAR, Voicemail member Kevin Blair explained that a release date is yet to be decided because there are two unfinished tracks. However, he said the album is well on its way and different from previous albums Hey that was released worldwide in 2005 and Let's Go and Jump Off released in Japan subsequently.
"There were quite a few party tracks on all the albums, high energy kinda party vibe. This time it's different and there are more vocals on this," said Blair, who forms Voicemail with Craig Jackson.
"It's not even seh we move away from it (uptempo songs) but music has a way of talking to you and we wanted to try different things as well."
Blair said the decision to do songs that show off their vocals was further driven by what they think are the songs that audiences outside of Jamaica gravitate towards.
"When we go outside of Jamaica, we get requests for song that don't normally play here. We decided to give the international market and Jamaica a different side of Voicemail, the side that we started out with when there were five of us. It's not that we are going away from the high energy but giving the album a different feel," Blair told THE STAR.
He said, however, that despite their drive to be different on this album there will still be high energy songs like Summer Time and Attention.
Another difference with the album Blair said was; "In terms of the production, it's a more international sounding album. Most of the tracks were produced by The Titans who are signed to Warner Brothers Music. So you can use that to judge the level of production we are putting on this," he told THE STAR.
Blair said the album is also dear to their hearts because most of the songs were done with Oneil Edwards who died tragically in May last year. He said they have been working on the album for almost three years and got a lot of input from Edwards.
"It was suppose to be released before he died but because of that it had to be set back. It feels wonderful because he was instrumental in getting the connection with the label we are doing the album with," he said, noting that Edwards also played a role in selecting the songs that will be on the album.
"It feels good to know that he is on it. It makes this album special and we definitely want to make sure we push this as much as we can."
As a form of dedication to Edwards, Blair said One Life will be on the album. He said the song was previously released in dedication to Edwards and to raise funds for his medical bills and to give financial support to his young daughter.
With an album laden with songs showing off their growth as artistes, Blair said he hopes it will be able to give Voicemail its international break.
"We are hoping that this album will take us to the next level, get us that international break. We are trying to put in all the work that we can to get that break," he said.
Kevin Blair (left) and Craig Jackson of the group Voicemail.
