New York’s IRIEspect, who fuse reggae with rock, hip-hop and Latin American flavors, have taken a big leap forward with their Lost in Time EP released in this past December.  

This hard-working band from Long Island has been garnering a regional fanbase throughout the New York City area and New England on the strength of many live shows, both as headliners and in support of touring acts that come through the area. Artists they’ve played with include Original Wailers, Collie Buddz, Steel Pulse, Barrington Levy, Inner Circle, Badfish, Pepper, Pete Francis of Dispatch, Mihali, Sister Nancy, Jesse Royal, Fortunate Youth, Mike Love, Long Beach Dub Allstars and Easy Star Allstars.  Festivals they have performed at include Great South Bay Fest (NY), Green Mountain Reggae Fest (VT), Higher Ed Fest (MA), Lion Heart Fest (NJ) and CannaFest (FL).

Drummer Mike Celano takes the reins when it comes to promoting IRIEspect, and he recounted the evolution of the group and provided  some insight into the creation of Lost In Time.

The band formed in 2019 amongst a group of friends that came together around Celano’s former band, The RBC.  After RBC disbanded, two of the core IRIEspect members, guitarist Bryan Kelly and keys player Mike Ortsman, kept “poking” Celano about starting up a new reggae project. Celano capitulated, and they invited original bassist Mike Hanson aka Mikeybass and wrote their first songs together. About a year later, guitarist Juan Jurado joined the band, bringing a Latin American influence. Eventually Mikeybass had to take a back seat to performing, remaining in the fold as a “silent songwriter,” and Jurado transitioned into their full-time bassist.    

Around 2022, the band expanded from a 4-piece to a 6-piece outfit when Celano met Nick Corredor during his travels around the local Long Island music scene. The two hit it off talking classic Jamaican music. “We invited him down to a show with his melodica and he chimed in like as if we had always been playing,” said Celano, eventually cementing him as a full-time keyboard player and singer. Corredor then recruited his friend, James Barros, as a second guitarist, and the two helped strengthen and diversify their output. “They’ve made a big impact in the growth and development of IRIEspect’s sound,” said Celano. 

Lastly, IRIEspect brought on MC Fame to contribute to some of their tracks, adding an element of hip-hop. 

With this new and enhanced lineup, IRIEspect has created five bangers on the Lost in Time EP that should appeal to fans of modern West Coast reggae.

Lost In Time was recorded at Cloud 9 Recording in Islip, Long Island, NY, by engineer Joe Napoli. It was then mixed and produced by talented producer Andrew Riordan at his Dubking Studios in Gilford, NH, who the band felt would be a “perfect fit” given his focus on dub and reggae. Finally, Pete Peloquin at Boardzhouse Studios in Brookline, NH mastered the EP. Celano oversaw the project as Executive Producer, with Jurado also contributing to co-production on the tracks.

On their 2024 self-titled debut LP, the band had used different producers for different songs, “spreading the love around a little bit,” but with Lost In Time, they had Riordan produce all 5 tracks. This led to more cohesiveness. “He was very hands-on and helped co-engineer the recording process as well, ensuring the songs were ready to be ‘reggae-fied’ in the mix and production process, really expediting the whole process overall, even with building our scratch tracks.”

When asked if the band had a specific sound they were trying to achieve, Celano said, “First and foremost, we’re reggae enthusiasts. At the root of our passions and sound is reggae, but we knew we wanted to expand on that, so one objective was to showcase a more versatile, eclectic and genre-bending span of reggae music and beyond. From rootsy to more modern style to dancehall and dubby, it covers a wide range in both musical and vocal styles.”

Celano also noted their Latin American flair. “Juan’s ancestry originates from El Salvador, Nick’s from Colombia, and James’ from Ecuador. Our music is a melting pot of ethnicities and influences, and we wanted to showcase that diversity in our music. The final cherry on top is infusing hip-hop where it fits.”

For this release, they also made a point to include collaborations with other singers, which their label, Dubshot Records, provided a lot of help with. Celano said Dubshot owner, Chris “Mannix” Schlarb, helped them recruit other artists he has worked with, landing on two “super talented” vocalists out of Jamaica, Ras Ajai and Skygrass. These vocal features really give the LP some extra zest and give IRIEspect’s music added authenticity.   

The first track, “Want Me Too,” starts with some tentative piano and guitar notes and Corredor plaintively singing, “No one knows the way you are…no one knows baby,” creating the expectation that this song may be a ballad of sorts, but then steel drums and brass kick in, quickly followed by Ras Ajai’s jubilant patois, instantly uplifting the tone. Celano knew Ras Ajai, a gifted artist who happens to be on Sean Paul’s Dutty Rock Records label, would be a perfect fit for the song, and planted the idea for some U-Roy style vocals. Ajai delivered exactly what they hoped for and more. “We sent him the scratch track and after not much time, he nailed his parts, really elevating the song and bringing the vibes to a level and energy it wouldn’t have reached otherwise,” Celano gushed. 

Throughout the song, the band perfectly harmonizes around the vocalists, with all these elements creating a glorious tropical reggae jaunt.

The other guest vocalist out of Jamaica, Skygrass, a singer, songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist and visual artist from Kingston, makes his appearance in the second song, “Nuh Leave Me Alone.” The track opens with the steady skank of a guitar and a wicked bassline that strongly brings to mind Dennis Brown’s classic cut, “Revolution,” instantly certifying this track as a banger of the highest order.  For his searing feature, Skygrass penned a clever verse with some imaginative lyrics, resulting in (I believe) the only reggae song in history that mentions Sega Genesis:

You must be typing in the dark, girl, you’re sending mixed messages
Playing old games, Nintendo, Sega Genesis
I got the cheat code to unlock the sweet zone
Everything you dream of with some special features
I’m not a novice, you can join me in the tropics
Rivers with the beaches, mountains with the greenery
Roll with me, baby, smoke with some better scenery
Loving is a passion, do it clean and nuh leave me

Celano and his bandmates knew Skygrass’ style would be a good fit for the song’s tougher vibe and they were thrilled with their decision. “He really crushed on the lyrics,” Celano agreed. “When we’re driving to shows, we bump the song and always have fun singing along to his verse. Skygrass is a unique energy and truly a perfect pairing, adding another layer of dynamic energy that played off Nick’s vocal approach really well. It was meant to be.” 

With its valiant horns, wicked bassline and deliberate one-drop beat, the third track, “Lost,” could easily be a Slightly Stoopid song if Corredor’s vocals were replaced by Kyle McDonald’s or Miles Doughty’s.  Speaking of Corredor’s vox, in this track they somewhat bring to mind one of the more iconic voices in the modern American reggae scene, that of Tribal Seeds’ front-man, Stevie Jacobo. Laden with dubby echoes and with wisps of guitar subtly drifting in and out, this simmering homage to ganja pleases indelibly.

Next, IRIEspect flashed their Latin American muscles by covering international French-Spanish superstar Manu Chao. After co-founding and singing for Latin-alternative/punk/folk/ska/reggae/salsa/worldbeat mashup success, Mano Negra, from 1987-1994, Chao continued on as an award-winning solo artist making similar genre-melding music.  From his catalog, IRIEspect recorded their own version of ostensibly his most popular song with over 972 million streams on Spotify alone, “Me Gustas Tu.” The boys from Long Island beefed up the stripped-down flamenco/reggae mashup, giving it a reggae-rock treatment with some melodica for flavor. The song features singing in English and Spanish, including a rapped verse from MC Fame.

“It’s a funny story how it came about,” Celano recalled. “When this song first came to light, it was Juan Jurado who would randomly play it at practices. In the beginning, Mike Ortsman even thought it was Juan’s original song, ‘til we learned it was a Manu Chao song. We thought it was so cool and something that could be fun to make our own version of.”

Celano continued, “Manu Chao had a major influence on Juan’s musical style, whose heritage originates from El Salvador. Being Manu Chao has always been an extremely popular artist in Latin America, Europe and around the world, Juan found himself being inspired by him early on. We knew, though, one main objective we had was to make sure we maintained that same world-track feel and essence to our version too.”

Celano said they landed on the version they did “just by following the organic flow of it” as they crafted it. “As we say, we ‘IRIE-fied’ it, and then expanded on it, while honoring the song’s core integrity, including the trademark chorus and infectious ‘Me Gustas Tu’ chants.”

After opening with guitar and light drumming, the song begins with the aforementioned chorus, and then expands into a catchy section sung in Spanish by Nick Corredor. Next, it goes into a “killer” melodica solo by Mike Ortsman, “really capturing the Manu Chao essence.”  Towards the end, MC Fame comes in with an edgy rap that adds another dynamic element to the tune and officially puts the IRIEspect stamp on it.

Finally, the EP wraps up with a rocker called “Dangerous,” a thick sonic gumbo of fuzzy guitar, a voluptuous bassline, vibrant horns, lead and harmonizing vocals and tons of reverb and echo.  Bassist/guitarist Juan Jurado spearheaded the track and recruited Duvbear (birth name Sholom Miller) for a guest vocal appearance as he felt he would be a good fit for both the energy and messaging of the song. The band had met Duvbear, an emerging artist out of New York who happens to be the son of Matisyahu, at one of their shows and hit it off.

Worth mentioning, the Lost in Time album cover features vibrant hand-drawn artwork by friend of the band, Joshua Marc Levy. Originally from Long Island and now based in Asheville, NC, the artist designed the band’s logo along with art for previous releases. 

“Art is very important to us,” shared Celano. “It helps draw the viewer into your music in an interactive way where it leaves a lasting impression. It helps get your story and concept across. It was also important to us to keep the art’s continuity from album to album for proper branding.”

For their recent EP, Celano said they wanted to capture a scene that ultimately felt “lost in time” with imagery of the cosmos as well as an old hot rod and a pinup beach babe, while also tying in personal references to their metropolitan-area island home, such as the I-495 sign (a popular expressway on Long Island), shark fins in choppy ocean waters, a lighthouse, an anchor, a surfboard and the New York City skyline in the distance.   

In sum, IRIEspect have passionately honed their craft over the years, and with the infusion of new talent fronted by creative force and skilled singer Nick Corredor, they are poised to take the next step toward wider recognition.  Celano summarized, “It was a surreal experience working with these special guest artists and we’re truly humbled for the opportunity to work with them. Our diversity and collaborations will be a trademark to our new identity and sound.”

Looking ahead, IRIEspect will look to keep that momentum rolling with a dub remix version of Lost In Time to be released in late winter. Also, they are already working on the next batch of studio scratch tracks for another follow-up EP they aim to release this summer, and they hope to expand on their touring experience by booking shows along the east coast.