Many reggae fans like myself that got introduced to the genre through Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Culture, Steel Pulse and the amazing roots reggae artists that rose to prominence in the 70s and 80s were drawn to the music by its spiritual and socially conscious lyrics. Unfortunately, these days, it’s much less common to find this type of messaging amongst the modern American reggae acts. Don’t get me wrong – I love the beachy vibes –  but given the reprehensible policies, inhuman actions, blatant assault on the environment and unprecedented corruption of the current political administration in the U.S., the lighthearted fare doesn’t quell my appetite for meatier messaging.  I hunger for it.

So, naturally, it spiked my curiosity when Kyle Valle, a California-based musician and producer who releases music under the moniker IndiXkah, reached out to me with a song about “government corruption, misinformation, the human cost of war, and the growing divide between the wealthy and struggling families.” Upon first listen to “The Chosen,” the music hit hard and I yearned to learn more about IndiXkah and Tony Irie, the fresh voice he recruited to sing upon the track.

“Music has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember,” the San Jose native told me, saying he grew up in a household where music was always playing. “My parents were huge reggae fans, so I was listening to Bob Marley, Toots and the Maytals, Jimmy Cliff, Barrington Levy, and a lot of other reggae legends from a very young age. At the same time, I was also exposed to artists like the Grateful Dead, Cypress Hill, and the Beastie Boys, which helped shape my musical tastes beyond reggae.”

Valle said the first concert he ever attended was Toots and the Maytals when he was four years old, so reggae has been a part of his life from the beginning. “As a teenager, I went to the very first California Roots Festival, and that had a huge impact on me,” he recalled. “Seeing the California reggae scene firsthand made me realize that this was something I wanted to be a part of.”

When he was nineteen, Valle taught himself how to play bass and joined his first band, High Expectations. “We didn’t have the money to record in professional studios, so I bought a small two-channel interface and started teaching myself how to record and produce music as well. Everything we did was recorded in a garage, and that’s where I really fell in love with songwriting, arranging, recording, and production.”

Valle gives a nod to his friend, Big G, who was one of his biggest influences early on. “He helped teach me a lot about recording, mixing, and mastering, and he co-produced many of the songs we worked on back then. Around that same time, I started my own project, IndiXkah, as a place where I could do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. It gave me an outlet for ideas that didn’t always fit within the band’s direction.”

Kyle Valle aka IndiXkah

Valle started posting bass videos, music clips, and original ideas on Instagram, and those videos ended up opening doors he never expected. One of those doors came when the San Diego-based band, Operation Culture, found him on Instagram and reached out about joining them as a touring bassist. “The funny thing is that I had never actually played a live show before going out on tour with them,” Valle revealed. “I was definitely nervous, but once I got out on the road, I fell in love with performing.”

That first tour took Valle through California, Utah, Colorado, and back home, and it completely changed his life. During that tour, he was asked to fill in on bass for Vana Liya at Mammoth Reggae Festival. Not long after that, Aaron Wolf reached out and asked him to join him on a nationwide tour. He ended up doing two national tours with Wolf, which gave him the opportunity to perform at festivals and venues all over the country. One of those festivals was Mission Bayfest in San Diego, where he first met Alific. Alific needed a backing band, so Wolf’s drummer, Kenny Rogers,  and Valle pulled double duty and played for both artists.  Since then, Valle has been playing with Alific while continuing to grow as a bassist, songwriter, producer and engineer as he produces and releases music under the IndiXkah name.

“At the end of the day, everything I do comes back to the music I grew up on,” he said. “Whether it’s reggae, rock, or hip-hop, I’ve always been drawn to artists who create something authentic. It’s pretty crazy to think that I went from being a kid attending concerts with my parents to sharing stages and creating music with artists I respect so much today.”

Speaking of creating music, Valle works entirely out of a home studio that he built himself. “Over the years, I’ve slowly added gear and built it into a space where I can handle everything from writing and recording to mixing and production,” he told me. “I also built a mobile studio setup that I can bring on the road with me. A lot of people think music stops when you’re touring, but honestly some of my best ideas come while traveling. I’ve worked on songs in hotel rooms, backstage at venues, and even in tour vans.”

Tony Irie

For “The Chosen,” Valle had written the instrumental and one day found himself scrolling through TikTok when he came across a video of an artist named Tony Irie that caused him to pause.  “When I first saw Tony on TikTok, he was sitting in the back seat of his car playing one of his original songs on an acoustic guitar. What immediately grabbed my attention was his voice. It reminded me of the Marleys. He has some of the wailing qualities that I love in Bob Marley’s voice, but at the same time he also has some of that energy and style that reminds me of Damian Marley.”

Valle said that after listening to Irie sing, he instantly knew he wanted to work with him. “I could already hear his voice over some of the productions I had been working on, and when I listened back to ‘The Chosen,’ I knew it would be the perfect song for him.”

Without hesitation, Valle reached out to Irie and was stoked to learn that the singer also lived in San Jose. The two promptly made plans to get together and Valle said that as soon as his new collaborator got in the studio, his instincts that Irie would be a good fit for “The Chosen” were quickly confirmed.

When Irie first arrived, Valle played him the original version of “The Chosen,” which he had intended to release as an instrumental piece with vocal samples.    “What blew me away was how fast he works,” Valle said. “He pulled out a notebook and pencil and wrote the entire song in roughly two hours. From start to finish, the lyrics just poured out of him. He’s an absolute machine when it comes to songwriting, but more importantly, his lyrics have real substance. Every line felt intentional and carried a message.”

For Tony Irie, a pivotal moment occurred during his freshman year of high school when a friend made him a mixed tape with various reggae artists. That tape included the song, “One Drop,” by Bob Marley.  “I felt like my eyes were open from that point on,” he told me. “I heard music before that time, but after listening to that song, I started to feel music.”

Irie said that feeling led to him creating his first of several bands to come. At the time, he was a keyboard player, but after high school, he taught himself to play guitar, finding that he had “much more of a bond” with it.

“Bob Marley’s music has been one of my biggest inspirations,” he said. “I found that I am drawn to any music that has a message of positivity, upliftment, or truth. Reggae music is a great medium to send a message because of the frequency it holds. It is more than music to me – it is spiritual and sacred.”

As for his work on “The Chosen,” he told me, “My lyrics speak to the world we are living in today. The media, phones, news, etc. are constantly keeping us distracted, and we are getting more lost as a society each day. When you see an injustice, no matter how big or small, you have been chosen. Most people do not answer the call to fight against injustice because we have been pitted against each other. The music I create is to try to wake up those who are ready, and to plant the seeds in those who are not.”

IndiXkah (left) and Tony Irie (right)

Valle said that the writing and recording process for “The Chosen” happened almost entirely in a single day, but then came the part where he tends to obsess over details. “I hold my productions to a pretty high standard, so I spent another eight months refining the arrangement and mix,” he said. “One of the biggest changes was bringing in live drums. Jordenn Garcia initially recorded drums for the song, but later I wanted to revisit a few sections. By that point, Jordenn was out on tour with Beach Fly, so I brought in Tuuri Sampo to record additional drum parts. Once I had both performances in front of me, I realized there were things I loved from each drummer. Jordenn had certain accents and fills that were perfect, while Tuuri brought grooves and transitions that really elevated the song. Instead of choosing one or the other, I combined elements from both performances into the final arrangement. Once everything was exactly where I wanted it, I sent the song off to the legendary Bonzai Caruso for mastering.”

Finally, Valle concluded, “What started as an instrumental track ended up becoming a collaboration between a lot of talented musicians, but for me, it all goes back to Tony showing up with a notebook, a pencil, and a powerful message.”