Artist description The name of the band is Light House Band. Strong roots reggae foundation. Tight rhythm section, with scintillating melodies on sax & guitar. Lots of dub and harmonius vocals.

Music Style Reggae, flavored with Native American, Jazz, & Afro-Cuban rhythms

Musical Influences Sun Ra, Fela, Cesara Evora, Burning Spear, Bob Marley, Culture, Abyssinians, Patrice Rushen, & Sade

Similar Artists Sade

Artist History Originally this project was named DOGON SIRIUS. Husband & wife team (Mario Vela & Tchiya Amet)keepthings running smoothly. This band has toured with the Bob Marley Festival Tour and has also backedup artists kayumanbggi, Isaac Haile Selassie and Joanna Marie. Still active in the Austin Reggae scene, Tchiya Amet & the Light House band looks forward to performing for the youth & their families.

Group Members Tchiya Amet Vela: lead vocals, songwriter, & keys;Mario H. Vela: drums & manager; Dwayne "D-Madness" Jackson vocals & bass; and Melvin Willburn: sax.

Instruments Keys, bass, guitar, drums, percussion, sax, flute, trombone, electric wind synth, Native American Mallard Flute & synthesizers

Albums Rise Again Truth is the album debut!

Press Reviews From Texas Platters (Austin Chronicle 2-4-00) by David Lynch. "Crucial reggae ain't dead, not if Tchiya Amet's even-tempered debut RISE AGAIN TRUTHis any indication. Local singer/keyboardist Amet and handpicked area musicians supply the intricate and airy musical red carpet for this Soul Sista'sreasonings on living a natural, Ital life. Still, two things distinguish RISE AGAIN TRUTH from otherlyrically intense reggae: jazzy arrangements and the incorporation of Native American tradition. On the propelling "Lakota:4 Directions" for example, Amet mixes Rastafari theology with indigenous mythology, the music evoking a hypothet-ical blend of Finnish sensation Varttina vocal harmonies, Burning Spear's saxophone, and Aston "Family Man" Barrett bass grooves. Likewise, a Native American Mallard flute flows through the Cherokee song "Tsalagi Thankful," with the outcomebeing a far cry from New Age thanks to drop riddim beats and dub dreaks. On opener "Natiral Life," Amet's voice evokes the glassy phrasing of Sade, but with more straight-ahead conviction. Edwin Livingston donates killer basswork through-out, but shines on "Reservation Ragtime Blues" and "Rastfari is Universal," a tune in which Amet alludes - like Dizzy Gillespie's brilliant "Kush" - to the great Afican kingdom that gave rise to the Pharaohs. Some may find the dread lyrics a bitpreachy, but RISE AGAIN TRUTH is - musically andlyrically - head and shoulders above lovey-doveypop reggae. Some tracks ("Natural Woman") can stand alone as instrumentals. Jah Live!

Additional Info Propagating the Teachings of the Elders amongst the Youth of Today!

Location Austin, Texas - USA

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