Krista Henry, Staff Reporter

The band Urban Tribe Stockholm. - Contributed

Singing sweet reggae music from out of Sweden, the band Urban Tribe Stockholm will soon be embarking on a musical pilgrimage to Jamaica.

A 12-piece roots reggae band, Urban Tribe Stockholm made its debut with the album Bob's Bar. The band will be in Jamaica next week to do live shows, collaborations and learn more about the music.

Founder of the band, lead vocalist, guitarist, songwriter and producer, Adam Atterby, told The Sunday Gleaner that "Me and my wife Charlotte, who is also a member of the band, were on our honeymoon in Thailand. We stopped by a small reggae bar called 'Bob's Bar', where I decided to write a song for Bob. I went home and recorded it in my studio. We decided to start a band and do a whole album from there."

Then a music producer for 16 to 17 years, Atterby was mostly concerned with doing commercial music before moving into reggae. His love for reggae, however, started from 10 years old when he was given his first Bob Marley and the Wailers CD. When Atterby was 12 he saw Marley perform live, an experience that he would never forget. "It was fantastic, really something. I have some great memories," he told The Sunday Gleaner.

Enthusiastic reception

After forming the band, Atterby brought together the urbanity of the city and what he calls the 'tribal' feel of the music to determine the name of the new band. Bob's Bar has been given an enthusiastic reception by critics and reggae fans all over the world, and is currently played by radio stations in the US, England, Jamaica and parts of Africa. In June 2006 Bob's Bar was the 22nd most-played reggae album on the radio in the US.

"Bob's Bar was released only in the US. It was released on our own label and I was amazed at how much interest the radio gave it. It was a fantastic ride. For the first six months after the album was released we got a lot of interest," Atterby said. The group's second album, titled Who is the Enemy?, featuring guest vocal performances by David Hinds and Selwyn Brown of Steel Pulse, was released in July 2006. In 2006 Urban Tribe Stockholm toured Germany, Switzerland and Austria. The band has since released a third album titled Roots, aptly named for the type of reggae they admire the most.

According to Atterby, Urban Tribe is more than a little excited to be coming to Jamaica. "We're coming for like two weeks. It's really like a pilgrimage for us to soak up the atmosphere and learn as much as we can, meet the right people and it is a vacation but still work. We also plan to do a couple of live performances and try to do some collaborations," he said. They would like to work with Sly and Robbie, among others.

As for the future, Atterby says "We want to break internationally so we can spread the message, 'cause the message is so much more important than the actual music."