Biography
Andrew Spraggon of New Zealand fronts Sola Rosa, a venture whose fusion of funk, hip-hop, electronic, jazz, Latin, and soul elements has generated multiple recordings and lineups since its emergence near the start of the millennium. The 2009 album Get It Together preceded a noticeable turn toward neo-soul textures on later projects such as Magnetics in 2014 and Chasing the Sun in 2020, both of which included vocal support from Kevin Mark Trail of The Streets. Sola Rosa resurfaced in 2024 via the single “Tears Roll Down,” which highlights Australian singer AKOSIA.
Spraggon’s initial four-track home recordings secured a contract with Festival Mushroom Records and prompted early Sola Rosa releases including the Entrance to Skyway EP in 2000 plus the debut album Solarized in 2001, which claimed the first Best Electronica Album Award at the New Zealand Music Awards. Across the subsequent decade, Spraggon and rotating collaborators traveled globally while issuing assorted EPs, singles, and four studio albums, among them the commercially successful Get It Together, which later spawned a dedicated remix collection. Evolution continued with the 2012 album Low and Behold, High and Beyond, which reduced earlier Latin and reggae leanings in favor of stronger hip-hop and neo-soul focus.
Magnetics, Sola Rosa’s sixth long-player, arrived in 2014 and featured vocal contributions from soul singer Jill Scott and Streets vocalist Kevin Mark Trail alongside others. Trail reappeared on the 2016 single “So Fly,” which preceded the 2017 single “Back to You” featuring Kiwi-born soul singer Noah Slee; both tracks were gathered on the 2018 EP In Spaces.
Spraggon’s next substantial project was the 2020 album Chasing the Sun, an expansive twelve-song set that advanced the neo-soul direction and reunited vocalist Trail with additional guests Thandi Phoenix, Wallace, and Sharlene Hector. Instrumental and deluxe editions of Chasing the Sun followed in 2021, though three further years elapsed before new material surfaced. “Tears Roll Down,” spotlighting Ghanian-Australian singer AKOSIA, emerged in late 2024 ahead of Sola Rosa’s forthcoming EP.
Spraggon’s initial four-track home recordings secured a contract with Festival Mushroom Records and prompted early Sola Rosa releases including the Entrance to Skyway EP in 2000 plus the debut album Solarized in 2001, which claimed the first Best Electronica Album Award at the New Zealand Music Awards. Across the subsequent decade, Spraggon and rotating collaborators traveled globally while issuing assorted EPs, singles, and four studio albums, among them the commercially successful Get It Together, which later spawned a dedicated remix collection. Evolution continued with the 2012 album Low and Behold, High and Beyond, which reduced earlier Latin and reggae leanings in favor of stronger hip-hop and neo-soul focus.
Magnetics, Sola Rosa’s sixth long-player, arrived in 2014 and featured vocal contributions from soul singer Jill Scott and Streets vocalist Kevin Mark Trail alongside others. Trail reappeared on the 2016 single “So Fly,” which preceded the 2017 single “Back to You” featuring Kiwi-born soul singer Noah Slee; both tracks were gathered on the 2018 EP In Spaces.
Spraggon’s next substantial project was the 2020 album Chasing the Sun, an expansive twelve-song set that advanced the neo-soul direction and reunited vocalist Trail with additional guests Thandi Phoenix, Wallace, and Sharlene Hector. Instrumental and deluxe editions of Chasing the Sun followed in 2021, though three further years elapsed before new material surfaced. “Tears Roll Down,” spotlighting Ghanian-Australian singer AKOSIA, emerged in late 2024 ahead of Sola Rosa’s forthcoming EP.
Albums
Singles
