Ferrán Cocera Cruz, aka I-Man Cruz, loved singing as a child. In the late 1990s he sang in a reggae band called The Red Ones. The band mainly covered Studio One classics. When I-Man Cruz moved to Santander, he began working with Roberto Sánchez. In 2009 he recorded his first song “To The Light” at the A-Lone Ark Muzik studio, but it remained unreleased. Five years later he formed a new band called Rice & Peas. The song “Everything’s Possible” was created with the Rice & Peas, which is now in a slightly modified form on the showcase album “I-Man Cruz: Man In A Mission(A-Lone Ark) can be heard. Two songs have previously been released under the name Papa Cruz: “Crisis” from 2013 was sung with Linval Thompson and “Nuff A Dem” from 2017 was sung with the Viceroys. He recorded the song “We’re Going To Zion” with Roberto Sánchez and then released the solo single “Tek A Look”, which can also be heard on this beautiful album.
For I-Man Cruz, Roberto Sánchez also delivers crisp roots reggae riddims with exquisite old skool vibes, which are typical of many of his productions. I-Man Cruz's singing style is clearly inspired by Jamaican greats like Dennis Brown and Delroy Wilson. With a total of six showcase tracks, the album masterfully showcases the Spanish roots reggae singer's vocal and lyrical abilities. Everyone Dub blends seamlessly with the vocal part, effortlessly creating an appealing acoustic journey that is both reggae and Dub- will captivate lovers alike. The album begins with the title track “In A Mission”, with which I-Man Cruz presents an incredibly catchy and memorable opener with striking horn sections and varied instrumentation. The following “Inity” is the perfect sequel and one is really looking forward to it Dub-Version. Both musically and lyrically, the song easily maintains the tension. On “Tek A Look,” Cruz’s vocals harmonize perfectly with the driving riddims. Followed by “Follow Unfollow”, which gets more and more into your ear canals after listening to it several times. More or less the same can be said about “Joyful Song,” a piece that has the potential to give a depressed person new courage to live.
In short: Another debut album from the A-Lone Ark Studio, which with its six showcase tracks over seven minutes long offers a good introduction to the musical world of I-Man Cruz. Solid classic riddims and Dubs – what more could you want?
10 replies to “I-Man Cruz: In A Mission (Showcase)”
Yes, what more could you want?!?
I actually can't put into words what exactly I'm missing here, but I'm just completely satisfied when I listen to this album.
Right at the beginning, Roberto Sanchez sends me out the door or puts me in the goal by beeping at me again. But overall the beeping on the album is kept within tolerable limits. Still, the riddims don't really grab me. It doesn't help that they were mostly recorded in 4/4 time - i.e. in "SteppaStyle". Either I now lack the strength to always feel the power of reggae or the musicians lack the necessary strength. I think they play too well, or too solid. Somehow that sounds too ordinary to me...
I know the stars don't always predict everything correctly, but I would still like to refer to the 3 1/2 stars here. For me, the stars are something like a mood barometer. They basically indicate how high the enthusiasm level was when listening to the album. And 3 1/2 is a long way from 5, considering that 5 is “the jackpot”. But 3 1/2 also reflects exactly “and approximately” my mood level when listening to the tunes.
Definitely solid! But I can't get more out of it.
“Solid as a rock, you feel the need in me” ……………………….. lemmi
I bought the album, but it actually ended up on the dust shelf... I can't say exactly why that is the case... for me that certain something is missing and the songs just aren't catchy and special enough... solid, yes, but Well, it's not enough to be played more often, and that has to do not least with the fact that this music leaves me rather emotionless... I can't even get my dancing legs going. One of many publications that I probably forgot at some point in the haze of time...
The biggest problem I have is the “extended mix” style – I have to skip forward first dub part to come?? or even cut it apart? I don't do the work, there are better alternatives:
Ines Pardo – My Time die dubs, with the wonderful music in dub (kindly swapped the vocals…).
Once you get used to the voices DUB ANCESTRAL is very catchy and I admit I listen to it very often, something different...
After that comes Muscle Voice with the wonderful Gideon Dub that takes me into completely different spheres.
I see the true connoisseur of Roberto Sanchez productions and have to say that I prefer all of your lists to the I-Man Cruz album... it's just the case that even Roberto Sanchez delivers average stuff and doesn't just bring out something extraordinary... Only very few people manage to do this (I can't think of anyone who does it consistently).
And I wouldn't fundamentally deny the extended mix style... on the single "Steppin' my Ganja Riddim" Roberto, in my opinion, released a good extended mix that I listen to often... not to forget Franz Job from Tobago, whose album “Babylon is Dead” I really appreciate, especially because of the extended mixes…
On the other hand, I can understand what you mean... the vocals are just too often annoying and I can hardly wait for the second half to begin...
“(I can’t think of anyone that fits the bill).”
Lemmi sits in the back row and snaps his fingers so hard that he can impart his knowledge to the teacher and shouts loudly, “I know it!!!”
BOB MARLEY & THE WAILERS!!!
For me it's still the best music ever made. Timeless and flawless.
And the few too Dubs I know are great.
“And this, how I’m telling you, is the Trenchtown Experience! All The Way from Trenchtown Jamaica! Bob Marley and The Wailers!
Come on ! Yeah!!!”
Ok, I'll lie down again…………………lemmi
Even Bob Marley & Wailer's albums weren't always well received by listeners - including me. Kaya and Exodus were also far too soft and too close to the mainstream for me at the time of their release. Today I see it completely differently.
The early Bob Marley/Wailers and Burning Spear albums always stand the test of time.
Yo Ras Vorbei !
“Is This Love” / “Waiting in Vain” and “One Love” are certainly compatible with the masses. But with “Waiting In Vain”, for example, I melted from the first moment and even today I still really enjoy melting into this tune. “One Love” still convinces me with the powerful riddem that this tune is based on and I don’t even mind “Is This Love” anymore because over time I have noticed again and again that I like this tune, at least As far as the rhythm carpet is concerned, I really like it.
The tunes “KAYA” and “EXODUS” alone always blow me away. This expressiveness, this concentrated energy that is in these tunes is exactly what I so often miss in today's music. I would say that these are “Musi – O – Tunya's” during floods, while a lot of things, actually most of them today, are babbling along more like a shallow mountain stream.
For example, a Capleton can bawl until his face turns green and blue, that's just superficial power. The music itself is soft. His concerts are a complete mystery to me. Why does he even have a band with him?! Most of the time they just pluck the riddim briefly so that you know what it's supposed to be about and then it goes back into this "hottehottehüpfhoch-rhythm" where he and the audience just jump around, like the fans in the Südkurve every now and then Another goal was scored for your own team. What kind of level is that?!
This is bothering me. I want to see and hear concerts where the musicians are allowed to show what they can do and where, when working together, they create a magic that makes me grin inside and out, because the majesty makes me forget everything else. This only happened before. The best examples were concerts by
I JAH Man Livi, Burning Spear and the Itals and of course many more.
Don't think I'll jump from the 8th floor tomorrow morning.
But even Misty In Roots is just a shadow of its former self.
The concerts are just babbling along. Where is this power and this “anger” of e.g. “Live at the Counter Eurovision”
remained. There are no more concerts where they celebrated “Bail Out” and “Live Up” as if they wanted to overshadow the Sermon on the Mount of Jesus Christ and unfortunately there was no YouTube or any other reason at that time either. to make a lasting memory of these concerts.
“Oh YES! Bring back another Bob Marley! Bring back another Prince Far I! Bring back another Moses!”
Mmmh, yes, I guess I just got into “Pay It All Back mode” a little. It came to me like that again...
I go back into the goal, try to hold onto every ball so that there is no reason to jump ……………… lemmi
Heyii lemmi, okay, you're right... I've been listening to Bob Marley & The Wailers albums more and more in the last few days... at the moment I'm particularly fond of Survival, Rastaman Vibration and Exodus... if I were your teacher I would choose them Answer def. praise…
Oh wonderful, Philipp!!!
Praise like that at Christmas is always good ;-)
But if I may quote my ex-colleague, who always said in such “legal days”:
“No, I’m not right, it’s just like that ;-) ……………
Yeah man! Greetings and happy holidays! …………….. lemmi
On December 3, 1976, seven gunmen stormed Bob Marley's home in Kingston, seriously injuring his wife Rita, his manager Don Taylor and Bob Marley. Fortunately, everyone survived the assassination attempt. They then went into exile in England, where Exodus and Kaya were accepted. Upon its release, Kaya & Exodus was initially criticized for being too slick, but was later seen as visionary as it brought reggae to a wider audience. The album Survival was created after Bob's return from exile and was once again celebrated as a return to the roots when it was released. So Much Trouble in the World, Zimbabwe, Top Rankin' and the Rastasong Babylon System alone still inspire me even after so many years. On Survival, Bob and Co. offer probably the most militant sound of their career.