Created in Isla Vista, a small college town in Santa Barbara, California, reggae group Iration started out playing their original brand of reggae music in other college towns across the state.
Iration linked its name to its reggae roots – it is the ‘rasta’ way of using the word creation according to the Urban Dictionary – and are well known for playing a lot of ‘sunshine reggae’, which is a version of the genre with subtropical links. Describing themselves as being ‘all about luv,’ the band’s five members, Joseph Dickens (Drums), Joseph King (Engineer), Cayson Peterson (Keyboard/Synth), Micah Pueschel (Guitar/ Vocals), and Adam Taylor (Bass), all hail from Hawaii.
The group released its first EP in 2006, called New Roots, and became extremely popular for their live performances to college crowds. They then followed this up with their first full-length album, No Time for Rest, in 2007, which reached the number one spot on the Billboard Reggae Albums Chart.
Their second EP, Sample This, released in late 2008, became the No. 3 top-selling reggae album worldwide on iTunes. In 2013, following the departure of vocalist Kai Rediske – which was rumoured to be due to fallout within the band as a result of having two lead vocalists – the album Automatic was released. This offering topped the Billboard Reggae Albums Chart and was described by the band as “forging a truly unique listening experience by crossing genre boundaries, fusing reggae with fresh pop and rock influences.”
Iration has stuck to its aim to perform live whenever possible and has been touring nationally since 2008, appearing at Sierra Nevada World Music Festival, Sunset Strip Music Festival, McDowell Mountain Music Festival and Wakarusa. Iration has also headlined numerous national club and theatre tours including dates at Los Angeles’ Wiltern Theater and St. Petersburg’s Jannus Live.
