Atlanta’s island folk and reggae staple, Beauregard & the Down Right, have released their new single “The Truth” as a kick off to a crowdsourcing campaign. They will use the monetary push to fund and promote their sophomore LP, Steppin’ Out. Steered by Beauregard Higgins, the Down Right — Mikey Phats on bass, Jonny Etheridge on trumpet and beatbox, and Job Penalosa on drums — is damn right ready to bring you the sounds of bikini-bound beachside bonfires.

“The Truth” goes down the ear canal like a fresh made piña colada served up in half a coconut shell. The heart of the tune lives and breathes just outside the Mayan jungle in a tiki bar temple overlooking the ruins of Tulum; its melodic horns drip down rudely carved hieroglyphics, restore ancient colors, and drift off into an emerald gulf. Higgins’ voice is a storm out at sea calmly rolling to shore with the distant thunder underlining the depths of his vocal horizon. The track is richly textured with electrified palm frond riffs and percussive subtleties that emulate mezcal-soaked prawns sizzling over open coals. It vibes coast to coast with the rhythmic swing of a Cali gold rush pickaxe, excavating back-clogged lard out yer soul as if it were the husk of the exotic sago stems; an old world feeding tube plunged deep into the belly of Indonesian tree-house dwellings.

Beauregard & the Down Right are rebuilding the once vacant sonic bridges between the isles of Ireland and Scotland to the Caribbean archipelagos. So keep the rind of your lime-eyed lids peeled. They are on a spiritual quest to dredge up more sunken subconscious treasures like “The Truth” from dark waters to open-air markets across the globe.

Give the single a listen below and then enjoy an exclusive interview with Higgins after the jump.

What was your intent behind releasing “The Truth” as a single?

I feel that, as a single, “The Truth” is the best representation of what is to come from the full-length album and we wanted to release a single to go along with the funding campaign for the recording and promotion of the new album to give people an idea of what they are contributing to.

In your opinion, what is the impact of this song’s social relevance?

“The Truth” is a song representing everyone’s ability to create a better environment and community around them by being independent and positive, taking responsibility for your actions and how it reflects upon everything around you. In general, this message of the song is wise up to rise up and take control of your life to achieve your dreams and grow a healthy family.

Where did you record this song, and who produced/mastered it?

We had the pleasure of recording in Nashville at a satellite studio for Nine-Four Recording out of Florida working with international producer Randall Karriker. The track was mixed and mastered by the always professional ears of Darian Cornish of Solid Gold Recording in Atlanta.

How did the recording play into building the song and do you think it helped deepen the songs ability to be meaningful to others?

I actually wrote the song acoustically and released that version for streaming online to see what kind of feedback it would get. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive so we decided it should be the first song produced and recorded for the new record. We actually didn’t get any producer input in the recording process and all the accompaniment on the recording was created with collective input from the band. We also had Michael Cunningham lay down some sax harmonies to the trumpet lines in studio, but the development of the song happened well before the studio.

As a result of all of this, what are the images that you see in your head when you play and think of this song? Have they changed over time or did this come from a fixed vision?

For me, the song is envisioning an ideal that you can literally achieve your dreams and build a strong community and a brighter future through hard work and determination. If you want a beautiful horizon, you have to take responsibility for yourself. No one is going to give you a hand out and there is no such thing as a free lunch, but I believe in collective efforts to brighten a community’s future. Sitting around wishing things were different isn’t going to effect any kind of change in one’s life (laughs). I don’t think my stance on this type of thing will ever change.

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