Album Review: Mista Savona - Havana Meets Kingston

When we think of reggae and dancehall music, our minds obviously turn to the genre's native land of Jamaica. But how about adding some Melbourne to your Marley? 

Well, that's exactly what our very own Mista Savona has done, but wait, the multicultural buck doesn't stop there. Traveling to Havana in 2015 with a crew of established Jamaican musicians such as Bongo Herman, Winston 'Bopee' Bowen and Sly & Robbie, Savona combined forces with members of Cuba's legendary Buena Vista Social Club to put a powerful reggae spin on the Latin classics of the past. An unlikely joint (no pun intended) effort between these two nations, with the help of a Melbournian keyboard prodigy like Savona, Havana Meets Kingston seriously has no business being as funky as it is.

A mix of reworked standards and feel-good originals, Havana Meets Kingston is sure to please any fan of reggae, dub, Latin classics or world music in general. While it may be some time before Australia chooses to legalise the herb that many of these songs concern, Havana Meets Kingston is so naturally uplifting that our nation's stoners might have just found the next best thing.