Pacific Coast Reggae

About the EP Entitled Pacific Coast Reggae by Clint Warren

Pacific Coast Reggae is Reggae Rock artist Clint Warren’s 5-song debut EP. Pacific Coast Reggae landed a top ten ranking on the iTunes Reggae charts in October through December of 2022 eventually peaking at number 2. Pacific Coast Reggae is one of 65 Reggae and Dancehall albums submitted for “Best Reggae Album” Under Voter Consideration at the 66th GRAMMY Awards and the #18 pick on Reggaeville and #20 on Worldmusicviews list. All of the instruments, production, and artwork in Clint’s songs has been performed and created by him. Clint Warren is a true one-man act. (See: PR ).

The 5 songs off Pacific Coast Reggae offer a unique blend of traditional African Roots Reggae mixed with Jawaiian Reggae while paying respect to the various musical and cultural influences throughout Clint Warren’s life. Pacific reggae differs from Jamaican reggae in the use of instruments such as the ukulele, traditional wooden drums, keyboard synthesizers and other Pacific sounds including Māori instruments. With time spent living in South Africa, the United States, and Albania, Clint has found a way to combine the most beloved components of each region’s musical style to form a type of Reggae that is as captivatingly catchy as it is singular.

Born and raised in South Africa, Clint Warren spent the earlier part of his life growing up around the customs of his caretaker who moved down from the Horn of Africa where the predecessors to the Reggae genre – Rocksteady and Ska – originated. While fostering a love for Roots Reggae, Clint worked in television as a child TV star and music show host performing alongside the likes of African reggae legends Lucky Dube, Ras Dumisani, and Colbert Mukwevho, as well as Dave Matthews. (See IMDB)

A family move in the late 1990s brought about Clint’s fascination with American and Jamaican Reggae. After enlisting in the US Marines, he was stationed in California where he picked up Jawaiian Reggae, a mixture of the genre with Hawaiian and Jamaican influence.

After sustaining injuries in the service which led him to being confined to a wheelchair, Reggae music became a source of hope. It was the sounds of his youth that helped him through homelessness and PTSD, the positive chants and engaging rhythms serving as comfort. Following time spent as a civil rights lawyer, Clint found purpose in the US Peace Corps as the first (and only) US Marine to transition to that role. His time in the Peace Corps brought him to Albania, where Mediterranean music began to influence his own style as an artist. By incorporating the Flamenco guitar into a blend of Roots-based Reggae, his vision was nearly complete.

This unique sound became solidified upon Clint’s return to the West Coast of the U.S., specifically the Pacific Northwest where “Reggae Beat” was born. The 5 songs on the EP have a traditional Roots Reggae structure with earworms for the choruses. While the songs pair well with other Reggae artists like Trevor Hall and Jack Johnson, Clint’s masterful mixing of Reggae subgenres is not lost. All you have to do is list the instruments used in each track and you can see the diversity. Recognizable drum and guitar lines seamlessly fit with wooden Guiro, Matraca, PVC pipe, mbira, bongos, and djembe. As you feel yourself getting lost in the 5 tracks, each chorus continues like a mantra: “Woah nah nah.” Clint’s message of resilience appeals to listeners of all backgrounds.