Matisyahu Spreads His Light

09/30/08 2:33pm

by Kate Harper (CHARTattack)

Judaism teaches that its followers should be "a light unto the nations," and that might be why Matisyahu has titled his upcoming third studio album Light.

It's due out sometime next year and will feature "Two Child One Drop," "I Will Be Light," "Smash Lies" and "So Hi So Lo," all of which appear on an EP called Shattered that's due on Oct. 21 through Epic. David Kahne produced the EP, which was recorded in Jamaica, New York and Virginia. It features guest appearances from Sly & Robbie (Michael Franti, Peter Tosh) and Fishbone bassist John Norwood Fisher. You can hear "So Hi So Lo" on Matisyahu's MySpace page.

Matisyahu (real name Matthew Miller) was born into a family that practiced Reconstructionist Judaism, a branch of the faith that views Judaism as an evolving civilization and doesn't consider Halakha, or Jewish law, as important as other strains like Orthodox Judaism. He embraced Orthodox Judaism in 2001.

Matisyahu's Shake Off The Dust...Arise debut came out in 2004 and was followed the next year by Live At Stubb's. His sophomore album, Youth, has been certified gold for selling 500,000 copies in the U.S.

Matisyahu will play Toronto's Phoenix Concert Theatre on Dec. 16 and Montreal's Metropolis the next night.