The end of Pura Vida

Last Friday, 4th June 2021, Bregt ‘Puraman’ De Boever, the founder and driving force of highly acclaimed Belgian roots band Pura Vida, posted a message on Pura Vida’s Facebook page which included the following:

Dear Fans, Friends & Family,
I decided not to step back into the Rat Race of the music industry… This means I will stop the works with Pura Vida for indefinite time…

I will livicate my life to painting for undefinite time… wondering round the Mare Altar forest… don’t know if we will be back or when, but I know this, these Muzik & Art Works will neva die. More Love… More Music… More Art… More Love…

PS: Don’t worry… I will keep on producing Muzik & Art eternaly… Pura Vida Productionz… Poddington Krank.

This message marks the end of an era that started with Pura Vida’s performance at the Collie Roots Festival in 2005. During the next fifteen years, Puraman perfectly managed to recreate the roots sound of the 1970s, more specifically the sound of Lee Perry’s Black Ark Studio. This all happened in his Lost Ark Studio, which in 2020 was renamed Last Ark Studio. There he recorded albums with Pura Vida and with reggae icons Congo Ashanti Roy, The Congos, and Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, and others. Not only the music but also his paintings that adorned the covers of the albums were impressive.

Without a doubt, Puraman and the music he created with his friends and colleagues have made a significant impact and will be cherished forever by fans in Belgium and abroad.