The ManicaPost
Continued from last week…
WHY THE TITLE THE SOUL OF JAMAICA?
KIDDUS: Well, the The Soul of Jamaica is expressed in the higher binghi. Because that is where the The Soul of Jamaica is. The heart of the Rastaman, who contributes so much to the world and to the spiritual identity of what I and I chant as music.
Plus, having some of the early progenitors…When you have a man like a Ken Boothe who is coming from the early 60s, when you have a Lloyd Parks; that is the The Soul of Jamaica right there.
CAN YOU TELL ME A BIT ABOUT THIS HOUSE WHERE THE PROJECT WAS RECORDED?
KIDDUS: Early last year I went through some whatnot and gave up my place and I have been staying here now about nine months. So when Romain called and said they wanted to do this gig I observed that this would have been an ideal spot for such. The quiet and peaceful ambience, with nature all around, makes it ideal for what we’re doing.
VAR: It’s a whole new concept and for me it’s one of the most refreshing recording sessions I’ve had. It is refreshing because it’s outdoors. It is on the veranda. It is very natural and organic. Live, natural, acoustic guitar and drumming. The whole recording process on the veranda is something I would do again and again.
KIDDUS: And the house is as you can see inside, a musical place.
WINSTON: Full of old vinyls.
KIDDUS: (points to trombone) Look on the shelves. Isn’t this music? This is music! My brethren Nambo came here the night before he died. He died maybe about six hours afterwards. He was supposed to come in the morning at about 8:30, himself and Dean Fraser to lay over the horn tracks. He came inside, hugged us up to wish us well, a warm strong healthy looking man, and then passed on. And as you know, Nambo was THE trombone. Maybe one of the last great trombone players.
DESPITE THE MUCH GLOSSIER PRODUCTION THE ALBUM WAS RECORDED IN JUST FOUR DAYS.
KIDDUS: It was just time. Everybody had their things together. Everybody had rehearsed and it was just live and direct and bam bam bam. Easily done.
VAR: It’s not like you’re in a studio where you can go back and fix or anything. You have to sing the song straight through. That is the beauty of it because it is a live performance. It is not edited. You just get up there and sing. From your heart straight through!
KIDDUS, YOU AND CEDRIC ARE PART OF THE ORIGINAL LINE-UP – HOW DID KEN BOOTHE GET INVOLVED?
KIDDUS: Winston – you contacted Ken?
WINSTON: Yes!
KIDDUS: I think they wanted some additional artists because it was never totally confined to just us. The idea was that the Jamaican artists which they were interested in at any time down the line would have recorded. If they had continued, before the crash of the company, I am quite sure a lot more artists would have been recorded in the same genre and style. So coming forward now, we have Ken and Lloyd Parks and Steve Newland and Var from Pentateuch — these new additions — as well as the mentor Winston McAnuff came into the programme. Derajah who was here from the beginning is also recording with us, like Cedric.
HOW DID YOU CHOOSE THOSE SPECIFIC NEW PEOPLE?
KIDDUS: There were more. We had more in mind. But time and maybe funding did not afford our bringing in a Bob Andy, a Marcia Griffiths…
WINSTON: Judy Mowatt, Derrick Harriott – there’s a lot more to be done.
VAR, HOW DID IT FEEL TO INTERACT WITH THESE VETERAN MUSICIANS? MANY OF THEM ARE SELF-TAUGHT WHERE AS YOU HAVE LEARNED THE CRAFT OF MUSIC AT EDNA MANLEY.
VAR: It was like the first day in university! (Laughs) There was a lot of learning and a lot of observation. When I look and see uncle Winston and uncle Kiddus still sharp after all these years I say “No man, as a young youth you need to sharpen now!” (Laughs) These guys have been doing it for years and it almost feels like they are just hitting their prime. So it was a learning experience for me. Even during the recording process too there was a lot of wisdom. We’d just have a conversation and they just drop a little word and it resonates for a while.
KUSH: You know when you first start to deal with wine? And then the wine gets cured and it gets so expensive? This project now is cured so it is going to come out more refined, more relaxing, more energy and more vibration. This vibration is happening with Ken Boothe and Winston McAnuff and we have upcoming new artists. I toured with Inna De Yard but this is the first time I will be singing for my showcase. Even though I was singing long time because I have my band Uprising Roots that I still tour with – but I keep that humbly. I did the song Black To I Roots, which is the title track from my new album which I am going to release with Uprising Roots. They used it as the teaser so I am really grateful for that vibration.
SO NOW THE FIRST ALBUM IS READY TO RELEASE IS THERE GOING TO BE A NEW TOUR?
KIDDUS: There is a tour starting in April. We’re going over to France
WINSTON: About 17 shows – but we’re starting at a new venue the Philharmonie in Paris. A major venue.
KIDDUS: Like the French equivalent to the Royal Albert Hall. Or the Barbican.
YOU PERFORMED AT THE BARBICAN ON THE ORIGINAL INNA DE YARD IN 2010 ON YOUR FIRST EUROPEAN TOUR. ARE YOU GOING TO PERFORM IN LONDON THIS TIME?
WINSTON: They’re talking about something in Islington. And we have the WOMAD thing.
KIDDUS: But not fully confirmed.
VAR, ARE YOU GOING ON THE TOUR?
VAR: I’m not sure yet! (Laughs) But Jah willing we will see what happens with that.
KIDDUS, BOTH YOU AND WINSTON HAVE A CONNECTION WITH FRANCE IN TERMS OF THE RESURGENCE OF YOUR CAREERS.
KIDDUS: For a lot of reggae artists, when reggae music kind of went down in England after carrying the flag so high, Japan started lifting it up, Germany started lifting it up, France lifted it up! So there was more work over there than in England. So we sort of skipped the border! (Laughs)
HAS THE GOLDEN AGE FOR JAMAICAN REGGAE IN FRANCE COME TO AN END? HAS THE YOUNGER GENERATION, FOR WHOM REGGAE IS A PART OF THE SCENERY, BECOME MORE INTERESTED IN THEIR OWN PRODUCTIONS? MORE DUB, FEWER LYRICS, LESS CONNECTION TO THE ROOT?
WINSTON: Uh huh.
KIDDUS: I would say yes. Because Jamaican musicians in the 50s started taking soul and blues and jazz plus the mento and various genres to compile their own composition – because music is a thing that lives and no one has control. So the music expressed now by these youth, they were birthed on reggae. It is a thing where 40 years ago their parents got turned on to the music, couldn’t play it too tough but these youth from in the belly, a lot of them have been hearing reggae. Then they go to school and they learn how to play it, better trained in many cases than our own musicians. Give thanks that our [Edna Manley] School of Music is now doing wonderful work over the last 12 years through Ibo Cooper.
The ball will spin and everywhere we go there is a reggae band. It’s not like before. The youths who birth with it and come up with it assimilated it and are going to give you a variety of reggae according to the Japanese style, the Chinaman style, the African style, the European man style. While I and I are still expressing variations to it. So expect for it to continue. What are you going to do? You make the music and people love it – they take it and start to create it! (Laughs) You plant the seed, it bears the fruit and everybody loves the fruit! So the musical fruit is out there and everybody is enjoying it and taking it a taste. They plant a seed in their yard and the seed grows up and is bearing fruit. — reggaeville
…to be continued next week
For contributions on reggae/dancehall music and latest news contact Ras Libz Kartel on 0773 219 891 or [email protected]
