TICKETS ON SALE NOW! RESCHEDULED NEW DATE: 1.31 Friday (Reggae)
Nectar, Da808 music, & SolidSound present: ALBOROSIE & THE SHENGEN
CLAN plus Arise Roots and Zion's Gate Sound (DJ Element) $22adv 8pm,
21+ Nectar Lounge 412 N 36th St www.nectarlounge.com ALBOROSIE
“Music knows no boundaries,” announced David Rodigan on
Alborosie's debut album. “Music is an international force, an
international language. From Sicily to Kingston, Jamaica, this is
Alborosie. Real, authentic reggae music.” Twelve years later and the
Sicilian-born Alborosie headlines festivals around the world and has
earned the respect of the entire reggae industry. A talented writer,
producer and multi-instrumentalist who sings as well as deejays,
he’s lived in Kingston for over a decade and is now a leading light
of Jamaica's resurgent music scene thanks to a series of widely
acclaimed albums on Greensleeves. The latest is Unbreakable: Alborosie
Meets The Wailers United, released on June 29th and that's shared with
members of Bob Marley's former backing band The Wailers. “Bob Marley
was one of my idols," says Alborosie. "He was the greatest in terms of
spirituality, musicality and everything else but this is about the
Wailers, because they have a chemistry that goes beyond Bob. They are
a legendary band and until the end of time their name will always be
there. That's why I call the album Unbreakable because it's the sound
of the musicians themselves and when they come together, it's just
magic." Former keyboard player Tyrone Downie was first of the Wailers
to join the sessions, followed by guitarist Junior Marvin, bassist
Aston "Family Man" Barrett and his son Aston Junior, who plays drums
just like his uncle, the late Carlton Barrett. Together, they bring
the distinctive feel and sound of reggae's most successful ever rhythm
section to a project that also features Chronixx, Jah Cure, rising
young roots band Raging Fyah and the veteran Beres Hammond. Whilst the
Wailers' classic one-drop sound is all pervasive, Unbreakable is an
Alborosie creation first and foremost. Italy's finest reggae export
wrote, arranged and produced the majority of tracks at his own Shengen
studio in Kingston, where he's mastered the art of making music that
combines old school influences with unbelievable freshness. "For me,
the music is like a college," he says. "It's a journey through reggae
music, and this has been my approach from day one. When I was working
with musicians like Sly and Robbie and the Roots Radics I study how
they play their instruments and I do the same thing with the Wailers,
because I learn such a lot from them. For example, Tyrone Downie is a
musical genius and anything he plays sounds just like the record -
it's crazy! Aston Junior is also very talented. He plays a lot of
different instruments like myself and Junior Marvin has that bluesy
guitar sound which is so perfect. Then when Family Man comes in, that
is exactly the right bass line for the song with no ifs, buts or
maybes. Except you're not going to hear the Wailers like they were
with Bob Marley because I try and be more creative than that. I wanted
to make a concept album where you hear my formula, but with their
touch." Rock My Boat - the majority of tracks fall under the heading
of "rebel music." This is something that Bob Marley and the Wailers
were renowned for, and has been a constant factor of Alborosie's own
career. Current reggae sensation Chronixx joins him on lead single
Contradiction, which goes right to the heart of Jamaica's social
problems. "Too many idolise badness and slackness. Island in the sun
just falling into darkness," sings Alborosie, who's planning to make a
video that incorporates both Contradiction and Lie, a song that he
again wrote with a view to exposing falsehoods. "Chronixx is the voice
of the new generation and reggae artists like him, they're supposed to
be in tune with social issues, politics and all of that," he says.
"That's why he was the right person to do that song and then Lie is
saying we need to clean up the system, y 'know? That's how we make the
country better but it's the people who have to change their mentality
because here in Jamaica it's they who fight the crime, and not the
police and politicians. That's the only way we can defeat the
contradiction and the lies." Raging Fyah are a young roots reggae band
from Jamaica who've earned widespread comparison to the Wailers.
They're the perfect choice to sing alongside Alborosie on his
adaptation of Metallica's The Unforgiven - the story of a man who
found "shelter in the wrong place," and paid for unwise decisions with
his life. It's a morality tale, partially rewritten by Alborosie that
transcends both rock and reggae genres, both lyrically (given
Jamaica's love of outlaws) and musically. Aston Junior produced One
Chord, which is a song of resistance. "All I need is one chord to
start a revolution," reads the chorus. "Pass the microphone, make me
voice my contribution. Most of them are yesterday, today I am the
future." There's a line in it about how a well-known Jamaican
entertainer told Alborosie he should stop doing reggae and "sing like
Pavarotti" - an insult that he's met with humour and no little skill.
Winning acceptance didn't come easy, as he admits on Table Has Turned
- a confessional born out of the bullying he was forced to endure as a
youth, and especially once he'd started to grow his now almost
floor-length dreadlocks. Real name Alberto D’ Ascola, he was born in
the Sicilian town of Marsala. After relocating to Milan during his
teens he played in a variety of bands before forming Reggae National
Tickets, who regularly toured Europe during the mid-to-late nineties.
When the Tickets were invited to perform at Reggae Sunsplash in
Jamaica, Alborosie immediately fell in love with the place and jumped
ship. Weeks later he was hired as an engineer at Gee Jam studios in
Port Antonio – a tropical hideaway on Jamaica’s north coast where
No Doubt and other foreign and local stars like to record. “I left
everything behind when I did that,” he reflects. “I left my
family, my girlfriend and everything I had back in Italy just to come
to Jamaica and start something new, and to follow what was there
inside of me.” He'd arrived in Jamaica in time for the Millennium,
although his breakthrough wouldn't happen until several years later
with songs like Kingston Town and Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner,
issued on his own Forward label. His debut album Soul Pirate soon
followed. He then signed to Greensleeves for a series of bestselling
albums beginning with Escape From Babylon - the sleeve of which
depicted him leading musicians of all ALBOROSIE. races from the ruins
of modern civilization. Dressed in red, green and gold, he was shown
pointing the way forward like some Rastafarian Pied Piper. The analogy
fits, since his traditional, yet progressive approach has proven
highly influential among Jamaica's new wave of reggae artists.
Mystical Reggae co-stars Jah Cure, and it's a track urging the younger
generation to recognise reggae's pioneers hence the line, "from the
vinyl shops to Soundcloud, teach yourself some history." "Yes, because
we have to respect the legacy," insists Alborosie. "I always think of
myself as a forever student. I learn from Jamaican people daily - not
just musically but in everyday life, and I always respect the culture.
I don't come to Jamaica to argue or fight with people. I come to learn
certain things and there's never a time when I think to myself, 'I
arrive...' Unbreakable, featuring Hawaiian singer J Boog is an
up-tempo crowd-pleaser that's tailor-made for his live set. It's "the
Kingston groove that makes you move, straight from the elders to the
youths" and the effect's electrifying, just as on Bob Marley tracks
such as Exodus or Could You Be Loved. In the lyrics of Under Control
he discusses state and corporate surveillance, whereas Live Conscious
advises listeners to "know where you're going and where you're coming
from," and warns them to "be careful of miscalculations and never let
down your guard." “Reggae is not just music you listen to in the car
or when you’re taking a shower, because reggae is also a
lifestyle,” he explains. “It’s about how you lead your life, and
it has to say something. It’s political yes, but there’s a
spiritual element in there as well. At the end of the day, reggae is a
message so we need to spread it around.” He's remarkably
self-effacing for someone who's recorded - and held his own - with
some of Jamaica's finest musical talents, but that's something we've
now come to expect from him, despite the huge strides he's made since
first arriving on the island. "I never came here to be popular," he
says. "I never wanted to top the charts or be a billionaire. I don't
care about that. I just wanted to be close to the music that I loved,
and that I couldn't find in Italy. That is the main story behind my
journey so all I want to do now is contribute to the genre and bring
it to the next level - to carry the flag, or even just help someone
else carry the flag like the Wailers, because they were inspired by
those sessions, just like I was. Sometimes it takes a little man from
foreign to come and reshuffle the thing so that people can understand
something for themselves, y 'know? Someone will give them a little
ingredient for the pot then boom! That help them bring it back now,
and the soup tastes good again..."
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01/02/2020 Last update