Chezidek prefers European producers

Chezidek is one of the top reggae artists and has recently released the acclaimed album Judgement Time. After his concert at Swedish reggae festival Öland Roots, Reggaemani had a chat with him about his new album and the reggae scene of today.

Chezidek released his first album Harvest Time in 2002 and has since delivered several strong efforts. He has worked with producers from Jamaica, the U.S. and Europe.

He has a unique delivery and fragile voice that may not suit everyone. But he has managed to become one of the brightest stars among the new generation of cultural singers and is currently in the forefront of the international reggae scene.

Chezidek performing at Öland Roots. Photo by Anna Thunander

I meet him about 20 minutes after his performance at Öland Roots. He is noticeably calm and in a cheery mood where he’s sitting backstage with a spliff in his hand.

This is his third festival gig in Sweden. The first two were at the Uppsala Reggae Festival.

− I remember the first time I was in Sweden. It was in 2005 at the festival in Uppsala. A very special occasion. I sat on my knees on the stage praying and suddenly rain came streaming down, says Chezidek philosophically and takes a puff.

His last two albums were recorded in collaboration with European producers. At last year’s I Grade, he worked with Guillaume Bougard from France and on this year’s Judgement Time Dutch Not Easy At All Productions was behind the controls. Both records have been praised by critics around the world.

− Judgement Time has very natural vibes. The producers have a clean energy and they really love the music. It’s not about money for them, Chezidek says and continues:

− It’s a deep roots album and it’s very special for me. Easy and natural.

He believes that his latest album is substantially different from its predecessors, especially Inna di Road from 2007.

− Inna di Road was a serious album. I wanted to reach the people, to move and connect, he says and starts singing Dem A Fight We.

Chezidek has also made several notable songs with French production team Irie Ites, including Bun di Ganja and Mr. Officer, a duet with Lorenzo.

− Irie Ites take music back to the roots and they really love reggae. I’ve known them for a long time. I used to sing with Lorenzo when I met them in Jamaica in 2002. He followed them to Europe. I was supposed to come along, but stayed and recorded Harvest Time with producer Phillip “Fatis” Burrell, he says.

Chezidek explains that Europe has better vibes than Jamaica and that is why he works extensively with European producers. In Jamaica, he says, it’s all about dancehall and hip-hop rhythms.

− There is no reggae scene in Jamaica today. Everything revolves around money, money, money. The more expensive it is, the better. I sing about life and that type of music is not played on the radio or on sound systems. It’s like climbing a mountain backwards, he says, and continues:

− People want to hear the music, but no one plays it in Jamaica. It’s all about the negative sounds. Bad people claim the space and spread negative energy, while the good ones are in the dark.

Earl Zero’s still got it

In the past couple of months two well-known reggae veterans have released albums – Horace Andy with Serious Times and Clinton Fearon with Mi Deh Ya. But in the shadows one of the more unsung heroes of reggae music has released a showcase album with classic 70s roots.

In late March came the release of Earl Zero’s And God Said to Man album. A piece of heavenly roots music with a sound reminiscent of the mid and late 70s.

The album consists of twelve tunes – six vocal cuts and six dub versions – signed Spanish producer, label owner and musician Roberto Sánchez, who has previously worked with artists such as Rod Taylor, Kenny Knotts and Glen Washington.

Roberto Sánchez’ work aims to keep the style and sound of the 70s roots reggae music alive in terms of recording techniques, instruments used and artists to record. And he really succeeds with his vision. This album sounds like it could’ve been recorded in Jamaica 35 years ago.

And God Said to Man is as much deep conscious roots as the material Earl Zero recorded with, among others, Bertram Brown and Earl “Chinna” Smith in the 70s. Listen to You Are Gonna Fall with its intense drums or the mighty version of the classic None Shall Escape the Judgement. It’s close to Earl Zero’s own 70s version and the sound is more 70s steppers than flying cymbals and the version that made Johnny Clarke known.

The dub versions lie close to King Tubby and have few sound effects. Instead they’re stripped down and intimate.

Earl Zero and Roberto Sánchez began collaborating in 2007 with the tune Root of David. Hopefully they will continue to make music together. And God Said to Man shows that Earl Zero has a lot more to give and Roberto Sánchez has interesting ideas that I want to hear more about. Much more in fact.

Photos from Öland Roots

I’ve uploaded some photos from Swedish Öland Roots Festival on Flickr. All in all 14 photos of Stereo Steppers, Jah Ark Manifest, Club Killers, Fantan Mojah, Konshens, Jah Mason and Chezidek.

Check’em out here.

Fantan Mojah crowns himself King of Sweden

Fantan Mojah takes part in the younger generation of bobo dreads, a Rastafarian wing lead by artists such as Sizzla, Capleton and Anthony B. High-octane deejays that made a name for themselves with their angry vocal style and lyrics of godly living.

And this evening at Sweden’s Öland Roots Festival Fantan Mojah certainly represents. He has enough energy to power a small city and a confidence that touches on hubris.

He is supported by Austrian House of Riddim and, on some tunes, Zareb. He starts off with a chant to Jah and continues with well-known and less familiar songs, including Nah Build Great Man, the Jah Cure original King in This Jungle and King of Kings. And the royal theme returns later on in the concert when Fantan Mojah points to the festival’s two promoters and exclaims “I’m the fucking king, I’m the king of Sweden”.

But his confidence reaches beyond that. Fantan Mojah shouts, in a tribute to a number of legendary Jamaican artists, that he’s “the next fucking legend”. He also takes the opportunity to act reverend to bless and consecrate two loving couples on the stage, an act that gets mixed reactions. Some in the crowd seem embarrassed while others cheer as one of the couples passionately kiss.

Fantan Mojah’s long talks are at times parodic. He rants at length about equality, justice, contempt of politicians and hatred of paedophiles, and requests raised hands – or “lion paws” – from all those in the audience who agree with him. Needless to say, not many disagree that paedophiles belong behind bars. The crowd yields to the artist and raises hundreds of lion paws.

Fantan Mojah undoubtedly gives a massive performance and for the most part the audience is onboard. For example, he manages to keep hands clapping throughout Hail the King. A great achievement when we’re approaching the wee hours of the morning.

Jah Ark Manifest split the price money

The soundclash at Sweden’s Öland Roots Festival had a bitter ending when Denmark’s Firehouse questioned the judges ruling which led to some debate. Reggaemani has talked to DJ Shirkhan, one of the judges.

− Jah Ark Manifest admitted that their win wasn’t completely fair and offered Firehouse a new “dub fi dub” session. The promoter had even arranged a new round. However, Firehouse rejected, but accepted nearly half the price money that Jah Ark Manifest offered, writes DJ Shirkhan to Reggaemani, and continues:

− We were very pressed for time at the end of the soundclash. However, Sammy K was clear on the fact that the last dubplate would determine the winner.

If you’re curious about the soundclash, check out Safari Sound’s audio recording.

Chezidek shines in the encores

The last day of Swedish Öland Roots Festival was darkened by lightning, thunder and heavy rain. But that didn’t stop the concerts and the audience could enjoy acts such as Chezidek, Zareb and Fantan Mojah.

Chezidek is first out and enters the stage at 9pm supported by Denmark’s Roots Harmonics Band.

He trots onto the stage dressed in a black wind jacket, sunglasses, a rasta scarf and blue jeans. There’s a meagre crowd in front of the stage, most likely due to the weather. But Chezidek does his best to boost the crowd and delivers tunes from most of his almost a decade-long career.

He performs a stripped-down version of his hit song Inna di Road and at the end of the Leave the Trees, does a brief imitation of the late Jacob Miller, which generates great applause.

Chezidek has a delicate voice that cracks easily, and doesn’t hit all the notes – particularly the highest ones – perfectly. But this evening he uses his whole voice range and succeeds surprisingly well.

The beginning of the show is a bit sleepy and dispassionate, but over the course of the concert Chezidek’s energy steadily increases, and by the end he skips and runs back and forth across the stage. Although he puts in a high gear for the two encores Bun di Ganja and Call Pon Dem, I have to say Chezidek’s performance was all in all too laid-back to ignite the Öland forest.

Jah Ark Manifest are – after all – Kings of the Island

Last night at Öland Roots Festival Norwegian Jah Ark Manifest were crowned Kings of the Island in a soundclash between Sweden, Norway and Denmark. In addition to the title, Jah Ark Manifest won SEK 10.000 and a huge trophy. The tension rose during the battle, and afterward the judges’ questionable ruling broke out in a lengthy and heated argument.

The first night of Swedish Öland Roots Festival featured a massive soundclash between three Scandinavian sounds – Swedish Stereo Steppers, Norwegian Jah Ark Manifest and Danish Firehouse. Hosts and judges were DJ Shirkhan and Sammy K from Safari Sound.

The competition was divided into three sessions, only allowing dubplates. During the first session there were no eliminations, and the sounds had ten minutes each to flex their muscles.

For the second round the teams had 15 minutes each and one sound was to be eliminated. After an audience vote, it was clear that Stereo Steppers were out, even though they certainly got the crowd cheering with a dubplate from legendary Swedish reggae artist Peps Persson.

The sounds put on some tough dubplates with artists ranging from foundation fathers such as Johnny Osbourne and Leroy Sibbles to newer talents such as Natty King, Konshens and Fantan Mojah.

The final was a seven tune “dub fi dub” session. And it was a tough one. The score was 3-2 in favour of Firehouse and things were heating up a bit. The judges had a hard time reading the audience’s votes, but decided after some deliberation to name Jah Ark Manifest the winner. The Firehouse crew – and parts of the audience – questioned the ruling.

According to judge DJ Shirkhan a two hour argument followed on the question of the rightful winner. He admits that it was an unfair draw, but that it was fair win. Reggaemani congratulates Norway on the win (although I personally voted for Firehouse).

Luciano toughens up on United States of Africa

VP Records has almost sneaked out the new album from veteran singer Luciano and United States of Africa does not seem to have received the same promotion as I-Ternal Fire by Capleton or sensation Romain Virgo’s self-titled debut.

The new album shows a tougher side of Luciano compared to the smooth Dean Fraser productions on Jah is My Navigator from 2008. This time the production duties is mainly handled by Frenchie from Maximum Sound and the rhythms are provided by some of Jamaican’s top musical talents – Sly & Robbie, Dean Fraser, Robbie Lynn and Mafia & Fluxy. 

Frenchie utilizes some of his finest one drop rhythms. Among them I Know My Herbs, Vineyard Town and Zion Train. It also includes relicks of some great vintage rhythms, such as Creation Rebel, A Cup of Tea and the hard-hitting World A Music, probably best know for Welcome to Jamrock by Damian Marley. These strong rhythms combined with Luciano’s great voice is a perfect match.

On Luciano’s God is Greater Than Man album from 2007 he proved that he can handle rocksteady. On United States of Africa he proves it once again and actually even better this time. Moving On, produced by Chris Peckings, is a beautiful version of the Treasure Isle classic Only A Smile and makes a great soundtrack for the summer.

This is a powerful album that showcases Frenchie’s solid rhythms and Luciano’s vocal and lyrical capabilities. Don’t let this one slide.

Reggaemani attends Öland Roots

Öland Roots is Sweden’s next biggest reggae festival. And this year, the crew behind the “cosiest festival in Sweden” has really outdone themselves. Apart from well-renowned domestic acts such as Helt Off and Kapten Röd, they’ve managed to include Konshens, Chezidek, Fantan Mojah and Zareb.

The festival starts on Friday July 16th and ends on Saturday July 17th. Reggaemani will cover the festival and I’ll hopefully be able to write both concert reviews and interviews.

House of Reggae pays tribute to Internal Dread

German reggae blog House of Reggae has produced a tribute mix to Swedish reggae in general and producer/engineer Internal Dread in particular.

The mix contains 18 tracks ranging from 2002 up until 2010. Artists include newcomers such as Robert Athill and Mysticman as well as veterans like Desmond Foster and Joseph Beckford. There are also several dub songs included, mixed by the great Internal Dread.

Nils Kersten, editor of House of Reggae and producer of the mix, writes in an e-mail that he loves the deep warm analogue sounds of Internal Dread’s production and mixing techniques.

− It reminds me of the Jamaican roots sounds of the 70’s. I haven’t expected something like that from a producer out of Stockholm, he writes, and continues:

− Over the last years some Swedish reggae artists have gone international, like Million Stylez or Serengeti. But I’m more interested in native tongue artists. I found out about Governor Andy, Junior Eric, Syster Sol, Swingkids and Kapten Röd. I love all of them, even if I don’t understand a word.

Listen to the mix here.