Dateline: 04/02/05 Venue: Brixton Recreational Centre.

The Lioness and I arrived at 20:00, King Earthquake and Aba were already wired up and testing out their sets.
We proceeded to set up the stall at the back of the speaker stacks by the entrance to the dance hall. This it turned out was not such a good idea.
When King Earthquake started to test out his bass bins, debris fell from an uncovered air conditioning filter in the ceiling like rain.
We quickly relocated the stall to the back of the hall near the fire exit.

Mikey Dread and his queen arrived to set up their record stall and you will never guess where they put it. That’s right bredrin, in exactly the same spot that we had vacated.
I had to tell Mikey that there might be a problem with falling debris and he moved his stall as close to the far wall as possible.
Iration turned up at 20:30 and was quickly set up, so come 21:30 all sets were ready to roll.
Then the rotation began.
Iration kept trying to enforce a '1 for 1' as early as possible and in the end the decision was made that '1 for 1' would start at 01:30 after a '2 for 2' sequence.
To be fair the only sound that stuck to the sequence rigidly was 'Earthquake'.
Iration was stretching the '2 for 2' into '5 for me and none for you'( Nuh true Markus. Smile from the Humble Lion) and Aba also was none too innocent in that department.
But soon order had to be restored to the house and a strict '1 for 1' policy was in order.

Earthquake played the vocal and the dub of his tune, Aba played the vocal and 2 dubs of his tune and Iration played the vocal and as many versions as he could get away with. The words of Mark Iration still reverberate around my head..”It what the people dem want”.
Well I am people and I did not want it…………….Hmmm, no further comment.

I have stated in these pages before, what maybe 2-3 years ago, that people and other systems should watch out for King Earthquake and even though Iration had added more bass and in the words of Earthquake’s MC, “It look like you have put on a little weight since we last meet, Mark”.
He still did not have the pile driving bass of Earthquake and it was noticeable as Earthquake was next in line to play after Iration.
That is not to say that Iration sounded shabby, far from it, but he was sandwiched between Aba and 'Earthquake'.

I noticed the Jah Shaka crew in attendance and I don't think they were there to check out Aba or Iration as these two are known entities.

The people started coming into the hall at 21:15 and they just kept coming. The hall was filling up with people really quickly and so by 22:30 it was quite full, but by midnight it was jam up.
The air was damp due to sweaty bodies and it was HOT!
It wasn’t too bad for us as we were near the fire exit and the security guard kept opening the door to let in blasts of cold air, which made it tolerable. But on my many forays into the throng to take pictures and to survey the scene, bwoy it was not the easiest task negotiating through the walls of dancing people. The amount of times I had to say “Sorry” to people whose toes I had stepped on, I lost count.
It is every promoters dream to 'Sell Out The Bar' and that is exactly what happened.
Come 03:30 I watched as more water and drinks were ferried through the fire doors to the bar as they had run out. When I went to get a cold drink at 04:10, “Bar Sell Arf”.
So the promoter was very happy.

This was again a very special night (Bob Marley's Earth Night) and at 06:00 the placed was still packed.

Raspects to: Iration, Rootical & Cru, King Earthquake & Cru, Tim, Sista Millie & Cru, The Jah Shaka Contingent, Munky Lee from France, Pierre From Switzerland, Andrew, Ez & Darren, University Of Dub Cru, Mikey Dread & Queen, The Birmingham & Leeds Massives, The Italian, French, Dutch, German Massives and to all the people from all points of Jah Globe who were in attendance.

Next Brixton is on the 4th March 2005. See Events Page.

If one person in the gathering is touched by the vibe to change to a more conscious way of living, that is Jah's works manifest.

Back in the mid 80's when the JA producers and artistes abandoned Roots music in favour of Dancehall, slackness and gun lyrics, it was in the UK that Roots music was kept alive. The number of Caucasians and Black lovers of Roots music that had been touched by Marley, Burning Spear et al, and wanted to continue the vibes started to do their own intrepretation of Roots music with what they had to hand, ie computers. This led to them wanting to voice their riddem tracks and they went and voiced new artistes that could not get a deal with the companies in the UK and the USA that were shoving out that drivel called Dancehall. Later on they started to voice the old Roots artistes and therefore putting bread on those artiste's tables and continuing, and in some cases revitalising, their careers.

This has led to a whole new generation of Roots music producers/ singer from all corners of Jah's globe who have been inspired with the vibe, and 'Guess Wha Happen'(Bedward The Flying Preacher by Prince Far-I), the producers in JA started putting out new Roots tunes. Why because a whole new market had been created by the new Roots warriors.

This has led to a resurgence in all things Roots & Culture. To see the Ites on bredrins and sisterns from wherever is a blessing.

Even old Roots tunes are selling by the truckload to the old and new lovers of righteous music. Just look at how many Roots revival labels there are now.

So Raspects is due to these people: Mannasah, Disciples, Rootsman, Blakmix, Jah Rej, Jah Shaka, Aba, Jah Warrior, Martin Campbell, Adrian, Roy Cousins, and to the hundreds of small labels, artistes, and fans of the music that kept the vibe alive. For their love, diligence of protection of the music is why we now have a thriving Roots music scene today.

Remember artistes like, Buju, Sizzler, Anthony B and even Luciano all started in the Dancehall vibe and are now classed as Roots artistes.

So to those that this applies to: It is better to be thought of as a fool, then to open your mouth or put finger to keyboard and remove all doubt. Where were you and your voice when Roots music was under attack! From creation I man Diya...........Jah know!

We left London Waterloo on the 13:45 Eurostar to Paris and were met by the promoter, Jerome and the cold icy winds coming from the North.
The thick padded coat I was wearing which was overkill when we left London was perfect for the freezing temperature of Paris.
We were taken straight to the venue to do the sound check and to do the press call.
On arrival at the venue we met up with long time bredrin Junno, aka DubDaDa, and his new band of troubadours featuring the vocal talents of Stixman Dan and a female singer called ‘Little Green’ Why she was called this I did not investigate, but it is as good a name as any.

We were idling backstage in our dressing room waiting to do the sound check, just chatting to Juno when I heard this sound coming from the next dressing room.
I got up to investigate and on poking my head around the door was greeted by the sight of ‘Little Green’ singing ‘Blues’ accapella with the odd riff from a guitarist who was providing sparse accompaniment.
I sat down and listened for a few minutes and then went and got Blood to come in and listen.
Blood and Junno followed me back into the dressing where ‘Little Green’ was singing.
Juno had a big smile on his face as he watched Blood and I listened to his band member sing.
When she had finished I complemented her on the quality of her voice and got up and went back to our dressing room, followed by Blood and Junno.

Watch out for this singer in the not too distant future, me ah tell you bredrin and sistren.
She has a sublime voice which even though is not the finished article, given the right coaching and staying away from the pitfalls this biz-SIN-ness can inflict upon a person, should mature into an instrument of some stature.
I might have stated this before in previous writings on this site, but I love to listen to people that can sing, and have a tonal quality about their voice that set them apart from the usual dross.
‘Little Green’ has that quality. It is in a rough diamond state, but it is a diamond all the same.
Jah Know!

Junno and crew did their sound check first as Aba, and I checked out the sound system and Blood chilled in the dressing room.
The sound system being used was called ‘Blackboard Jungle’ from Paris and they had set up three stacks of speakers around the central dance area.
For those who have never been to this club, the main area is a large circle made to look like inside a circus big top; with huge sheets of purple and red material fanning out from the centre to the walls, to emulate a tent type feel.
When our turn came to sound check Aba put in a minidisc pre recorded with dubplates and started to test out the set.
The sound coming out of the stacks was very good and after 40 minutes of testing, Aba looked over to me as I was patrolling the stacks and we both nodded. Sound check done.

Jerome came to us and asked if we were ready to do the press call, we were.
So Aba, Blood, Juno and myself went to met the press.
We sat down at a long table (see pix) and then when were settled, Jerome introduced us and then opened the floor to questions from the press.
There was silence. There were 18 members of the press looking at us looking at them and no questions were forthcoming.
Jerome asked the journalists in French if there was anything they wanted to ask, as I looked around the room.
One journalist posed a question as to how we achieved our sound and he wanted to know in detail what frequencies we used to emphasized the bass.
I answered: “It is not about producing a formulaic sound where all the mixes have the same signature. It is about a vibe. Whatever the vibe is at the time of mixing, that feeling is conveyed into the mix. That is why the company’s motto is 'Hear the music. Feel the vibe', not ‘Dub by the numbers’.

Other questions followed and one in particular stung Junno into action.
The question was posed that “Is the music we do only supposed to be for black people and how do we feel about other races adopting it as their own”, or has the questioner put it ‘Hijacking it’!
Junno got up and took off his hat to reveal a head devoid of hair and to explain to the journalist in question that is not about having locks on your head, it is about having the spirit of Jah in your heart. I continued by telling all the press assembled

That sufferation is universal and our music is universal, and that only those that feel it, know it. Regardless of race, colour, gender or creed.
Aba Shanti-I is not a dub sound system; it is a Rastafarian sound system.
The music we play is not played because it is called dub; we play music in the praise of the universal consciousness and the love of Jah!
If it isn’t conscious, it isn’t gonna get played!
After that no further questions were asked. We said thanks to the assembled and left to go back to the dressing rooms.

Oh yes by the way Junno is of the lighter complexion ie: Caucasian.

We had something to eat and we then went to the hotel to freshen up and rest. Aba was playing from 01:00 - 05:45 so it was going to be a long one.

We were back at 00:20 to catch Junno’s set and the place was packed.
I did my usual photographic thing as I walked around the place and Aba and Blood checked out Junno’s set.
After Junno had finished his set, we all went backstage to sit down and have something to eat.
Raspects to the cooks, for the food provided was of a very high quality…Big up!
We chatted with Junno and crew backstage as we waited for our show time.

Jerome came to us at 00:55 and asked if we were ready to go on, and we were.
We walked out into the main arena to great cheers from the assembled.
Aba and I went to the desks to check everything was ok and Blood stopped to talk to a bredrin called Ziggy who he has not seen in few years.

Aba put on the first tune and the festivities began.
I went to set up the stall on a long bar just outside the main arena and was later joined by Blood.

The place was teeming with people; some I recognised from other part of France and other European countries.

One bredrin in particular I remember from ‘University Of Dub’. He was a black French dread who had purchased all the copies of ‘What A Gwan’ that we had on the stall that night. He even had to leave the dance with his Queen to go home and get the money. He was staying in Brixton.
I asked him if he had returned to France now and his reply shocked me.
No he said he still lived in Brixton, but he had come to Paris to hear Aba play and hear Blood sing….Raspect bredrin.
The amount of people that had come to not only hear Aba play, but to hear Blood sing was heartening and made Blood feel that people are actually listening to what he is doing. (a light in the wilderness).
Blood did an accapella of ‘Children Of The Most High’ and mash down the place with it.

There was one technical hitch around 02:45 when the mids and tops amps shutdown and Aba played bass only for 8 minutes. The crowd just cheered, I think most of them thought it was intentional, but this was soon sorted out.

This was truly a wondrous session and nuff niceness in the place till 06:20 when the session finished. It was supposed to finish at 05:45 but the crowd kept demanding and getting “Just one more tune”.
The promoter was happy, the venue owner was extremely happy and the crowd was ecstatic.
After the session we all went back to the hotel and sat and had breakfast with Jerome and discussed the events of the day/night.
One sad note, Jerome told us that his grandmother had died the previous day, the day of the session.

Raspect to the people of Paris and beyond who made this a rocking night, Stixman Dan, Little Green, Junno, Ziggy, The Sax Player and the Decorator, The Chefs and to the promoter Jerome.

One Love
               The Humble Lion  
  

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