We’re famished! Time for a raw food vegan pizza at Mi Hungry Whol’-Some-Food, one of our favourite eateries in Kingston. It’s a pity it’s tucked away in an ugly shopping mall, Market Place plaza on Constant Spring Road, but oh, so delicious, and you can simply grab the freshly prepared snacks and dishes to go. They’re packed in sturdy cardboard boxes here. I usually pair it with one of the tasty juices: SourJack (soursop with jackfruit), June Plum, tamarind, guava… Fit you haffi fit!
Next stop: the Mining Gold Studio of singer and producer Dre JA and manager Jacky French, a loyal sponsor of Reggae.be, with her advertisements for emerging talents from the Mining Gold stable, “…the minds of gold with a goal in mind!”. The studio is located on Dumbarton Avenue, just past Harmony House of Beres Hammond and Mixing Lab, where Sly & Robbie once reigned. In 1998, we were fortunate to spend a week in the penthouse here when Cocojr. came to record an album. Sweet memories.
Dre JA has been active in the music scene for over 20 years but has only recently emerged as a singer. His voice reminds me of Mikey Spice, big in the 1990s, but it’s the production that leaves an impression. With broad orchestrated arrangements, Dre JA creates an entirely new sound that lends itself equally well to contemporary reggae and dancehall as it does to r&b, hip-hop, or even rock. The Maroon 5 mix, of what is nonetheless an excellent reggae track, reminds me a bit of (believe it or not) Pommelien Thijs’ ‘Erop Of Eronder’.
Ras Mundele rules
That evening,
Brains has invited us to the legendary
Tuff Gong studio of the Marleys. I’ve never been there before. Marcus Garvey Drive 220 is quite far from our hotel on the outskirts of Barbican, but close to Kingston’s harbour, which I’ve also never visited. It’s located in the middle of an industrial area, so there’s no street life to speak of.
In the lounge, we find
Israel Voice, and the brothers
Everton and
Everald Gayle, respectively a trombonist and saxophonist with a history at the Alpha Boys School and in various bands and orchestras: The Wailers, Culture, I Jah Man Levin, Roots Radics, We The People, Sonny Bradshaw, Bob Andy, Byron Lee Orchestra… It soon dawns on me that I must have seen these musicians live several times.
Then Brains enters the room, accompanied by
Delphine and two older, somewhat wild-looking Rastas. One of them immediately starts cleaning ganja, with a large knife on a wooden breadboard. The other is
Hugh ‘Ilahbash’ Bromfield, a “rasta poet” who last year recorded a tune with our very own
Eric ‘Ras Mundele’ Rongé, the haunting
‘The People Stayed Home’. And of course, they also know Mika, from the recordings in 2022. Empress!
Chinna’s chalice
Just when the chalice is ready for consumption, the Master himself arrives,
Chinna Smith. He takes a few hearty puffs and then launches into a rightful lament about the lack of recognition for the great Jamaican artists we’ve lost in recent years. Everyone listens attentively; Chinna remains the driving and inspiring force behind this group, the musician who has played a defining role in the evolution of reggae for over 50 years.
We dive into the studio together, where Delphine herself is at the controls, producing her own album, with her own engineer. Everton Gayle lays down the saxophone part for an old rocksteady classic. Then, we’re allowed to briefly enter the sanctuary. Of course, there’s not much to see in such a studio, a drum kit, a synthesizer, a few microphones… It’s the history that makes Tuff Gong a special place, knowing that Bob Marley himself recorded here, and many others after him. I found Studio One more charming and authentic, but then it hasn’t been in operation for a long time.
To be continued…
