Handwritings On Wall For Chino Album in March

Deejay Chino names the late Dennis Brown as one of his many, varied musical influences, but while many a younger artiste knows their role model only from the distance or in the performance space of the stage or studio, Chino knew the Crown Prince of Reggae very well.

"Dennis Brown was like family. He was more like an uncle to me than an elder. From I born and grow I know Dennis Brown within the family," Chino said.

That 'family' is known musically as Big Ship, Chino being singer Freddie McGregor's son.

Brown died in 1999 when Chino was 16 years old and, eight years later, he utilised technology to combine with Brown in death, reworking Handwritings for his debut Japan full-length release, Unstoppable. Chino puts Handwritings among his five favourite Dennis Brown songs, the others being Inseparable, Revolution, Love Has Found Its Way and Promised Land.

The Sunday Gleaner pointed out the obvious, that Handwritings is not a very popular Dennis Brown selection.
Chino said he encountered Handwritings through his mother, who would play the cassette with the track while taking him to school.

"That was one that really stood out," Chino said. In later years, he encountered the CD with Handwritings while in the United States and listened with new appreciation.

"The older you get, the more you understand and have a deeper appreciation," Chino said.
"I was not thinking about it being popular or not. That's how we make music. We do what we feel," Chino said. "That song was like paying homage. Me just love that song deeply, the message."

So the remake - produced by Stephen 'Di Genius' McGregor - begins with Chino deejaying:
"A Chino and the Crown Prince
Up to now me no see no man fe take the crown since
Brown sings about the happenings that make the press:
"Have you read your newspaper lately?
Looks like mankind is truly going crazy"
Then, in standard singer-deejay combination format, Chino complements the crooning with lines on the grittier side of the delivery scale:
"Check the news Ten get shot, ten get stab, ten get rape Ten politician make the news front page Now them tricky tricky ways get diffuse Yes them use uneducated youths whe bruck and destitute ..."

Chino pointed out that although Handwritings was written many years ago, "you can relate to the message now in 2011".

The McGregor brothers remake of Handwritings will have its second coming on album in 2011, as it is one of a handful of previously released songs - along with Protected and Pon You Head - which will be included on his US full-length debut in March.

Chino noted that most of the as-yet-untitled set will be songs that have not yet been heard - not even in performance. Plus, he said, "it is a full-ahead compilation, like a story, from intro to outro".
Also to be finalised is the number of songs on the album. "Right now we cutting down numbers. We have so many tracks. The label is pushing for 16 tracks on the physical CD. The digital release may be 18 to 20 tracks".
The Sunday Gleaneragain states the obvious, that Chino is excited about the impending release and he takes it a notch higher, saying he is "amped".

"We put a whole heap in the album. The fan base really grow from then (the 2007 debut and this year's Never Change, also released in Japan). I think the fans are really excited, judging from the success of Never Change. The label is excited, too, so that is a big plus".

He said the album is "moody", with dancehall, roots reggae, R&B, "deep rock and roll" and jazz included.
Pushing its luck, The Sunday Gleaner pointed out the obvious a third time, that music sales are in the doldrums and Jamaican music seemingly having a special place in the cellar.

Chino replied, "you just have to identify your territory and your fan base. I have one of the biggest selling albums in 2010 in Japan and they say albums are not selling. Music on a whole is not selling, as much, but it is not a case where music is not selling full stop.

"You have Japan , Europe, parts of the states. You have the Caribbean same way, Africa same way."