Thursday, March 10, 2011
Konshens Falls In Love With Reggae Music
That song, a combination with his older brother Delus, worked its way across the continents and claimed the number one slot in Japan. This prompted a one-month tour of that country and the release of an album exclusively for the Japanese market in 2006.
“The first time I sang as a professional was in Japan,” Konshens disclosed, adding that the experience was like attending a university. However, it would take another two years for the artiste to move up from freshman to graduate.
It was his 2008 single, Winner, that really placed Konshens in the spotlight locally and on the wider international circuit and gained for him many accolades including Best New Artiste and Song of the Year.
The single was so impactful that it took on a life of its own. Before you could say ‘winner’ the artiste was off on tour to far flung places in Europe that he’d only read about. He was given a stage, a microphone and told to perform in front of multitudes of fans who spoke every language except English, but who knew his songs word-for-word.
As surreal as the situation was then, Konshens knew that this would prove the greatest learning experience of his life and he had to be alert and live every moment. As he traversed Europe, parts of Asia and the many islands of the Caribbean, there was one universal truth which kept hammering home – the power of reggae music and the respect that other cultures have for this Jamaican gold.
“When you look at a crowd of thirty thousand people and they hardly know a word of English, but they know the words of your own song better than you – and even have lines from the song tattooed on their bodies – that’s when you as a reggae artiste fall in love with the music,” he said soberly.
“We don’t know what we have, because if we knew then we would be doing everything to preserve this treasure, instead of trying to convert it into some other genre,” the youngster said, sounding like a seasoned veteran.
Konshens was quick to point out that he was no goody-two-shoes and was equally guilty of not playing a role in the preservation of the music. But that was out of ignorance – before he had his “Europe experience”. Now armed with knowledge, the artiste is singing the praises of straight reggae, the type that is cherished by the Europeans, the Japanese and other cultures.
“It is up to us to rescue reggae because it is all we have and it is dying. I have been touring straight for the past three years and taken time off to get in sync with the home base. Now that I have my own label, SubKonshus Music, the production and the songs will be guided by all that I have learnt,” vowed Konshens, who is now being booked in Jamaica exclusively by Khool Booking Agency .
Ricardo “Red Boom” Reid Most Sought-After Producer
Boom or Red Bull, as he is sometimes referred to, literally creates magic in the studio. Not only does he make some of the best beats in dancehall, but he has also done some of the best mixes as an engineer. He works with all the latest recording and mixing software to bring out the absolute best in every project.
Fellow producers who do not agree with his methods of mixing music often challenge him. They are of the belief that if someone genuinely cannot sing, you should not fix their key digitally. Red Boom on the other hand maintains that his job is to ensure that the entire song sounds good, and whatever he’s going to have to do, that will be the end result.
Having a father that was involved in the music business helped to pull Ricardo in that direction. For over ten years, his dad was the man responsible for printing record labels for a lot of producers in the city. In addition to that, he owned a sound system that was fairly active.
Red Boom officially started out as a disc jockey playing his dad’s sound system in the early 90’s, but at times, he had to deliver the labels done by his dad to the different producers, and that gave him his introduction to some key players in the industry. As a youngster coming up he was exposed to a lot of respected production houses such as Bobby Digital and Mixing Lab. One very important person that taught him some invaluable fundamentals to the business and engineering on a whole is Rorey Baker of Cribs Entertainment.
By 2003 he began working at the Palais Royale for Leister Rhoones. He slowly graduated from spinning records to actually making them. Being a well sought-after producer, he has worked with quite a few studios across the island. The first studio he worked at was Shore Jam in Portmore (where he lived at the time) in 2006.
Some of his past projects includes the “upgrade riddim”, “seasoning salt riddim”, and “quick and fast riddim”. These were done while he was working at Global Innovation Studio based in Cassia Park. In 2009 he worked alongside Notnice and Vybz Kartel on the “street vybz riddim”, “funeral ceremony riddim”, “boxing day riddim” and several singles. He has produced several riddims for Frenz For Real Records. The two most notable are the “preview riddim” and the “up and running riddim”.
For the first time in over two years, Red Boom has freed up is schedule some what so that he can take on new projects. Producers and labels interested in working with this musical genius should contact Maria Jackson via phone or email at (876) 402-9301 / mariajackson27@yahoo.ca
Click on the following links to check out some of Red Boom’s works:
UP & RUNNING RIDDIM: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXLhTvzuVbg
PREVIEW RIDDIM: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Gp73Fkg8C0
KARAMANTI SINGLE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvLPW4FTe8A
PROPALLY SINGLE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhEDf9f5bVs
Junior X Feeling Happy After Successful US Tour!
In a recent interview the reggae chanter, who burst onto the music scene in 2005 with ‘Plea My Cause,’ said that he’s grateful for the support shown to him by fans during the tour.
“The tour was good. The fans loved what I had to give them. There were some who came to me and said that I’m like ‘a breath of fresh air’… as far as I can see I’ll be doing more work in that part of the US very soon,” he said.
The tour, which covered major US cities including San Francisco, Oakland and Los Angeles, saw the fast-rising performer delivering his message to sold out venues, he also did a special performance at Ragamuffin Festival, which featured the likes of Bunny Wailer and Richie Spice.
The artiste who was recently nominated by the EME Awards in the Biggest Comeback Artiste of the Year Category, also said the tour came at the right time, as his long awaited debut album which has been named off his breakthrough single ‘Plead My Cause’ will be released on Itunes on the 22nd of March. The sixteen track the album, which was produced by Revolutionary Entertainment will also be released on CD by the end of the month.
Junior X also mentioned that fans should expect a variety of messages from the album. “As you know Junior X normally sing on social commentary… but on this project (the album) a little bit of everything is included. It will show a different side of Junior X,” he said, while making special reference to the singles ‘Shoot the Prophet’ and ‘One More Night.’
With his soon-to-be debut album and a growing fan base, Junior X believes that is career is heading into the right path. “Yes I’m pleased, because I am moving up and I have laid everything in The Most High’s hands. But, at the end of the day I know it’s not an easy road but God doesn’t give more than you can bare don’t it,” he said.
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