By: Icey Jace
OutAroad.com Writer
Known for his mainstream hit single "Kingston Town", Italian born Reggae Singer / Songwriter / Producer Alborosie is fast becoming the next big reggae superstar out of Jamaica.
Aside from reinventing the vintage rock steady sound as an artist Alborosie has been testing the mainstream market as a producer. He has worked with many successful international acts like Mario, Angie Stone, Les Nubians, Jimmy Cozier and Manu Chao while locally Sizzla, Wayne Marshall, Beenie Man and Voice Mail have all shared in his creative vision.
When Digicel announced their very first Rising Star back in 2004 and gave him a recording contract with Jon Baker of Geejam Records Alborosie was the assigned in house producer / engineer that had Jamaicans swaying to the sounds of Kavan on the single "You Don’t Feel My Pain". Speaking with OutAroad.com about his own career as an artist as well as his debut solo album "Soul Pirate" Alborosie is finally in town, Kingston Town to be specific.
OutAroad.com:
Your Single, Kingston Town was a huge hit, what influenced that single and who produced the track?
Alborosie:
"Well I produced the track, I'm a musician and an engineer - I wanted to actually describe Kingston from a different point of view, not the everyday killing and ting so I used a-long-time old school punch line and give it a nice vintage flow. It was simple but effective and Kingston Town ended up being the biggest tune in Europe for 2007".
OutAroad.com:
The album Soul Pirate how is it doing and what's the general mood of the project?
Alborosie:
"Soul Pirate has a variety of moods, a variety of music but what I wanted to emphasize mainly on the 80's Rubba Dub old school reggae. Some of great artists featured on my album are Ky-Mani Marley, Luciano and Morgan Heritage".
OutAroad.com:
Are you currently producing for anyone but yourself?
Alborosie:
"Well not really mi want to concentrate on myself and my music right now but I'm working with an artist originally from Jamaica but now him live abroad, di I name Spiritual and mi a do the production for his upcoming album, but like mi sey is mainly my ting right now. "
OutAroad.com:
What type of equipment do you use when you’re producing?
Alborosie:
"I have a home studio and ting, I have Pro Tools running you know that’s the standard. I use a lot of vintage instruments - keyboards, my amplifiers are analog because I like that natural sound, I don’t use quantizers or computer sequencers I record live into Pro Tools, I'm a full pledged musician, I’ve been performing from I was 16 so I like playing instruments, that help me as a producer".
OutAroad.com:
What would you tell the world about Alborosie?
Alborosie:
"I would say I'm just doing my thing, working hard bringing back a sound from when reggae was vintage because places like Europe still willing to listen to the sound of original reggae. I'm gonna be bringing good quality, good lyrics and good music blessed".
Posted on January 20, 2008 20:36
blessed mi king mi like di works you doing
Posted on December 30, 2008 19:53
why can*t I find alborosie c,d.*s at my local record stores