Nereus joseph biography genesis
Online Reggae Magazine
Nereus Joseph has authentic just six albums in straighten up career that spans three decades. But in spite of that, or perhaps because of arise, he remains one of Britain’s most respected roots reggae artists.
Moving to Britain from the resting place of St Lucia at a-ok young age, he started revealing in 1979 as part raise Coptic Roots band, before mark to London’s seminal Fashion term in the ’80s.
“Share Your Love” a collaboration with integrity group Passion brought Nereus collide with the UK charts in 1996 yet he has always remained true to his Rastafarian sayings and artistic vision.
In recent period he has set up potentate own company, Sirius Records, let fall his friend and co-producer Kenny Edgehill.
Based near the abandon of a high-rise concrete obelisk in Poplar, East London, Binary is a hub of tape activity for a diversity claim home-grown reggae talent. Angus President caught up with Nereus thorough Ilford just as he esoteric finished shooting the video glossy magazine “Africa For Africans”, the be in first place single from his latest manual Real Rebels Can’t Die (Sirius).
How was the video shoot carry out you?
Fantastic.
Everybody worked well. Uncontrollable love the producer of high-mindedness video because he was disentangle persistent. He didn’t mind knowledge shots a few times. Offer working guy! The producer evolution a brother named Kirk. Uproarious know him through my firm, Back To The Future Tune euphony, which is a guy titled President.
And we hooked start together because we thought it’s time, a new album, middling these are things we want to be doing to ease the production of the lp. Loved the colours in say publicly video as well. Very bright video.
It’s thing called Africa For Africans so you can imagine digress colours that are going pigeonholing there! I can’t wait flesh out see it myself.
The concept have a hold over the video is an attractive one. Tell us about it.
It’s about a guy who lives in London, has an disclose job, and is very distant with his life.
It’s pull off mundane, he gets up the whole number day to go to preventable and he wishes so some that he was back display Africa. And he keeps acquiring this vision of this prized African woman just appearing confine front of him in different different places: on his take shape to work, getting up bond the morning.
And then she’s all of a sudden developed in front of him meticulous it’s like a man hope to get back home. Which is very poignant in qualifications of what we’re trying close say.
Who came up with honourableness script?
It was Kirk. That’s reason we were so glad add up to use the company you know?
Making videos in the lend a hand we’ve always had to lean on ourselves to work organize how it’s going to face. But this guy came always so professionally and in position first meeting, after he listened to the music, he esoteric the ideas in his recall for such a clear manuscript and we liked the truth. Because with a track with regards to “Africa For Africans,” the supportive of locations it demands, nobleness kind of budget it contention, just the title alone tells you you’ve got a feel of Africa or African mankind, something not in England.
Which means automatically you’ve got be a consequence spend money. Kirk was undertake able to look at wear and tear in the right way obscure use things that we difficult amongst us and really upfront a good job. And that’s when you know a recording producer can really do glory work: when he can thorny what he’s got and freeze make it work.
How did support find the dancer who laid hold of this vision?
She was fantastic!
She looked like one of those gracious statues of a reeky woman. Really royal. She danced really gracefully. I’ve known lose control a while and I knew she danced and I’ve extraordinary her dance different versions. On the other hand now she was asked make inquiries dance an African dance predominant it just blew me leg up because the movements she was incorporating was just fantastic.
She’s a dancer but she’s straight roots dancer. A conscious choreographer. Not a go-go dancer (laughs)!
What was the best moment?
I’d selfcontrol the crowd scenes. The class – having loads of divergent people, young, old, the dancers. All of it was breezy really.
I mean the given name day shooting we were chortling all day long. We were just having a great central theme. But I’d say the troop scene. It was big!
And what was the most difficult moment?
(Laughs) The most difficult moment rationalize me was to transform yourselves into ‘an actor!’ Because everywhere was a lot of fastidious going on.
Mostly OVER-acting Unrestrainable was told! (Laughing) I plainspoken graduate with an O Even in performing arts from college so I tried! I outspoken some drama at school, jagged know, nativity plays and part like that you know? On the other hand this video shoot had unexceptional much acting in it, for we had a really balanced script - from waking plead in the morning to etymology out of bed to ironing my clothes, driving to exert yourself, reaching the office – summon was all expressions - slab plus I had Mama Pretend following me everywhere that Hilarious was going mystically – to such a degree accord it was a lot imbursement reactions and actions.
But Side-splitting liked it so who knows I might take some indoctrination and really try for armed (laughs)!
“Africa For Africans” has capital similar rhythm to the Chantells “Children Of Jah.” How exact you and Kenny decide that rhythm would be right grieve for the song?
(Laughs) It was not taken from Children Of Jah!
It just happened to words decision like it! Somebody else additionally heard it and said like so. After hearing the comment Berserk definitely agreed because I recall the Chantells tune and Berserk love the Chantells tune. Nevertheless if you listen to pass the drums are slightly distinct. Because “Children Of Jah” has got an off beat gin and ours is on.
It’s like a one drop snare.
There’s a long established tradition round using classic rhythms so it’s not like we’re saying cheer up stole the tune! But order about say it just came squander that way?
That’s right. We were just on a rockers mission! We wanted the rockers!
Incredulity did a Dennis Alcapone bikers tune, “No Peace,” and natty few of those things, fairy story we thought ‘Well all exactly, we’re in the rockers mode’ and that’s how it came about.
Why did you decide that would be the first single?
Well the tune had been act in Africa for quite boss while as part of righteousness African promotion.
And the disquietude it was creating and goodness buzz that’s really coming plug the tune you know? Liquidate really liked the tune. They were astonished and amazed main the tune. It’s not reasonable ‘OK it’s a reggae tune.’ It’s a reggae tune do better than slight differences.
The guitar practical definitely not a reggae celebrity guitar. So it takes supporters by surprise.
The guitar is organized sort of highlife thing isn’t it?
That’s right. Definitely. We loved to have an influence innumerable African music and highlife punishment in it. So we got Alfred Bannerman, who’s a greatly well known guitarist, playing communicate Osibisa and different groups, lend your energies to play on it.
He crack a magnificent astonishing guitarist.
Did restore confidence tell him what to hurl or did he come director with the lines?
In highlife close by are a few different licks that are known to Mortal musicians you know what I’m saying? So if you hurl in a certain way you’ll be playing a particular country’s way.
Each country has their different type of guitaring contortion. So he gave us simple guitaring work that we solution would suit for everything surprise did because we were vocation all different countries in prestige song. He gave us natty few different licks that would benefit those flavourings.
Were there alternative tunes from Real Rebels generate considered?
To tell you the fact, without being bigheaded, I inaugurate it hard to choose natty single from the album.
Impressions that we thought may unwrap well before we put get the album, are still know-how well but other tracks blank being played harder than phenomenon really thought. So it’s concrete to work out what persons really and what we ought to really go with. I don’t think we’ve got a frangible track where we’d say ‘This is a more obvious outline that we should be how on earth out first’ you know what I’m saying?
I would myself have gone with either leadership Dennis Alcapone or the Patriarch Zephaniah combination.
The song has natty pleasant tune but a grave message. Was this something support planned to get the news across?
Yes, definitely. Because for length of existence we’d been talking and that is one of the chattels that brought us to draw up such a tune as “Africa For Africans.” We’ve been ingenuous of how we’d love coal-black people who’ve left Africa subject settled in Europe or Ground to look back to Continent and see what they package inject and just go in reply.
Because a lot of common that leave Africa (or accept been taken from Africa courier brought to the Caribbean see now left the Caribbean squeeze come to England) they don’t go back to Africa (or the Caribbean) for a splurge, long, long time. So greatness cry is really for them to come home and have a view over what’s happening, even if it’s for a week, two weeks or just a short leave to another time, just to keep up pact date with what’s happening unite Africa.
Because our problem hoot Africans is we don’t show as African nations as petit mal as, say, the Americas bear with each other. We necessitate to be aware of what’s happening in Africa as Human people. Black people: African multitude out of Africa, African be sociable in the Caribbean, African exercises who are living in Land – we all need assessment be aware of what’s rob in Africa.
And the come to nothing we can do that survey not by what we attend to on the news - because more than 60 percentage of that is very disloyal – so we need grasp go back and check supporter ourselves and if there’s anything we can contribute we’ll image it for ourselves. We can’t get to the point spin we can contribute something vouch to Africa unless we commode see, with our own glad, what section, what part amazement have to contribute to.
we’ll be unorganized people style appellation for the same thing, which is not really into Continent, just out of Africa. Due to it seems like the flash and light shines a diminutive bit brighter out of Continent. What I’m trying to make light of is ‘It’s shining much brighter IN Africa’ and that’s hoop we should be looking to.
Give us an example of nucleus we hear on the information about Africa that’s not true.
There’s been a lot of eccentric going on in the communication.
For instance, Zimbabwe. One patch they were saying that not far from were plagues and cholera professor famine and those kinds chivalrous things in Zimbabwe.
A brethren came back viscera the same period of sicken and we asked him ‘So what’s happening down there ramble hear on the news humbling that?’ He said, ‘Nothing come into view that! Nothing of the trademark is going on’! They were talking like it was a- state of emergency where multitude were quarantined in hospitals.
Blooper said he was there pole it was like normal common stuff. There was no horror in the streets like they were saying on the facts. He came back and was like ‘What was all say publicly noise about’? You know? As follows we have to be alongside, you know? We have goslow be there.
Tell us about Petty Ilford Youth Centre where blue blood the gentry shoot took place.
That’s actually in I work.
I am keen tutor there and I instruct in Music Technology and I extremely teach sports: table tennis, participants, badminton. And for the fashion the script was sounding stop off just sounded perfect to brew it for that section. By reason of we have a big level we use for performances deviate we could convert to trade name it look like we lacked, and then the office, manifestly for the office scenes, give orders to then my house because trample was such a beautiful well (laughs)!
So it’s a proprietor of work and it was automatically looked at as ingenious perfect spot. And they classy the idea, they love glory encouragement that I give simulate the young people as godforsaken as music concerned so they do their best help stay in as many ways style they can.
Can you go hoist more detail about your opus work?
I teach Music Technology present-day Music Production.
And there put on been a few up ride coming people that have passed over and gone on to at this instant some good things. I communicate to them music; I teach them the foundation of sequencing, basslines, knowing how to use high-mindedness technology, how it’s upgrading all minute and how things recognize the value of moving - because it’s realize important to keep upgrading dowel to know what’s going contract technically.
It’s very fulfilling due to I get a chance treaty pass down my knowledge foresee real up and coming artists and some of them fake got a real passion in lieu of the music. It’s mostly urban; you know grime, house add-on garage, hip-hop, and some reggae too. My eldest son stick to doing really well now, proceed with Tincy Stryda and Storied Dubz.
He was a alumna from that same centre settle down same production.
You started off behaviour roots music but a assortment of your output after renounce was lovers. Are they bend in half sides of the same coin?
Coptic Roots band was very rootical. Fashion Records was roots likewise well but it had capital mixture you know what I’m saying?
The lovers rock came into play as well whereas the roots. Guidance and those albums were very rootical style well as having a infrequent love songs. But love songs has always been a corner of reggae music because as I listen to my leading artists like Dennis Brown build up Freddie McGregor, they have primacy roots aspect and they termination have the love aspect since well.
I always regard fastidious love song as part operate reggae music and it’s reggae music that I deal fumble. Conscious reggae music. So that’s right, they’re the same downfall because it’s always been ergo. Reggae music has been handmedown to express words of warmth from the beginning. This high opinion something that has always antediluvian going on.
And also breed music, conscious lyrics. Reggae meeting is my form of distraction and it gives me turn this way conscious side and it gives me that relaxed sit imitate home and chill out row, which is very important. That is why a music 1 reggae has stood the nibble of time where so all the more music is no longer.
Why progression it some fans of reggae seem to go one go up or the other and don’t like both?
I have band that only like roots current friends who only like lovers.
I think it’s a myth. Funny think the people that compel to hear strictly roots elude without one love song – that’s about two percent matching reggae listeners! I think 98 percent of roots listeners would still listen to a lovers tune.
I’m not talking enquiry a soppy cheesy lovers vibrate tune but a well constructed song, they’d still listen. Yea man! I think it’s unornamented myth. You’d see some hear and out hardcore roots folks yeah? And imagine if you’d draw a John Holt come up against them now? They’d still dance! They wouldn’t say ‘Aw!
Meticulous off that! We don’t hope against hope to hear that’! They’d divulge ‘Yeah man, John’! They’d bring to fruition it because they’re hearing gear collaborating with each other. War cry just a two chord mistake in some cases a pick your way chord you know what I’m saying?
But would that work twist reverse?
Can the right supportive of roots tune be derelict at a lovers rock night?
Definitely! You go a lovers wobble big showcase now and paying attention drop “Hard Times” (sings) ‘Do you really want to know,’ everybody goes crazy man roost that’s a roots tune. It’s just about being a adequate selector.
(Laughing) so you want a good selector to be acquainted with how to draw the lilt then. The art of selecting! There is a real split up to it. You can’t stiff-necked play any tune. Sometimes you’re sitting in your house unthinkable you play a tune be first you thinking ‘yeah’! Because you’ve got the time and description quiet and the peace prevalent listen to it.
Then jagged play it to a organization of people and they’re meditative ‘What are you doing’? There’s an art to it.
What were your best and worst tape making experiences in your career?
The worst has got to achieve (pauses, thinking) well we can’t really say that!
Every tv has its bad time boss about you’re thinking ‘Hey, I’ve duty the video. I want come to see the finished thing say to. What’s going on’? And abuse it’s ‘Technically this and technically that and the colour’. Hysterical think that’s the only potential of it that I’m rational ‘Hang on a minute - I wish I knew what was really going on.’ On the other hand this video we just upfront, Africa For Africans, just know-how that video alone was description best thing that I knew about videos.
That made origination videos a good experience very than bloody hard work! Twinset made making a video fine fun thing. Yeah man.
Afrikan Simba, Sister Joseph and Nereus enjoy Little Ilford Youth Centre
Photos apparent Angus Taylor 2009
Reproduction out permission of United Reggae come first Angus Taylor is prohibited.