Li March 31, 1980 The Other Press page seven foe by Vanessa Shah reprinted from the Eyeopener by Canadian University Press This here music, Reggae music, as far as | can see, | say this here music, Reggae music, it's got a spell on me. This here music, Rasta ‘| music, as far as | can see, | say this here music, Roots music, it's got a hold on me. Buk-in-Hamm Palace— Peter Tosh. When a relevant form of music is almost neglected by an entire’ society, something must be done to bring it into focus. Grange- Walker and Associates is a- small company determined to maintain and develop the popularity of reggae music in Canada. : The company’s manager Olivia Grange-Walker, is a woman who is not only fighting for the development of reggae music in Canada, but also the survival of Canadian- made reggae in Jamaica, of all places. She handles per- formers such as Leroy Sibbles, Ernie Smith and the Roots Revival, Truths and Rights, Carlene, and Chalawa, artists who produce what she calls reggae with “a Canadian sound.” How does one go about promoting Canadian reggae? Simply by encouraging its popularity here and distributing its re- cordings abroad. _ Because of a West-Indian population of approximately 200,000 in Toronto alone, Grange- Walker has managed to gain almost instant recognition for the- music. Along with Jamaica, London and New York, Toronto is fast becoming a major reggae centre. To establish the powers of Canadian reggae Grange-Walker and Associates have named March "Toronto Reggae Month.” Olivia Grange-Walker, who has’ worked _ for the Canadian Human Rights Commission and is co- founder of Contrast Magazine, Toronto's black journal has been involved with entertainment and community and cultural affairs in both Canada and Jamica. She is. well informed about the highs and lows of the music in- dustry, especially that of reggae. “| couldn't say personally that | have had a lot of effect on reggae in Toronto, but I can say that | am trying to help the community and the business,” says Grange- (Walker, adding, “The idea behind Reggae Month is to keep the music in focus. Grange-Walker is not merely concerned with the musical aspect of the busi- ness, but takes great interest in their musicians and performers as well. “Our company makes sure that all their rents are paid, that they've got all the equipment they need, as well as all the food they need. Because in truth, the jobs they do don't pay much and they're getting by on enthusiasm as much as any- thing else.” It is an_all-for-one-and- one-for-all situation. They've all made a pitch for the same goal with hope for a prosperous _ future. Grange-Walker and - Associates is just a legal name for a family of people who enjoy and profit from working with each other. Ernie Smith and Carlene (Sinclair Davis) are witty and creative performers who are part of the Cana- dian reggae movement. With Jamaica's history of an unstable government, rebellion and chaos, it is no wonder the likes of Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Ernie Smith left their paradise to find a future in the U.S., England and Canada. In Jamaica, all three artists were household names, but it was Smith that released five albums and six singles, all Caribbean hits, it was Smith's recordings that out- sold Marleys, and it was Smith who related to the masses, not just the minorities as Marley tended to. But now in Canada, where reggae is still in its infant stage, Smith is overshadowed by the towering images of Reggae idols Tosh and Marley. Jamaican-born Carlene has come a long way from playing the blues, pop, and disco, that was expected of her to finally be able to play the roots reggae that is her “own kind of music.” Comfortably seated and playfully picking fun at each other, they reflect on what reggae means to them. “Reggae is a total musical form of expression,” explains Smith. “You see, reggae in Canada has been put into a bag. It's not con- sidered a whole thing but it is, just like any other form of music. It has all the moods, and everything else that expressive music should have.” “It's coming back from a point when music was everything, music was functional. You saw roots, the guy sitting by the open fire is listening to music. He needs the music to tell the story of his tribe. There is music for worship, music for work and music _ for pleasure. In Jamaica we still have cultural songs, and work songs. You know, the digging ditches songs. Music is a very practical thing there. Here in North America music is escape, for after work. and after reality.” “Music as a whole is very spiritual,” ays Carlene. “Jamaicans take it very seriously. For example if you go down to Jamaica, you'll find that the record stores have their sound systems on the outside of the store rather than the inside. The music is everywhere -in Jamaica. People listen to it in the office and at play.” “In Jamaica, music is something that moves you,” adds Smith. “When you start talking about music, you start talking about a way of life. In Jamaica you lie in your bed and fall asleep to music and wake up to music,” : Jamaican laws do prohibit certain undue and night noise but these are only exercised when someone Music with a Canuck sound music, | guess, are what you are most exposed to here. But it is a total thing. There is everything in reggae.” Politics are an essential part of the reggae ideal, and it was the harsh poli- tical environment in Jamaica that inspired reggae artists. “If you look at our past you'll see times when things were down economically that a kind of music has been on the rise,” says Smith. “It's all got some- thing to do with the spiritual aspect of music and using one thing to find another.” Punk rock supports Smith's theory. It was born in Britain at atime of economic depression, class struggles and a commer- cialized music scene, a cultural movement as much as a musical one. “My lyrics are contempor- ary, but my rhythm is tra- ditional,” says Carlene. “My rhythm is more rooted than the combination new wave- reggae sounds of today. This is because my writing reflects what I've been exposed to and my rhythm is my roots. New wave is a combination of things. I've lived in England and complains, which is rare in Jamaica because music means so much _ to everyone. We North Americans, with our tame habits, sterile surroundings and conservative backgrounds, haven't yet been able to grasp the. essence of reggae. What we know about the music can be summed up in one word, “nothing.” “The political and religious aspects of the Jamaica, and the living and experiencing develops the roots, but bands like the Police and The Specials re- produce what they have heard. The reggae they do is not real because they haven't experienced.” What traditional reggae performers are hoping fér is that the new wave-reggae popularity will encourage listeners to dig further and listen to the original music. “Reggae could very easily a be commercialized to the point where it loses all the main~ ingredients: the rootiness and the guts, the street feeling,” concludes Smith. : Performers such as Leroy Sibbles, former vocalist with the renowned Jamaican band The Heptones, joined the Canadian movement as well, saying, “Everything that is done to help reggae is great, no matter how small, anything may bring another person over. to our side. Here’s the rub. To be recognized you must have a recording behind you. To have a recording made, you must be recognized. It’s one vicious circle. Part of this problem was solved in 1971 when Boot Records decided to set up a Canadian-based reggae label to be called Generation Records, but died very quickly. “They had trouble dealing with the white population which wasn't ready to accept reggae at the time,” says Peter Krutuik of the now-revised Generation label. The label also dealt with a production company (Kingston Publishing, of Jamaica) which put a limit on their releases. During its year-and-a-half — of operation their biggest seller was a single by Ernie Smith titled Pitta Patta. “You had a variety of political happenings in Jamaica at the time,” says Krytuik. You thus had your musicians like Marley and Tosh leaving the country to go to the States and England, while at the same time you had an artist of equal if not higher capabili- ties like Ernie leave to go to Miami on a working visa.” This was followed by a trip to Canada in 1976 which convinced him that Canada was the place to be. “By this time we felt it would be a good idea to give ‘Ernie to the public,” Krytuik recalls, Smith's change in style and attitude convinced Boot records to rejuvenate the Generation label. “Now we devote ourselves wholly to reggae music,” Krytuik says proudly. “We consider our- selves the only registered label with national distribution.” Along with Generation Records, Olivia Grange- Walker is also making a play for distribution, Bob Marley's Jamaican-based record company, for the dis- tribution of Canadian reggae in Jamaica. Grange- Walker and Associates are determined to take Reggae Month one step beyond the reggae generation.