JAH FREE : DUB ACTIVIST
With tunes such as 'Rod Of Correction', 'Wicked Can't Run' and 'Riddim' Jah Free has been a storming sound system success. His intial self released titles, along with his distintive and powerful live sessions brought Jah Free to the attention of Universal Egg ( also home to Zion Train & Vibronics among others ) who signed Jah Free to the label. A partnership that has so far yelded the album 'Breaking Out' highlights of which are the cuts of the singles 'Lighting Clap', 'Wicked Can't Run' & the classic 'Lion Of Judah' and it's following blissful dub guitar version. Also 'Ethiopia' which features the talents of Wayne McArthur on vocals. Next up was the 'Outernational Dub Convention' album a split release with new dubster in the yard Stevie Vibronics. The pair had been touring and doing shows together for sometime. Outernational Dub Convention contained the single 'Rod Of Correction' a tune that retains it's popularity with sound operators, DJ's and audiences alike.
Free Radical Sounds latest compilation album 'Nu Shoots Inna Roots' ( frs003 ), our first roots release contains Jah Free's previously unreleased 'Creation Blues'. A strident and heartfelt plea on behalf of old mother Earth. I met with Jah Free at Brightons Concorde 2 for the first of a whole series of interviews with artists featured on the 'Nu Shoots Inna Roots' album.
B: The song 'Creation Blues' what’s the inspiration behind the song?
J: There was a little place in Southend, near Hockey, a woods called Etheldor woods. A company called Countryside Management wanted to tear the woods down and put a bunch of houses amongst it. There was a big resistance from the eco warriors and I used to go and take them food, petrol, a bit of vibes, stuff like that. I'd tell them that they’re standing up for more than just themselves. That they’re speaking up for lots of people. Anyway one day I phoned up Countryside Management and I was saying to the guy on the phone "Why didn’t he leave it out cause there was nothing wrong with the place." & "You’re not really managing the country side you’re just managing your finances." He just started laughing and it really struck me. One of the lines in the song is "They’re laughing at me down the phone - line, while their workers they chop down the tree" and that was what was going on. This guy had no idea at all about what I was really complaining about. So it spurred me to write the tune and cause I was down at the time I called it, Creation Blues.
B: When you’re building a track where do you start ?
J: It varies sometimes its riddim sometimes its a lyric. With 'Creation Blues' the lyric came and I put the tune around it but it does vary. I’ve had good songs develop just from a friend coming round and me showing them how my system works. I'll knock up a little tune while I’m doing it. Then suddenly with the inspiration and vibes of somebody else being around. A reasonable bass line goes down or something and that’ll extend to a tune in the end. Its really hard to think " oh I’m gonna go and make a tune" because its like painting a picture, I don’t suppose you’re always in the mood. You can't always go and make a good tune but you can work on things and move tunes forward. I tend to do them in a bit of a chain. I’ve always got about eight tunes running in different formats and it seems as they progress on up the line and they’re finished, another one comes on at the other end. So there’s almost a constant conveyor belt of eight tunes, kind of works in progress. Sometimes they’re slow and sometimes they come very quick. 'Rod Of Correction' was done in about two days.
B: Picking up on the lyrics of Rod Of Correction. I don’t fully understand it as it seems a little " God is on Our side" and all that. Could literate what the Rod Of Correction was and is all about ?
J: Well realistically its a symbol from The Bible. When Moses came down from the mountains with the Ten Commandments he also carried The Rod Of Correction. In the end when Moses was refused entry into the promised land he passed it on to Aaron. It was basically to keep the people in control, showing that God was a mighty God. I’m not a very religious person as far as the ‘system’ goes, but I do appreciate the fact of having a creator, being a creation and respecting that. The way The Bible runs and for all the inspiration I pick up from it, that’s how come the tune came out. Because there’s always so much wickedness going on that I was thinking "well its almost time to pull that out". With governments and financiers all doing their bit. If ever there was a time when we needed The Rod Of Correction its now. What with all this trouble going on, world recession and all that.
B: I’ve always felt that I would like to be able to believe in a god but I’ve never been able to find it. Using the New York attacks as an example I said to somebody that "If there was a god surely he / she / it wouldn’t let all this suffering go on".
J: I do believe that it was written in the book though that we were left to our own devices. Here’s your garden, get on with it and were trashing it, that’s quite obvious. If you believe in God then you have to believe in the Devil, so there’s negative and positive forces around. I believe that these negative things are all put here too test peoples faith. Its a world of really weird things. It might seem a bit deep but the influence of the TV and what that does to people. The sort of lives it makes them live. Just watching the telly constantly, TV, TV, TV. And everybody’s like I’m groovy I’ve got a satellite dish and this and that. It just means that you’re spending even more time in front of the box. That’s where these negative influences want ya. They want you to be there, stay at home and watch and consume and consume and consume. That’s not a godly method and there is only one other power. I feel more than a god presence. I can only, really come to terms with the fact that, I’ve got a creator and I’m his creation, so I want to be a good example and try to live my life in that fashion.
B: Okay, back to the music and going completely the other way. What do you listen to in order to relax?
J: Because I’ve got a child nursery rhymes do take up quite a bit of the airwaves. When I get my space and time, its always reggae tunes that I play, usually by people I know. I play Ishen Rockers, Nucleus Roots, Zion Train, Vibronics, Mad Proffessor, Lee Perry. What I do is I compile all my favourite stuff onto tapes. Sometimes though I play tracks from years ago Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and all that. Some of those songs, from those times had some really conscious messages. And people are still singing the same messages now. There’s a song from Barry Mcguire called The 'Eve Of Destruction' and it goes :
The eastern world it is exploding
Violence flaring, bullets loading
You’re old enough to kill but not for voting
You don’t believe in war but what’s that gun you’re toting
And even the Jordan rivers got, bodies floating
And you tell me over and over and over again
You don’t believe were on the eve of destruction
J: Now that song is so old and yet also, so current. I do draw inspiration for lyrics from stuff like that.
B: So were you involved in the old U.K Free festival scene ?
J; Yeah I used to travel around with the old Wango Riley Travelling Stage. There used to be a convoy that used to travel around and do impromptu festivals up and down the country, weekenders and all for free. The Wangos stage was all done from a great big pantethlicon lorry. The sides dropped down and the stage was built around it. You couldn’t even see the lorry in the end. Then any bands that turned up, could come and play. I used to do the Djing, also the sound engineering and a little bit of the light engineering. White Lady Festival was one , Torpedo Town was another. There were thousands of people there and there was no advance warning. The things used to just turn up and by the time Friday night came the place was rammed. I picked up a lot of things from those times. I picked up being able to talk to people on a microphone. I had to let people know " So and so has lost their little boy" or " Fred wanted to meet George". I had to make an announcements, so I had to get used to talking on the mike. Which made what I do now Djing quite easy. I don’t mind picking up the mike, just to blend in with people, let them know its not just music playing here. There’s people here, were all on the same level and to use it to try to get a oneness going in the house.
B: So why do you think that since the introduction of 'Criminal Justice Act' here in the UK and the subsequent crushing of the Free Festival scene, using those powers. That it seems almost to have been accepted by the travelling community
? J: I don’t really know, I think maybe its that every things got its time and space. Things move on and change. Maybe it was that there wasn’t enough new recruits. Also the basic centre of the hub, really, was the stage. It was hounded out of England by the authorities, to France where it was laid up for six months. When Dave went to collect it, and they left the mountain area where the stage was parked up. They stopped at a café and the stage just burst into flames and everything was destroyed by a mouse chewing through some wires. Realistically that seemed to be the termination of all that. There was no more stage for it all to happen on. However now the Wango Rileys Stage name has been revamped. Its all totally different obviously because the whole things gone but the concept is hopefully still there.
B: So staying with travelling but in a different sense. Your music has taken you on some travels hasn’t it and led you to go to some far off lands. So how did all that start ?
J: Yeah wild, places I'd never of dreamed of getting to. Basically what happened was having got a little bit of an agreement with Zion Train and having a few tunes released on their multi artist CDs like 'Lead With The Bass Two, The Egg Files and all them things. I'd gone on tour with them and at first as their record sales person. That took me to a few different countries. I'd always take some equipment and whenever I could get the chance I'd support and play for the evening. That started my exposure off and from one particular festival in Lindau, Germany a band failed to turn up and I played an hours set in their place. My set was recorded and it circulated the university out there. To a point that somebody offered me my own tour, my first headliner and from there it spread to agencies and the like. It's been such a blessing really, you wouldn’t dream that your music could take you to such wonderful places.
B: So is there anywhere you haven’t been yet that you’d really like to go to ?
J: Yeah Id like to play in Montpelier cause me daughter of twenty six years old lives there. I haven’t seen her for a few years and I would really like to play in her town. Apart from that, anywhere really, it always a pleasure to go and play anywhere, it really is. Reggae carries an international message of peace, love and unity.
B: So what’s next for Jah Free then ?
J: Hopefully a new CD coming out early next year and loads more touring work. We’re going to Poland in a couple of weeks with Stevie Vibronics. After that were going to Holland for a four hit long weekend and then there’s some more U.K based stuff leading up to Christmas. And of course The 'Creation Blues' track on the 'Nu Shoots Inna Roots' album.
B: Yep, out in November with the Dubs Versions partner album out early in the New Year. Thank you very much Jah Free.
J: Respect, One Love Bimble. People have the power.
Checkout our review of 'Outernational Dub Convention'
Checkout profiles of other artists featured on 'Nu Shoots inna Roots'
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