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What made you want to start making your own
reggae tunes, to make the transition from reggae
fan and writer to music maker?
 I
wanted to make a version album back in the late
seventies early eighties, but when I checked out
the cost of studio time and musicians - I dropped
the idea - but then I bought a bass and Dr Rhythm
drum machine - and started to build record bass
and drum tracks on my cassette deck, and did about
12 tracks but then the deck stopped working it
couldn't deal with the bass! But the tape was
given to Rae Wackies (footnote),
who really liked them. I was hoping to be able to
transfer them onto a multi track, but the tape got
lost and that was that.
To get the sound I wanted, I knew would take
some a lot of studio time which costs money. And
by the mid eighties - Tero Kaski at Black Star in
Finland thought it would be a great idea to put
out a book. Which was to be More Axe - and that
meant setting up a business (Muzik Tree) and that
took every penny I had. So the thing was put on
hold.
Did you have a guiding musical concept or
philosophy when you started?
The sound I had in mind was that raw sound of
the early seventies - Version. It was minimal -
and was driven more by keyboards and guitars, then
bass and drum.
 By
the 1994, the cost of computers that could handle
music had come Down to a good price - I wanted an
Atari, but couldn't get one. So ended up buying a
Brother Disk Composer, and a Yamaha keyboard with
midi - It took a while to adapt from playing bass
guitar to keyboard bass - but within a while I had
a number of rhythms built. It was then that I
asked Dave Katz to come and play some melodies
over them - he did . I thought what he did was
great - he got the sound I was after very quickly.
I then tried to mix the tunes and it couldn't be
done! The only way to mix midi then, was to
transfer it to tape, track by track. And then mix
it. The cost of this was way too much.
So I just left it again, and kept an eye on the
cost of 4 track tape Machines to my total surprise
Yamaha put out a 4-track Minidisc machine! Being a
big fan of Minidisc. I had to get this machine, it
was like a dream come true. Ira at Jammyland in
New York was looking to buy old 12" and so
that was that. By the late summer of 2000 I had
the Yamaha MD4S.
I understand that the next step was
producing the first album "Original
Version" (2001). Tell us about how you made
this record and how you went about
releasing/distributing it..
The first album by The Small Axe People was
ready to go by the end of That year. Rae Wackies
came and mixed some tracks in the middle of 2001
and Roger Dalke came up with the title of the
album - 'Original Version'. When it came to its
release I just wanted to put it out on a small
run, no more than 200 CDs. But John Mason at
Reggae Retro claimed he could get a lot more done
at a very good price, and set up distribution
through SRD. This is where things went seriously
wrong, SRD did OK with the CD, but John Mason
seems to think that's it OK not to pay people. To
this day the matter is not resolved.
 Regarding
the music on the album there is a drum machine,
but that's it, there are no samples on 'Original
Version'. It's a version album, not a dub album.
Dub concentrates on bass and drum, and studio FX.
My interest is elsewhere. The interplay between
the piano and organ for example. Reggae people
don't really know what version is. Even albums
that are really Version sets, are sold as Dub or
instrumental - but they are not either. 'Musical
Bones' and 'Return Of Wax' are version albums.
Rae Wackies told me early on that I wouldn't be
able to get the kind of sound I wanted with a four
track and he was right. Reggae sounds simple but
its not, you need a band or a minimum of a eight
tracks to get it right.
 But
theres a dub version of the album too..
Dub kinda lost its appeal to me I wasn't
interested in making Dub, there is a dub to
'Original Version' 'Jazzbo T At The Controls.
Which is Roger Dalke using the Cool Edit program
to dub up the tracks. Once again its very minimal,
but I like it a lot.
While many of the sounds on "Original
Version" are quite electronic it doesn't
sound nearly as rigid or programmed to the extent
of other digital reggae...
 'Original
Version' was recorded live, it's not a midi album.
Only a drum machine program. So the drums were put
on one track, then the bass, and then the organ
and piano/clavinet.
It's very difficult to get the kind of drum
sound I wanted, but it had the right feel.
You have spoken about the importance of Version
to your work: more specifically who were some of
your musical influences at this point?
 Firstly
Andy Capp: 'Pop A Top' and 'The Law' are the
blueprints for all of what I have done. I would
love to talk to Andy Capp about version Herman
Chin Loy is another person who understands the
concept of Version, and so of course does Lee
Perry.
Cheers Ray!
FOOTNOTE: Rae
Wackies is the Mystic Red Corporation, he produced
the first 'UK Roots' tune 'Seven Seals' with
Manasseh before they were Manasseh. His own album
'Between Zero and One' is a roots classic. Check
out Idlers Rest for more info.[back]
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