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And so, I'm arriving at the final stages of this
project, that I started almost a year ago. I could
never have imagined that it would take such a long
time, but it could not have been done otherwise.
And the nice aspect is, that the project has a lot
of by-products such as the two DUB albums I
released last month. Two albums, and I will
release more tunes in the coming months as well.
It was a very interesting project in many
aspects. I learned a lot, and of course I will
share what I learned in a number of articles. It's
too much, to name everything in this update. But I
can say, that I hope to continue working in the
way I developed during these last let's say 12
months.
But first things first.
When I was approached by Star Recordings to
make an album for them, I wanted to combine this
with requests that I often received, to release
(more) music with (full) lyrics. I also have my
own long time wish, to produce new versions of
songs I did back in the late 1980's, early 1990's.
And so I started digging in my archives. I have
perhaps 2,000 midi files that I did in my
pre-Internet days, and there are a couple of tunes
of which I have put the lyrics on the Internet
years ago already but never the music.
But as I was processing the music, I did not
feel like I wanted to do this. But in the same
time, I didn't want to make an album that would be
like all the albums I did before. It was a short,
but very difficult time.
I had to make some decisions.
I decided to make a lot of new riddims from
scratch. And so I did. I made an instrumental DUB
from each track (I did about 50 in total) as soon
as I was done making the riddim. This took me 8 or
9 months.
The reason why I made so much, is that I wanted
to have a choice. I can't just make a few riddims
and put them on CD, for if I make let's say 10
riddims, they are not all of the same quality.
There would only be a couple of which I would
later think: "these are okay".
I have a very bad memory, always had it. When I
started performing, back in 1987, I always had a
big map with me containing the lyrics. That didn't
last long, as I found out that I had a little bit
of talents as they say when it comes to
improvising. When I currently perform. I think I
only have about 20% of the lyrics in my head and
the rest is improvising.
This talent (if I may call it that with the
realization that I am created by JAH so everything
I do, the praises go to Him as far as praises can
be given) came in very handy, as I used it to
voice each and every one of the 50 riddims. Some
tracks were easy: I just pressed record, and
started to sing from scratch. Other tracks needed
lyrics that I had to write.
I voiced the riddims during the month of November,
early December. I had then already selected 15
instrumental Dub tracks which I released as an
album under the name "Apocalypse Then".
After processing the recorded vocals, I released
another 16 DUB tracks with vocal snippets, under
the name "Reasonings In Dub".
The feedback I received from these two albums
helped me selecting the tunes for the final album.
 Many,
many people wanted me to release (more) music with
(full) lyrics. And I personally prefer DUB. So I
decided to combine this and make an album wherein
every single track would have a Vocal and a DUB
part.
In Reggae Culture, such an album is called a
Showcase. The title of my album therefore is kind
of obvious and, if I might say so, also a long
time wish of me.
 Most
of the albums I have done thus far contained a
number of Dubs and a number of Lyrical tracks, or
stricktly Dub. And I can't imagine myself
releasing an album without any Dub at all, so the
choice for a Showcase album wasn't difficult.
 I
didn't just select of couple of tunes, though. Far
from that! I decided to treat the album a bit like
a concert. And so, I made a selection for the
opening track and started to mix it into a true
opening track. Then the second track, et cetera.
So the mixing is all done in the same sequence as
the tracks on the album.
Just like a concert, the album has several
sections if you will. An opening with a couple of  tunes
to get the listener into the vibes, then a part
wherein Ireness is the main topic, after which we
arrive final stages: in my case this is a set of
steppers tunes with some heavy toasting as well as
singing.
There's also a healthy balance between serious
lyrics, spiritual lyrics and plain Ireness.
Chanting down Babylon, but in the same time
praising Jah and enjoying the music too.
As you can see, the Cover Art is ready too. At
the moment I'm writing this, the official barcode
isn't there (I used another one for the graphics
in this update), but you get the point I think.
The cover Art contains pictures and photo's of my
spiritual examples and of course a picture of the
Divine Saviour!
I don't really know when the album will be
available, but I do not think it takes a very long
time. I'll keep you posted, and in the meantime I
will also start writing about my experiences,
which will result in a number of articles.
See You Next Time!
One Love,
Messian Dread
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