Post by kaya on May 14, 2008 15:02:30 GMT -5
Stephen Marley makes music in the tradition of his famous father
Son of Bob Marley to perform tonight in Athens, Ga.
Russell Hall
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
No one could ever fill the shoes of reggae legend Bob Marley. That said, however, Stephen Marley seems to have inherited the bulk of his father’s musical genes.
A winner of five Grammys, the 36-year-old has made his mark mostly as a producer, manning the boards for the star-studded Bob Marley tribute album “Chant Down Babylon,” and for his brother Damian’s gold album, “Welcome to Jamrock.”
Last year Stephen released his own CD, an album titled “Mind Control” that mixes contemporary urban styles with reggae’s solid foundation. Tonight he will appear at the Georgia Theater in Athens.
Russell Hall: What led you to production work?
Stephen Marley: It was my grandmother, really. My grandmother wanted to make a record, and I was able to get something out of her. I think I have a natural ability to work with people, and a way of getting a talent out of people. When I first started producing, it wasn’t so much about music. I had to learn that part.
RH: Is it a lot different working with members of your family, as opposed to working with people to whom you’re not related?
SM: It is different. There’s more of a bond in the conception, with family. Everyone kind of thinks on the same wavelength. Working with people outside the family involves communication that has to be sort of broken down.
RH: On the “Chant Down Babylon” album you incorporated hip-hop into your father’s songs. What was the motivation behind that?
SM: It works well naturally. It’s really like two sides of the same coin. Both types of music speak to street-people life, or the ghetto life. There’s that relationship that already exists, right there. It wasn’t hard to do, because the social issues are the same. The concrete jungle is the same as the projects; they just have different names. The association between hip-hop and reggae is a natural association.
RH: Did you anticipate that some people would feel you were diluting the purity of your father’s music?
SM: We knew people would be skeptical about a project like that. But the reasons for doing it were stronger than the skepticism. It’s about the entire mission of my father, and not just about the music that was released. It’s about the dreams and aspirations of my father, still. One of our duties, as his children, is to fulfill some of these dreams, and we did that in cooperation with some of the urban youths.
RH: Do you have vivid memories of watching your father work in the studio?
SM: Yes. Everything we saw stayed with us. The Melody Makers were actually around then, from 1978 onwards. My father wrote the first song we did. Just the whole ethics of work — what it took to be reckoned as great — is what I mostly took from watching him. It was non-stop, really.
RH: Your father brought lots of different components into reggae. In that sense you’re not doing anything that’s radically different.
SM: That’s right. It’s not as if you’re making up a new instrument. The thing is, as long as it feels natural — and sounds right — you’re doing nothing wrong.
RH: Being the son of Bob Marley carries with it a certain responsibility, obviously. Do you feel you have the freedom to sometimes fail, or to take chances?
SM: I can only say I feel a great honor, being the son of that man. I love it, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Any consequence that comes with that is just butter.
SOURCE: www.independentmail.com/news/2008/may/14/stephen-marley-makes-music-tradition-his-famous-fa/
Son of Bob Marley to perform tonight in Athens, Ga.
Russell Hall
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
No one could ever fill the shoes of reggae legend Bob Marley. That said, however, Stephen Marley seems to have inherited the bulk of his father’s musical genes.
A winner of five Grammys, the 36-year-old has made his mark mostly as a producer, manning the boards for the star-studded Bob Marley tribute album “Chant Down Babylon,” and for his brother Damian’s gold album, “Welcome to Jamrock.”
Last year Stephen released his own CD, an album titled “Mind Control” that mixes contemporary urban styles with reggae’s solid foundation. Tonight he will appear at the Georgia Theater in Athens.
Russell Hall: What led you to production work?
Stephen Marley: It was my grandmother, really. My grandmother wanted to make a record, and I was able to get something out of her. I think I have a natural ability to work with people, and a way of getting a talent out of people. When I first started producing, it wasn’t so much about music. I had to learn that part.
RH: Is it a lot different working with members of your family, as opposed to working with people to whom you’re not related?
SM: It is different. There’s more of a bond in the conception, with family. Everyone kind of thinks on the same wavelength. Working with people outside the family involves communication that has to be sort of broken down.
RH: On the “Chant Down Babylon” album you incorporated hip-hop into your father’s songs. What was the motivation behind that?
SM: It works well naturally. It’s really like two sides of the same coin. Both types of music speak to street-people life, or the ghetto life. There’s that relationship that already exists, right there. It wasn’t hard to do, because the social issues are the same. The concrete jungle is the same as the projects; they just have different names. The association between hip-hop and reggae is a natural association.
RH: Did you anticipate that some people would feel you were diluting the purity of your father’s music?
SM: We knew people would be skeptical about a project like that. But the reasons for doing it were stronger than the skepticism. It’s about the entire mission of my father, and not just about the music that was released. It’s about the dreams and aspirations of my father, still. One of our duties, as his children, is to fulfill some of these dreams, and we did that in cooperation with some of the urban youths.
RH: Do you have vivid memories of watching your father work in the studio?
SM: Yes. Everything we saw stayed with us. The Melody Makers were actually around then, from 1978 onwards. My father wrote the first song we did. Just the whole ethics of work — what it took to be reckoned as great — is what I mostly took from watching him. It was non-stop, really.
RH: Your father brought lots of different components into reggae. In that sense you’re not doing anything that’s radically different.
SM: That’s right. It’s not as if you’re making up a new instrument. The thing is, as long as it feels natural — and sounds right — you’re doing nothing wrong.
RH: Being the son of Bob Marley carries with it a certain responsibility, obviously. Do you feel you have the freedom to sometimes fail, or to take chances?
SM: I can only say I feel a great honor, being the son of that man. I love it, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Any consequence that comes with that is just butter.
SOURCE: www.independentmail.com/news/2008/may/14/stephen-marley-makes-music-tradition-his-famous-fa/