Technology helps to uplift the music, says King Jammy

“ Don’t want no ice-cream love it’s too cold for me,” Sparrow Martin belted out as he dropped a “wicked” freestyle at a presentation workshop by Swedish design and technology collective Teenage Engineering at Alpha Boys School in Kingston on Monday. Martin, a renowned musician and the former bandmaster emeritus of the Alpha Boys’ School Band, was urged to take the mic and test out the new EP-40 drum machine and sequencer, which is also built to enhance spontaneous creativity. The compact, neatly packaged equipment features more than 400 brand new recordings of instruments, sounds, and loops contributed by illustrious creatives such as King Jammy, Mafia & Fluxy, Mighty Crown, Mad Professor, Etana, and others.

Present at the function were Hugh ‘King Jammy’ James, Etana and Trevor ‘Baby G’ James, the son of King Jammy, who all received their very own piece of the new equipment. Two-time Grammy nominee, Etana, and Grammy songwriter and Grammy producer, Baby G, expressed their delight at being a part of the project.

“I contributed to this lovely machine here that will uplift me. And that’s the power of music ... that it outlives each and every one of us here in this room and our contributions are forever and ever ... it never ends. So I’m grateful to play a part of such a beautiful project,” said Etana, who recently released a dub album titled Dubclaat.

The group from Teenage Engineering, which includes Rodrigo Pencheff, Marcus Price, and Patrik Arve, is currently in the island to showcase the machine with a week-long celebration from October 10 to 17. On their itinerary was also a cultural showcase at Weddy Weddy Wednesdays, performing a 45-minute sound system takeover with the EP-40, joined by Jamaican artistes “for an unforgettable night of live demonstrations, performances, and crowd participation”.

“We came here and tried to find the most legendary people in the business to assist us with this project,” they told the gathering, which included media, students and other representatives from Alpha Boys.

In an interview with The Gleaner, King Jammy shared how he became involved with the group, and lauded the project, emphasising that this is the type of innovation that Alpha will benefit from.

INVOLVED FROM THE BEGINNING

“They (Teenage Engineering) came to me first and wanted to know how to go about it, so I directed them. They got some samples from me and a lot of things ... I am involved in it from the beginning. This will be great for Alpha because this school has a lot of young people, and these things were set for young people to enhance. I think it will help them a lot because of the different sounds and the different innovations and the younger people are attracted more to that,” King Jammy said.

He continued, “Technology helps to uplift the music...definitely. Because things that we used to do with the analogue ... how we used to record the music, we were limited on that. Computers have a vast memory ... analogue has its time and its space. It’s still relevant now because when I do my thing I mix analogue and digital together and get that Jammy’s sound. That why my sound is so unique,” the legendary producer, sound system man and studio owner stated, without bragging.

The Swedish group, whose passion is “building instruments that spark creativity and make music fun to create, no matter the genre”, shared that the EP-40 “was born from a deep inspiration in reggae, dancehall, and sound system culture”.

“From the very beginning, Jamaica has been at the heart of this vision, because it is the birthplace of these sounds and the community that has carried them forward. We wanted to design a machine that captures that energy while staying true to its roots. By bringing it here, we connect directly with the people and culture that shaped the sound. We provide the technology, but the soul of the music will always belong to those who live it,” the team said in a press release.

yasmine.peru@gleanerjm.com