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Interview Earl 16 (2008)


Brother Samuel made this interview with one of the veterans in reggae music: Earl 16! He tells us about the good old 70’s and 80’s, about England and his future plans...

Where you grown up? What influence you get from this time?
Greetings and Love to all the people in Switzerland, all the people in the region. Also Big UP AT!
My name Earl 16 born and grown in Jamaica and I can`t remember when now but yeah, long time ago. Mi started up doing music from schooldays. My schoolmate were Michael Rose, Winston MCAnuff, going to school with people like Triston Palmer, Rankin Joe. That was the era that I
really came into this music.

So right from the start you got involved into Reggae Music? Did you also get inspiration from the gospel music in school?
Well from the start yeah. Normally in school....And I used to go to church. In Jamaica it’s a tradition that when you growing up you go to sunday school and churches, is like too much in Jamaica. I mean in school we used to do our studies but also used to always listening around the piano, doing a lot of things, trying to write songs. At that time it was like everybody wants to sing like "Dennis Brown" or you know, wanted to sound like maybe "Stylistics" or one of those famous groups in America, f.e. "Jackson`s Five". We used to get a lot of American Music on the radios. I was always trying to put a group together, from about 12 years old.

Was it a long way to get the first release comin out? Which label?
All the guys that I was around in school had a lot of music stability about them and really want to do something musically. The way I got into music was doing some talentshows around Kingston. I went into a talentshow in a nightclub and the owner introduced me to the "Boris Gardener Band". I started singing for Boris Gardener when I was about 14. I jumped right ina the defend because Boris was like a big band in this time in Jamaica which has playin a lot of proper shows and festivals and stuff like dat. So I started really early like learning the basics of the music. From I met Boris I started follow him to studios and met many people like Scratch Perry, Mikey Dread,....just started meeting a lot of people.
My first recording I did was with Duke Reid. At that time I was still in school and had a group called "The Phonics". So we went to do a audition for Duke Reid. But I don`t think it was ever released. But yeah it was not so difficult.

What about «believing in Rasta» in this time?
Not really, because my parents wouldn`t allow that. My family never talked of Rasta, nothing. You can`t mention Rasta. Weed, Ganja you can not mention that in my family. But this was in the early 70s. Bob Marley was still a bad boy on the corner, rudeboy and stuff like dat....
The only rastaman is the dreadlocks with them broom, the Bobodread, that`s the only people you could see on the streets or maybe you might see a Rastaman and he look really...ina sandals and ragged clothes and things.....Backyard Movement you know.
But when I was staying with Boris Gardener I met some people. Beside Boris Gardener there was a bredrin and his music was so different. I didn`t hear those coming on the radio, nowhere and I realized that it was the house of JAH Love Soundsystem(TTI). So I used to go over there some times and watch the guys. Them do a lot of exercices and smoke the chalice, make their own juice, make their own wine. So I get into it, but I really got involved to a bredrin called Benjie. These guys had a group called "Still Cool". Still Cool was just putting together the group, so it was interesting because they used to rehearse all the time in the Island. Interesting Time in early 70`s. In the 70`s it was not on the radio, but the vibe deh was great....

The Concious Time of Reggae before the 80`s... A lot of big artists came up in this time!
Exactly! That happened with the soundsystem which played a big part. Because the soundsystem was where the artists used to go with their new dubplates and they played it to see how the crowd will react, if it`s ok to make some pressing. Even to hold the mic and see how the crowd react. So people like Brigadier Jerry and those, they didn`t become popular on records. They were big on Jamaica on soundsystem alone. Famous! A lot of DJ`s were very famous without even releasing a record. All the soundsystems and there was a dance every night in Jamaica. It was "underground". Dub! Dubmusic was nothing. No one knew about Dubmusic on the radio. When Lee Perry started making some creative Dubs, that was when certain radio DJ`s got into this whole thing, gonna see that something big is happening. Something is bubbling up behind the backdoor and they don`t know what they can do to have a piece of this. They started playing Bob Marley and then a lot of Burning Spear stuff and things like that. Some of the guys, like Augustus, they bought their own radio program. They bought half an hour just to play Rockers Music alone. Every Friday evening you just gonna hear it... awful, straight! Everyone started to get into that.... Treasure Isle, Technique Records.... just to get radio play. But the music was still selling and people were coming to dances and the dances were allright. It was a rough time. The music was concious. It wasn`t about like Prince Buster kind of thing used to be like: Punany, Big Big Bamboo and all those kind of things. Max Romeo and those guys used to sing strange songs, "Wet Dream", it wasn`t strictly forward talking about woman and man. It was kind like humours, a comedy kind of vibe. Prince Buster had many hits like that and those tunes would get airplay maybe. But there were certain songs that were not allowed for airplay. So it was difficult for the media to get involved. I think the media started to wake up then and the younger artists like Frankie Paul, Likkle John,... started to create kind a massive wave. All the radioman had to get behind that quick. Every radio station wanted a likkle piece; Sugar Minott or what was happening. It was «tough times»!

When did you move to England? Why?
I was learning a lot when I was young and around Boris and them people, picking up quickly. I lived in a good area, everybody was nice, different from where I came from in the ghetto. I met people like Mikey Dread and did an album, I did a couple songs for Lee Perry. But then I also went and did some songs for studio one and released that tune called "Love is a feeling" and started to become popular in US and England, all over the place because it was on a riddim called "fighting to the top" which was a tough Dancehall Riddim in Jamaica. So I started to get some interests from England and people start to say: "Oh we have to get Earl 16". I did an album for Mikey and he brought it to England and it was like a big hit in the underground still, you know, Reggae Sound. He came back and said: "I want to take you to England." and I answered: "Ah man I`m not coming to England. It`s boring."
So I started travelling with Boris and went to Canada for 3 months doing some clubshows.
When I came back to Jamaica I was with some guys and they had a tour with Tenna Star who was most known at that time but the producer couldn`t afford to bring Tenna Star because Tenna Star was working and his producer was very rich. So the promoter brought around 10 upcoming artists. So I was chosen with artists like Cocoa Tea, Pad Anthony,... a lot of artist which were around Jammys and Tubbys at that time and I went to America and that was wicked. I bussed the place! One guy came from England and said he wanted to get Tenna Star show and wanted me to come with Tenna Star. That`s why I came to England and it was wicked. It was awesome!
I think I got a girl pregnant and after coming back to Jamaica I had to go England bring her to Jamaica to my mom and had to get married and I got caught my bredda, strange story you know.
But I think I`m one of the lucky ones. I like to keep moving all the time, just sitting around in Jamaica was not my kind of thing. Even though I came to England I went back doing a lot of show in America. Reggae at that time wasn`t as popular in Jamaica as it is now. You wouldn`t hear Reggae Music on the radio unless it was hype. Maybe some strange guys like Keith Taylor, Vin Taylor, people like Byron Lee & The Dragoneers. Stuff like Bob Marley and those you have to get them in the jukebox, on the corner in the dances. Reggae wasn`t really been played a lot on the radio in Jamaica through 70`s, 80`s, you

What changed when you went to England, musically?
When I first came to UK in 1985, England was on top, I couldn`t believe it, not even America was so much into that Roots Music. It was hot. The Jamaican Vibes was there. You had Aswad, Steel Pulse, all these groups that were fireing in this time.
The Music we made in Jamaica was Live-Recorded and in England I realized that they just recorded in one likkle room, using new technologies. We had it also in Jamaica but we didn`t use it. It`s more authentic to hear a live drummer play than a machine or computer.

But you are very open to other style of music, right?
Me personally, because I used to stay a lot around people like Sly and Peter Tosh. I used to live in the yard of Bob Marley for many years when I ran away from home. When I sight up Rastafari I used to live rough. Stay with Bob, stay in the hills with my grandparents. Just trod to certain places I used to go to the home of Bob Marley, to the home of Jack Ruby and just spent weeks and time, Just pick up good vibes from them people. I used to experiment a lot when I used to sing with Boris Gardener. We used to sing different songs with different flavours. I get a good practice through that. I was open. I wasn`t just like I`m not gonna do anything apart from Roots.

We can hear you on Jungle or Drum`n Bass Riddims too...
When I started staying in England I started working with Mad Professor. To me he was the closest thing to Lee Perry. He was just a crazy scientificant, always experimenting. I was glad that I met him and we started working and did some albums. It was interesting. Then I was introduced to some guys called "Double Trouble". These guys were some of the first that started doing Drum`n Bass in the UK. They used to take the bassline from some King Tubbys Dubs and put their own Drums on it. Speed it up. Hot, fast, fast, fast! They mixed the voices like from Supercat, Barrington Levy... They called me to come and voice some tracks. I met some other guys and did a track with them that I did many years ago in Tubbys "Trials and Crosses" and I voiced it for the man. That tune was one of the best sellers. That tune is amazing. It went number one in the charts all over the place. It`s not Reggae but it has got all elements, bassline and they use some drums...

What about your own Label «Merge»?
Growing up with people like Augustus Pablo, you have to learn quick. You have to be resourceful. Every man have to stand on his own feet. I learnt being independent from watching how Pablo and all those guys set up their own label, set up their record shop. Before I left Jamaica, one of the first tunes I did was a tune call "Man makin Plants". I pressed it for myself, only 150 copies. I couldn`t afford more. That was my first production. Next production I did was a tune called "Freedom". But when we went to Lee Perry and got some studio time and recorded it and we didin`t have enough money to press it Lee Perry released it on his own label because he said that is a wicked tune. I was glad with that because at that time Lee Perry was fireing on all zylinders. His mixes were hot, hot hot!
The Dub on that tune, I think is one of the most played Dubs in Jamaica. The B-Side is a crazy mix that he did. When I came to England I had a tune I wanted to do from a long time which was from a guy named Nick Hotnail from Simply Red but couldn`t find the right people in Jamaica to set it up. I came to England and recorded it straight away. I got some bredrin that give me some money and I pressed it. That tune was like selling hot cake. I had to use 2 presses and stampers. From that time I thought about running my own label. Because in England not a lot of producers knew about me and my sound wasn`t really been played on the radio and so I decided to press my own songs, make my own label, do my own promotion.
From then a few people started and get involved, f.e. David Rodigan and I could give him a dubplate to play on the radio and so on...

What about new releases in the future?
No, at the moment I try to be wise with my releases. My last LP came out last year call "Wake UP" and I did it for Mad Professor and Sly&Robbie. At the moment I have an album that is just releasing now on the Cousins Label call "Rasta Ambassadors" , stricktly nice Roots Album and I produced that as well with my bredrin. I think my next project is gonna be probably next year I`m gonna have a mini-album released with Gussie P and hopefully I got a few singles released in Jamaica at the moment. I`m trying to keep myself alive.

That means you would also voice tunes on dancehall riddims or so?
Yeah, of course I do. I`m not Jimmy Cliff and my name is not Bunny Wailer and I have to eat. I really wanna do culture roots music because that is where I start from. There are people which want to get into reggae, because at the moment Reggae is bigger than it`s ever been. The kind of people that singing Reggae they sometimes don`t even talk english. I mean when you look on the websites, internet and things... People that is working with Sly&Robbie, like for example Sinead O`Connor, they never used to be into reggae. It`s interesting. We are greatful to the Mighty Jah to be able to be still her and play a part.

Where can people get some more information about you? Where can people contact you?
www.earlsixteen.com that was build by a bredrin here in Switzerland called «Dubsouljah», it’s still running but I haven`t been able to maintain. I get no mails and stuff.
(check www.myspace.com/earlsixteen)

Message to the readers?
Tune in to Earl Sixteen @myspace.com right! Keep RastafarI within your souls because it`s only one King Selassie and it`s only one Rastafari who will conquer the earth... with reggaemusic. So I`m the messenger, that`s why me come to tell dem that it`s not a money thing. It`s just Rastafari works we ah deal with. So give thanx to everyone who help us and come along and support the music and support the dances. Blessed Everyone! Just come rally round King Selassie! Everything Irie. Give Tanx AT. Blessed Love

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