Inspiration Information 1 - Amp Fiddler / Sly & Robbie
The series kicks off with a heavyweight soundclash between Detroit soul maverick Amp Fiddler and reggae legends, Sly Dunbar & Robbie Shakespeare. “This is monumental for me. I’ve been a fan of their productions, their work with Grace Jones – her ‘The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game’ – that’s an old Detroit Motown track!” recalls Amp. “Their Compass Point productions with Wally Badarou, ‘Boops’ too, that’s how I discovered their music.”
“We heard of Amp from our manager Guillaume,” says Sly. “I didn’t know he was so funky! When I first heard him play in the studio, I thought, ‘wow, this is rude stuff!’ We were right into the Parlia-Funkadelic band. Their brand of funk was so different. I loved it from their first record. Me and Bootsy Collins are good friends – he played on our album - and I always loved Motown too, ever since I was a kid. That all brought us closer to Amp and the musical groove just stuck. We hit it off from the first song.”
Arriving at Anchor Studios in Kingston, Jamaica, armed only with a handful of acoustic vocal ideas, Amp and the Riddim Twins recorded the album in just three days during June with overdubs laid down a week later in Detroit. The results are a confident, laid back set that bring a whole new twist to Amp’s trademark vocal style: Sly builds innovative digital and live rhythms, Robbie underpins the tracks with solid bass foundations and original generation guests “Sticky” Thompson (percussion) and Dalton Browne (guitar) add plenty of colour. The tracks are never predictable, at times echoing Sly & Robbie’s ‘80s days with Island Records at Compass Point studios, at others forging new directions from the dancehall template. “It’s been amazing – the level of musicianship is sky high,” explains Amp. “It’s magical because Sly & Robbie work so well together – everything has happened really smoothly.” Within the sessions, the trio also revisited select tracks from Amp’s ‘Waltz Of A Ghetto Fly’ album, giving them a full Jamaican makeover. To complete the Island connections, the album is currently being mixed by another original studio regular, Godwin Logie.
"12 intimately funky tunes sound-bathed in a stoned faze" (Observer Music Monthly)
"A classic case of diverse musical cross-pollination spawning something new and thrilling" (DMC Update)
"This is a display of fantastic musicianship as well as a brave concept" (iDJ)
"Predictably it's a fantastic success which is likely to hold appeal for both parties involved" (Notion)
Buy it here:
/ To microsite click HERE
