BEYOND THE BLUE (double vinyl)

Description

A story within History... or how to sum up in a few words the incredible and terrible adventure experienced by Martin Nathan and his faithful companion Samuel Clayton Jr, who went to Jamaica in March 2020 for a collaboration with the legendary Big Youth. The context of an unprecedented first global lockdown left them little time to record with the famous DJ, before they both contracted the virus... Martin Nathan was fortunate enough to return to France. Samuel Clayton Jr, however, did not return, having been carried away by the disease in Kingston. The producer's iron will, supported by his label Jarring Effects and Jamaican producer Stephen Stewart, nevertheless allowed this project to come to fruition. For his part, one thing is certain, Big Youth is in great shape! According to the many eminent musicians and singers present at the Anchor studios in Kingston during the recordings, he has lost none of his verve: '...you still get it, man!'. Sparkling and inexhaustible, distilling an astonishing variety of vocal styles, which he himself created, he evokes 'the old days', the golden age of Jamaican reggae of the 1960s and 70s, gives us his somewhat conspiratorial version of the health crisis, evokes his faith and speaks of love... all while wonderfully integrating into each universe offered by Brain Damage. Martin Nathan is not to be outdone and once again refines his style for the occasion. Increasingly musical, his proposals are tinged with diverse influences, hitherto unexploited for him, jazz, blues, ska, rocksteady... sublimated by delicious and silky brass arrangements by Franck Boyron and his acolytes, Baptiste Sarat and Fred Roudet. The whole, benefiting from a production leaving nothing to chance, undoubtedly constitutes a new cornerstone of Brain Damage's prolific discography, and one always wonders how far it will take us. Samuel Clayton Jr, for his part, will be missed by many. While he is regularly and clearly heard in the form of samplers throughout what will remain the last album he worked on, it is above all his state of mind that Martin Nathan has strived to respect, in the form of a new sound and human adventure. The emotion here is audible, palpable. "THE PIONEER OF HEXAGONAL DUB" --- TÉLÉRAMA ---. "MASTODONS OF THE DUB SCENE." --- CULTURE DUB ---. "Brain Damage once again brilliantly shakes up our somewhat formatted minds, and proves that electro dub has not yet fully revealed itself." Bokson BRAIN DAMAGE: With 12 albums to his credit, Martin Nathan has been multiplying the most diverse artistic proposals under the name of Brain Damage for nearly 20 years. In turn dark, atmospheric, assertive or poetic, his universe seems to be in perpetual motion, undoubtedly one of the keys to the longevity of his project. Considered one of the founders of the dub scene in France, in 1999 he created the first live machine of its kind and quickly established connections with some of the masters of the style in England (Zion Train, Alpha & Omega, The Disciples). In 2002 and 2004, accompanied by bassist Raphaël Talis, he produced his first two albums on the mythical Parisian label Hammerbass, before joining the Jarring Effects stable in 2006 for an experimental and conceptual trilogy made in collaboration with a plethora of international artists (Black Sifichi, Mark Stewart, Hakim Bey). He then frankly broke free from the codes of the genre in which he had perhaps been cataloged a little too quickly. In 2011, the departure of his sidekick marked the beginning of a new era for the project, which became more polymorphous than ever. Martin Nathan then alternated collaborations (High Tone, Vibronics, Sir Jean) with his solo works, always bringing him closer to the very sources of his preferred style. In 2015, the realization in Jamaica of the major part of the project "Talk the talk / Walk the walk", with icons like Horace Andy, Willi Williams, Winston Mc Anuff, Kiddus and Ras Michael seems to testify to this. In 2017, the producer turned to the United States for an extraordinary collaboration with Harrison Stafford, charismatic singer and leader of the legendary band Groundation, with the intention of once again breaking codes, and a desire to decompartmentalize styles and schools, sometimes confined to their orthodoxies. Over all these years, he has forged a solid international reputation, skillfully cultivating a certain dichotomy between his often cerebral studio sessions and hundreds of live performances, always explosive. In France, due to his past and his ability to renew himself, Brain Damage now appears as the link between the scene he helped create nearly 20 years ago, and the new leaders of a rejuvenated, more synthetic and direct dub. BIG YOUTH: Born in 1949, in the Trenchtown district of Kingston, Manley Augustus Buchanan was among the very first artists to develop the DJ style, a precursor to rap, and quickly became one of the most recognized. A eulogist of Rastafarianism, he focused mainly on social and conscious themes, which was totally new when in 1972 he established himself as the only serious rival to U Roy, the creator of the genre. While collaborating with almost all the greatest artistic figures of the time in Jamaica, he also had a major influence on Bob Marley among many others. He also managed to attract the attention of the English punk scene, particularly Johnny Rotten (Sex Pistols / PIL), in the hype of the famous punky-reggae parties. Today still constantly imitated and sampled, Big Youth or Jah Youth, as he is affectionately known in Jamaica, remains the most moving and popular DJ of the golden age of 1970s roots reggae.