Review
Publication date : Monday, September 12th 2005 - 25 799 views Ja'sound festival 2005
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A largely positive verdict for the second edition of Ja’sound, which rose brilliantly to the challenge of taking the place of the late Jamaican Sunrise, which vanished amid losses and uproar after the fiasco of 2004. The Parc Arthur Rimbaud in Bagnols-sur-Cèze is admittedly less “roots” than the site at Lézan, but it was big enough to welcome more than 22,000 spectators who came for a programme that, on the whole, kept its promises.
On site, the layout has changed. The grounds themselves have shrunk a little, with the stalls now inside the enclosure, but major drawbacks have been improved: more toilets, and lighter, more relaxed security, for example. That counts, especially when you spend four days there.
Wednesday 3 August 2005
For this first night, the festival offers a dub warm-up with the performances of three specialists: King Earthquake of Birmingham, accompanied by Murray Man, King Shiloh of Amsterdam and Aba Shanti-I of London. The three full sound systems have been set up in a circle forming an arena that will ultimately prove a little cramped. But the formula works: the sounds swap sets quickly, which lets you appreciate each one’s style. The sound evolves gradually: first dub-roots selections, then a little more digital and stepper. All of it in a deluge of kilowatts. Off to a flying start, Earthquake is caught out by technical problems. Spared them, Aba Shanti takes over a good part of the night and impresses with the enormous bass coming out of his particularly well-designed sound system. He closes his set energetically in a flood of dubplates that he doesn't hesitate to play several times.
Thursday 4 August 2005
 A busier programme awaits the crowd from early the next evening.
It falls to Ras Shiloh to open the festival's main stage. He manages to captivate the audience, though it is still rather sparse. With a set that has changed little since his French tour, alternating between his hits (Are you satisfied, Onto Zion, Who can hear, Brown Eyes) and covers of Garnett Silk (Kingly Character, Zion in A Vision or Hello Mama Africa segued into Sizzla's Thank you Mama), Ras Shiloh shows great warmth during his performance: he hardly sings on stage but prefers to be in contact with the crowd, who give him an ovation and join in his stage games.
 Groundation:
The Californian band arrive in Bagnols at the end of their long European tour and give the Ja Sound crowd a perfectly mastered performance. The group's excellent musicians have a roots, rock, reggae sound with jazz influences that can be appreciated in their solos. Their charismatic singer Harrison Stafford captivates the audience, who respond strongly to the show. Opening with a massive cover of Natural mystic, they string together conscious songs for 90 minutes, such as Music is the most high, Smile or We Free Again, embellished with long instrumental passages that multiply the band's energy tenfold.
 Twinkle Brothers:
Consummate professionals, the Grant brothers are not in the habit of playing lightly. Once again, we witnessed an electrifying, if slightly short, performance. Unsurprisingly, the choice of songs gives us their greatest classics. Never get burn, Jahovia, Free Africa, Since I throw the comb away, Rasta pon Top… Norman Grant, in top form, leans effectively on the hypnotic bass of Dub Judah, as inspired as ever.
An energetic concert, driven along at a brisk pace, with the famous Gussie P at the desk as a bonus.
 Richie Spice: The 5th Element take the stage in a slimmed-down line-up compared with other festivals: no Chuck Fender, no Anthony Cruz and certainly no Jah Mason. Where it hurts is that the organisers did not tell the audience. So it is Richie Spice alone who carries the show after a brief appearance by the young Jah Penko. Without much warmth, but with a certain talent, Richie Spice performs his best tracks. He opens with Blood Again (The Way They're Living) then moves on to Earth a run red. Marijuana, Spice in your life, 9-11 and Youths are so cold follow, and are certainly among the highlights of the concert. It's a pity that he always wears that slightly jaded look on his face. His performance was mostly worthwhile for those discovering him, the artist having already accustomed us to better.
Overproof Sound System with Mc TWEED (who also acts as MC for the festival) close the night. The Birmingham collective present their hybrid cocktail of sound system and live music, electro dub, reggae and dancehall.
Friday 5 August 2005
The programme is particularly packed this Friday, especially as Natty King's show has been moved to the same evening. Iration Steppa will have to make do with playing between the concerts, without getting a set in their own right. That won't stop them from playing a few devastating dubplates, even if the disappointment remains. The French sound Lion Roots opens the night with dub selections and dubplates.
 And it is an hour late that Lyricson and the Black Unite Crew go on stage to open the festival's second day, pushing back the whole evening's programme. His resolutely dancehall show fails to convince an audience still waiting for this artist to prove himself on stage. It's a shame that his crew's guest slot once again turns into a vast mess, giving his whole performance a muddled tone. Backed by Artikal Band, who play almost all night, Lyricson is almost too dynamic, chaining pull-ups on every track and delivering slightly confused speeches.
At the end of the set, a look around shows that the park is now well filled. Festival-goers and organisers are reassured: the crowd will be there for this second edition.
 Queen Omega having missed her plane, it is Natty King, scheduled for the next day, who replaces her. For his first appearance on a French stage, this young artist delivers a well-executed show featuring his best tracks from the album "No guns to town". A representative of the St Thomas vocal style (like Bushman or Gramps of Morgan Heritage), Natty King lifts the crowd notably with When the money done, No guns to town, Mr Greedy, Pray and Cut down the price. Very successful for a first time.
After the youngsters, it is Sister Carol's turn to take the stage. This veteran deejay is particularly at ease on stage. The "Black Cinderella" gives a dynamic, conscious performance, embellished with a few dance steps to the audience's great delight: Rasta Girl, Ital Jacuzzi and Herbal Is Natural were performed, to name just a few.
 Midnite: Another revelation of the night, another style: the St Croix band Midnite, introduced by Ras McBean, mesmerise the audience with highly melodic and spiritual reggae. They radiate real energy and some of their arrangements are simply sublime, as on The gad, Corruption, Ras To The Bone or Mama. A wind of mysticism blows through Parc Rimbaud. But, penalised by the delay in the programming, Midnite take the stage when it is nearly 3 in the morning. After an hour and a half of music, everything stops: the microphones are cut just as the musicians have launched into the last song. The reason is simple: the initial delay snowballed, and Misty in Roots now have to be let on. Vaughn Benjamin leaves the stage, furious. And the band leave immediately after coming off stage, to play the next day in California!
Past 4 in the morning, only the hardiest remain to see the concert by the English veterans Misty in roots, who face the hard task of getting the crowd going. One is struck straight away by the heaviness of the sound and the musicians' perfect mastery. This roots reggae gives you new strength and one is inevitably disappointed to be able to enjoy it only so late.
Saturday 6 August 2005
The night begins with a short but intense show of percussion, dance and song from Burkina Faso. The solo percussionist, who sets the rhythm on half a calabash placed on the ground, impresses the audience with his virtuosity. The musician and the two female singers leave the stage to applause, making way for another rhythm: that of Jamaica.
Natty King: Determined to deliver the show he had been scheduled for so as not to disappoint the audience, Natty King returns with a condensed version of his previous concert, with a few differences: the track Survivor or For my people on the Dis ya time riddim.
 Queen Omega: A day behind schedule, Queen Omega opens this last night with a very dynamic show. She opens with the splendid Amazing grace. Most of the concert is made up of tracks from the album "Destiny", but the singer is not content with reproducing the songs identically: she uses new riddims such as the Drop leaf to blend Destiny and No retire. The unmissable Perfect combinaison, recorded in the studio with Buju Banton, and Ganja baby are also part of the set. The crowd calls the Queen back, and she returns on the Military riddim. She leaves the stage earlier than planned but the audience is won over.
Trinity:: The legendary toaster takes the stage with the Stalag and sets the tone with a medley. He alternates between his own lyrics and numerous covers, from Bob Marley to Gregory Isaacs.
The man is certainly not short of warmth and goes down right into the middle of the crowd to perform his songs. The effect is guaranteed and the pleasure shared. The show is admittedly a bit short but we can be sure of seeing Trinity again in a duo with Vivian Jackson.
 Yabby You:
The event of the festival, besides Midnite's first visit to Europe, was of course the concert by Yabby You, who had not set foot on a stage for several years. He is backed for the occasion by the Homegrown band and its horn section, which includes the saxophonist Guillaume "Steppa" Briard.
Physically frail, Vivian Jackson sings sitting down and sometimes has to try several times to get a note right: hospitalised on many occasions since childhood, this fragile artist is nonetheless determined to deliver his show. The audience is not mistaken: the event is almost historic. The show is marked by emotion and mysticism, which suit the songs performed: Love thy neighbour, Love of Jah, Fire in a Kingston, Deliver me from my enemies, Walls of Jerusalem, Anti-Christ, Warn the nation and of course the unmissable Conquering lion. Trinity comes on stage to handle the toasted parts of King Pharaoh’s Plague, Chant down Babylon kingdom and Jah vengeance. A great moment.
 Black Uhuru: Another great moment of the night was the performance by Michael Rose and Duckie Simpson, reunited after quarrelling over the Black Uhuru legacy. However, the absence of Sly & Robbie tempers the historic character of this reformation somewhat. Michael Rose appears in great form for the occasion while Duckie Simpson, by contrast, seems more withdrawn, even absent at times. Yet it is hard to resist enjoying the trio's classic titles: Africa, Guess who’s coming, Sensimilia, Shine eye girl, General, I love king Selassie, Party in session, Abortion or What is life.
Bush Chemist, who also handled the intervals between each concert, accompanied by Reality Sound, quickly close this 2005 edition.
The lessons of past years have been partly learned. The festival thus ends on a rather positive note, with some very good discoveries such as Natty King and Midnite. The veteran artists we thought we knew well also surprised the crowd with performances that were more than equal to their reputations. Undeniably, circumstances meant that the sound systems were something of the poor relation of the festival. This is all the more regrettable as the choice of "dub" sounds was entirely consistent with the "roots and culture" spirit of the programming. A possible third edition could remedy this.
Report written by Benoit Georges
Photos : Frank Casali
Tags : Sister Carol (18), Queen Omega (25), Richie Spice (74), Ras Shiloh (14), Twinkle Brothers (21), Midnite (73), Natty King (12), Groundation (73), Black Uhuru (8), Yabby You (14), Murray Man (20), Festivals 2005 (5)
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