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Publication date : Wednesday, April 17th 2013 - 17 774 views
Naâman, the Jamaican baptism
It didn't take Naâman long to make his name in the French reggae scene. In just two years, he has followed an upward trajectory, from Dieppe to Kingston, where he recorded his first album, "Deep Rockers Back A Yard". A look back at his Jamaican baptism.
Naâman got his ticket to Jamaica thanks to the success of the mixtape "Deep Rockers", produced by Fatbabs and released in March 2012. An effective cocktail of reggae supercharged with hip-hop that quickly found its audience and opened the doors of Harry J studio in Kingston, where he recorded his first album. "For the first time I had a bit of money thanks to music, Naâman tells us, enough for a plane ticket to the Virgin Islands and Jamaica". For him, recording was not on the agenda; it was above all a chance to recharge after a busy 2012, notably punctuated by an appearance at Reggae Sun Ska. On learning of his stay in the Caribbean, the French label Soulbeats proposed that he remix "Deep Rockers" at Harry J studio.
There was no question of replaying "Deep Rockers" without Fatbabs, who joined him in Kingston: "The project was really built around his work on the first record. The aim was to keep that hip-hop side while having it replayed by musicians." Sly Dunbar, Axeman (bass) and Dalton Browne (guitar) were called in to take part in the recording. "It was a crazy experience. I found it wild to be at their side from one day to the next. Sly was very excited about the project, and so was Axeman. On some of Fatbabs' riddims, it was already Sly playing on the sample!"
"I found confidence in my ideas again"
Back A Yard thus offers a Jamaican-style reworking of some of the tracks on "Deep Rockers": the emblematic Skanking Shoes, the dreamy Smoke Tricks, but also Freedom, Madness, Rockers, and Frontline. There are also four new tracks: House of Love, Badman Beware, the effective Rebel for Life with Cutty Ranks, One Day…
With sound engineer Stephen Stewart and Sam Clayton, the studio work thus begins. The aim: to keep a sound as close as possible to "Deep Rockers", with "a Jamaican touch". "It was funny to arrive there knowing nothing about them, about the studio. It stopped us from being intimidated or too confident. Communication between our two generations wasn't as fruitful as we would have liked, but they did an extraordinary job on some tracks."
Back in France, the results from the studio didn't really satisfy Naâman and Fatbabs, who got back to work. I re-recorded 6 tracks, we recorded all the horns as well as the backing vocals in France. "Deep Rockers Back a Yard" is a genuine Jamaican-French collaboration! And a great challenge…"
This Jamaican baptism, with its live recordings, was also an intensive school, and an important artistic step. "It gave me confidence in my tastes, in my decisions and in my lyrics. I learned a huge amount about music thanks to Stephen Stewart and his team. I found confidence in my ideas again: I've been much more active in writing since I got back".
"Deep Rockers Back A Yard" will be available on 4 June 2013 on the label Soulbeats.
Naâman is also on tour to mark the release of the album.

Report written by Sébastien Jobart
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