INTERVIEW
Interview by : Benoit Georges
on Thursday, October 27th 2005 - 13 998 views
Reviving the classic combination of a singer and a DJ, Sugar Roy and Conrad Crystal have found an effective formula, popularised by two hits: True love will never die and Education wize on the Handcart riddim, which made Perfect known. Conrad Crystal, a veteran sound system singer, handles the sung parts while Sugar Roy acts as DJ and producer. With his labels Crystal Ball and Fire Ball, founded in 2002, he is also among the pioneers of the One drop revival in Jamaica, like 5th Element. With several tracks near the top of the charts, the duo are enjoying an unexpected breakthrough. We wanted to find out more by interviewing them by phone.
Reggaefrance / Can you introduce yourself?
Sugar Roy / My name is Conrad Crystal. I've been in the business for 19 years now. I've been singing since I was very young, since I was in primary school. I started with the Romantic sound system, then I joined Kilamanjaro.
Tell us about your collaboration with Sugar Roy.
My first collaboration with Sugar Roy was in 2002. True love will never die was my first collaboration with him. The track was well received.
When did you meet?
We've known each other for quite a while. We met at the record pressing plant and at Bunny General's studio. Sugar is also a producer. He had done some productions there and came to collect some of his old tapes. Our paths crossed and we decided to work together and join forces. He needed me and I needed him.
The idea was to build a dancehall team like Michigan & Smiley or Tanto Metro & Devonte...
Yes, that's exactly it.
Were they your role models?
Yes, they are complementary artists. This combination is effective and takes a lot of work. Our aim is to do a good job, a serious job. We're going to keep going down that road.
We know your productions with the Crystal Ball / Fire Ball label.
Yes, it's Sugar Roy's label.
I feel it brings a different sound to dancehall. What was the label's direction at the start?
Sometimes you have to know how to experiment with new things. People needed this sound. It's the “real stuff”. When two professionals like Conrad Crystal and Sugar Roy work together, you're bound to get good sound, good productions.
I'll pass you to Sugar Roy, he can tell you more about the label.
(Sugar Roy takes the phone)
Hello Sugar Roy, I wanted to talk about the direction of the Crystal Ball / Fire Ball label, this specific sound...
Blessed. I've long thought that cultural music is the best. I grew up with the idea of positivity and culture. I started out as a deejay. I recorded for Exterminator, Bobby Digital. Then I set up my label and released my first riddim in 2001. It was the Wanga riddim, with Anthony B (Good cop bad cop), myself with Dancehall nice again, Capleton (Can tan yah), Jah Mason. So I concentrated on my label. Of course, I had to put my career as an artist on hold, but in the end it's my label that gave my career a real boost. I met Conrad Crystal. He had a tune, True love will never die, which I remixed on one of my riddims. I played it to him and said: this is what we can do together. People loved it. Then we did the Pat Kelly cover, Talk about love. From True love on, the public's response got stronger and stronger. Then we did Educaton wize on the Handcart riddim. That's when we really took off. I don't know if we're known over there in Europe, but here in Jamaica we're very popular.
It hasn't reached France yet, but we follow the Jamaican charts.
Do you work with studio musicians?
Yes, the Fire House Crew and their bass player, Danny, play on all my riddims.
Is it important to play with musicians rather than programming everything?
Yeah man! Of course. All the riddims are live. Love is overdue, Education, all of that is live. It's the real sound, 'the real ting'.
Tell us about your song Education wise. Is it important for you to talk to young people about education?
Young people don't go to school. That lack of education is the cause of all this violence.
We have to try to speak out to uplift young people, tell them to go to school, to obey their mother, to stay away from violence. There is too much crime at the moment... Sugar Roy and Conrad Crystal are here to educate young people by talking about positive things: throw down the guns, stay focused, love one another...
Are you working on an album?
We're working on an album, it will come out on Fire Ball. We did a track with Sly & Robbie and they asked us to work with them on an upcoming album. The riddim is a remix of the Bam bam, called the Raw food. The song is called Don't stop the music. This track gets played a lot in Jamaica so I think it's going to go far. Sly and Robbie want an album with us. It will be different from the other Fire Ball albums.
There was also that Luciano album last year...
Yes, that was my album. Crystal Ball is my label too. I heard the album was well received. I know music, I'm a producer. Since I'm collaborating with Conrad Crystal, people are going to have plenty of good records, plenty of good music at their disposal. We work for them. But from now on we're going to stay “strictly culture” because we have to fight the violence.
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