INTERVIEW : THIRD WORLD
Interview by : Sébastien Jobart & Benoit Georges
on Thursday, March 02nd 2006 - 11 097 views
Just as we were discovering Third World's latest, "Black, gold & green", the opportunity arose to interview Stephen "Cat" Coore, guitarist and founding member of the group. A renowned musician, Cat took Third World to international success, crowned by multiple Grammy nominations, while moving away from the reggae standards that fuelled their beginnings. Not very convinced by the new album, we nevertheless accepted the interview, fully determined not to go easy on Cat Coore. From Tampa, Florida, he answers our questions with a clear view of his music and real arguments about his career.
Reggaefrance / How was Third World born? I believe the group formed in 1973 with Michael Cooper on keyboards and yourself.
Third World / To be fair, I should say the group was formed by myself and Colin Leslie. Then we were joined by Michael "Ibo" Cooper, then Carl Barovier and Milton Hamilton. The group took a little while to come together but that's the hard core.
Before that, you played with Inner Circle. Was that with Jacob Miller?
Yes, that's right, but Jacob Miller wasn't in the group yet at that time.
You're also a renowned studio musician.
I played guitar on Cherry oh baby (Eric Donalson, editor's note) and Richie played guitar on Johnny too bad (The Slickers, editor's note). We have studio experience. We worked with people like Bunny Lee, Lee Perry to some extent, Derrick Harriot, who introduced us to Tommy Cowan (producer of Israel Vibration among others, editor's note). We did some good sessions with people like them.
You opened for Bob Marley and even for the Jackson Five…
Yes. For the Jackson Five, we were in Jamaica and it's perhaps the landmark concert par excellence, among what we've done so far. Opening for Bob Marley at the Lyceum in London was a turning point for our group in terms of international recognition.
Everybody must talk to you about 96° in the shade (1865, editor's note)… Aren't you tired of being summed up by one song?
"96°" is like one of our children. It will stay with us forever. It's like a footprint of everything the group has done. We consider this song a very good track. We'll play it as long as people want to hear it.
Your first two albums are really roots, the rest much less so…
I'd say it was mainly the first album that was really roots. But we still had a ballad on it and some Rn'B styles. The other albums aren't roots strictly speaking but they still come from our roots. Our music is who we are. We play African rhythms, Latin… We play reggae and roots in the broad sense, in complete freedom.
In Jamaica, many artists are influenced by soul, and you're no exception…
Yes, that's true, but we're also influenced by Jamaican artists. I think Third World is more influenced by ska and rocksteady, that kind of thing, more than by Rn'B. Every artist is influenced by those who came before, as is the case with the current generation influenced by Bob Marley. Third World is influenced by Bob Marley but also by Jimmy Cliff, Desmond Dekker, Steel Pulse… We've played our part in spreading reggae across the world.
But you still have a special relationship with Stevie Wonder, you recorded a single with him…
Yes, we recorded Try Jah Love with him, which did well. We were really happy to work with Stevie Wonder, who is a legend. It was a real pleasure. If you listen to the lyrics of the song he wrote, it shows the whole depth of the man. He's a special person and we're grateful to have worked with him.
On your new album, there's soul, Rn'B, pop and even dancehall. Can you tell us a few words about it?
"Black Gold & Green" is one of my favourite Third World albums. I find it a very powerful reggae album. The tracks with Beres Hammond and Wayne Marshall are very strong. Fade Away, Nah Sweat, Revolution in her eyes, all these songs are really very strong. So yes, this album mixes several genres. I think Runaround is a very good Rn'B song, like Solid as a rock. I believe the music is good and it's really one of my favourite albums of all those we've made recently.
On our version of the album, Fade Away is offered as a featuring with Sinsemilia, a surprising choice. How did that meeting come about? Is this featuring available on the American version of the album?
We met them through a friend of theirs. We suggested some tracks to them and they called back straight away because they were interested in Fade away. We're all musicians, so we must work together all over the world. It's very important to connect with other musicians. This song will only be on the European version of the album. If need be, we'll make a US-only version.
You even did hip hop on 'Sense of Purpose', and there's also Reggae Party with Bounty Killer and Shaggy, productions that clearly target the American market.
Rather than a hip hop influence, I'd say it's reggae artists who influenced hip hop. The hip hop scene took everything from us. The sound systems, the deejays… But the new generation loves this music and it's always interesting to do that kind of thing, to bring in other kinds of music. We've been playing together for thirty years, we have to breathe fresh air into our music, show people that we listen to what's being done now and that we like it. That's why we add our own touch to it. There's nothing wrong with incorporating what's being done today. It's not a question of selling out to make money. It's about representing what you have to say, what you want to say.
Weren't you afraid of disappointing the earliest fans?
No, I don't think so because there aren't many reggae fans any more. The music world has opened up a lot, and everybody listens to everything now. Everybody has an I-Pod with 3000 tracks on it. People listen to everything. As long as we play good reggae and stick to it, the result will always be good. European fans love reggae more than anything, that's understandable, it's their taste. But there's good reggae on the album for them.
On the album, there are notably two tracks with Wayne Marshall, why him among the other dancehall artists of his generation?
For us, Wayne Marshall stands out from other dancehall artists. He's a deejay but he has a unique style and a fantastic voice. He's able to really sing, as he does on Writing on the walls, whereas Touch the road is more in his usual style. He's a young artist with great potential, which is why he appears twice on this album. I really hope Wayne Marshall will have the career he deserves.
I understand you live in the United States…
Actually I really have two homes: one in Jamaica, where my parents, my brothers, my first wife and my children are. I also live with my fiancée and my daughter in Florida. So I'm always between Jamaica and the United States. I really have two addresses.
Do you still think you represent the Third World today?
Yes, I think so. The Third World still exists. There are problems all over the planet. The political situation even seems more complicated to me now than it has ever been. Wars are breaking out everywhere, wars of religion. It seems very complex to me and more explosive than ever. And then poverty still exists: in India, in many Asian countries, in the Caribbean, in South America and even in rich countries, the whole world is in crisis everywhere.
There's still poverty, people who can't express themselves, who can't live the way they want. Those who work like slaves and get nothing from their work. For that reason, I think Third World is still a representative of the Third World. A song like Nah Sweat is in that spirit.
Yet on your latest album, there are more love songs than political songs, while you say, quite rightly, that the political issues are even more present today.
Love songs are very important too because they spread a message of love, of gentleness that heals minds. Which is very important. If you consider the song Lovers in dangerous times, it looks like a love song, but it's not only that. It tells how our people are being killed every day, how hard it is to love in times like these. Love songs have a political reach too.
With more than 30 years of career, you're among the veterans of reggae. How do you see its evolution over time?
The music has come a long way. It's recognised internationally. Between 1985 and 2005, I'd say our music saw a 400 to 500% increase in popularity. Reggae has become influential. Now you see reggae in television adverts, in films. Reggae is now integrated. We're happy about that. We hoped for it for future generations. With artists like Damian Marley, the tradition carries on and I believe the music is in good hands.
It's true that reggae is everywhere in the world, but do you think its message is as powerful as in the 70s?
Reggae has always been known as a committed music. It still is. If you take Anthony B with Raid di barn, "Nobody wanna plant di corn / Everybody wants to raid di barn" ("Nobody wants to plant the corn but everybody wants to raid the barn", editor's note), Tony Rebel with Jah is by my side or even Welcome to Jamrock, those are songs that are really in the very essence of reggae. Reggae is the people's newspaper, it's the musical expression of the people.
What's next for Third World?
For the moment we have a tour planned in Europe this summer. As the football World Cup is in Germany, I think the summer will be very lively in Europe. I'm looking forward to being there for concerts, and I'm also looking forward to coming back to France. I'd like to go to at least one match of this World Cup. We were in France for the 98 World Cup and we had a really good time. Otherwise, at the end of the year we'll play in Jamaica. It's been two years, since our anniversary, that we haven't performed on stage in Jamaica but we'd like to get back into the rhythm.
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