INTERVIEW : CALI P
Interview by : Irie Nation
Pictures by : Félix Rioux - www.felixrioux.com
on Friday, March 11th 2011 - 11 068 views
Born in Switzerland to a Guadeloupean father and a Swiss mother, Cali P learned his trade in Zurich before deciding to move his studio to Jamaica. It is there, in the heart of the city that saw reggae born, that he set up his label Inspired Records.
Among his many projects is the soundtrack for the film "Like A lion", devoted to the skier Tanner Hall. Invited in September 2010 to Montreal by the International Freeski Film Festival, where the film was being premiered, it was there that our colleagues at Reggae.be met him. The interview was completed at the start of the year by telephone.
Reggaefrance / What brought you to Canada?
Cali P / I was invited by the IF3 (International Freeski Film Festival). Last night saw the release of a film called "Like A Lion", about the life of Tanner Hall, one of the best freestyle skiers of all time. As I did the soundtrack for this film, I was invited to play a concert, along with the Jamaican Mikey Dangerous and the Frenchman Biga Ranx.
The film's soundtrack is produced by your brand-new label Inspired Records. Was it your first production?
Before that, we had already put out a few tunes, like the mixtape with Black Chiney (free to download here) or the Scrub-a-Dub riddim. But the real first official release is the "Like A Lion" project. We created all the riddims. I also sing most of the tracks but we also called on other artists: Fantan Mojah, Munga and Charly B. We also have Full Klip on the album, a young artist who records for us and whom we promote. For the future, we have plenty of other projects in the pipeline!
Who is the Inspired Family, as you call it?
Inspired Music is a label, but it's a whole family brought together under that name. Me, I write lyrics and sing. We have Phantom who creates the riddims and is also our studio engineer, he's the one who set up the studio and does all the mixes. We also have selectas, other singers… It's a movement that's only just beginning, Inspired Music is still brand new. We also have guys who work in video, under the name Inspired Media: they make promo films and music videos.
The Inspired studio is like our home. It's our base. As an artist, it's through the studio that you can move forward. I'm free. We called it Inspired because inspiration can strike at any hour and if you have a studio at your disposal, you can give life to all those impulses. The studio was first set up in Zurich, Switzerland. But now, all the equipment is being moved to Jamaica where we will rebuild the studio and carry on our work from there.
Why did you decide to move everything over there?
The first reason is musical. When I was at home in Zurich, I spent most of my time in the studio, day and night. So I could just as well do that in Jamaica. Then, when you produce a sound, what happens to it? In Europe, nobody is going to come to your studio, take your music and go and promote it. In Jamaica, on the other hand, there are people who are interested in helping a project grow. Something is happening with the music.
Do you think the music produced in Europe doesn't reach the rest of the world?
My view on it is this: I think that in Europe people limit themselves too much. They first ask themselves "Where does this music come from?" People generally prefer the sound that comes from home, but you have to listen to music with your ears and not look at the face of the person making it! What I want to do is songs that are clear to everyone. The first music I ever felt was reggae. This music is direct and true.
[FOUR MONTHS LATER] How are your projects coming along?
All the equipment has arrived in Jamaica. Right now, workmen are taking measurements to build a new building in the garden of our property: that's where we'll set the studio up again. For the moment, if I have studio work to do, I drop by Bobby Digital's. I also work with his sons: they've been my friends for a long time and so are part of my project. They're like members of Inspired Music. Like a family.
So your move to Jamaica is a positive one?
Yes, it's very positive. I'm getting very good feedback from people here. Just yesterday was the official launch of the video for the song Like A Lion on TVJ, Jamaica's national television, it was a kind of world premiere. And it was excellent, people really appreciate the vibe here. The morning before, I was interviewed by a DJ, Jenny Jenny, on Radio 92 FM. She asked the listeners: "Should we keep Cali P in Jamaica or send him back to Guadeloupe?" People called in and not one made a negative comment! The song we're promoting right now, Hotstepper, is creating a buzz in Jamaica. People talk about it as a new style that's coming. In Jamaica, you know, they're always looking for new trends, new fashions. The other day, I was in traffic, we were heading into town to grab a bite. The song came on the radio, and the DJ started doing pull ups and replaying the tune again and again, for 20 minutes! For a track that lasts three minutes! When you consider the "business" side of music, if you want to get known by the public, you have to get ONE song known. It's when people know that track that they'll start taking an interest in the rest of your work.
What goal do you hope to achieve there?
You know, for a long time my focus has been Africa. Now, I hope that this move I'm making towards the Caribbean will allow me in future to work in Africa in the best possible conditions. That's why I moved. I know that if I manage to get my music known and appreciated from Jamaica, it will have a greater impact and that will give me more means to go and carry out my mission in Africa. It will be easier then. I went to Africa quite young, I was 18. My father sent me there to see what needed to be done, to see what mission I could accomplish there. And when I was in Africa, I had a very precise vision of what I could do. That's what I'm working on now.
Where are you originally from?
My father comes from Guadeloupe and I was born in Switzerland to a Swiss mother. My father came to live in Switzerland for a while to be there while I was growing up. We moved around a lot between Switzerland and Guadeloupe. When I was twelve, my parents split up. My father went back to live in the Caribbean and my mother stayed in Switzerland. My heart lies between the two countries.
Your father was a musician. Did he immerse you in music from a very young age?
Yes, absolutely. I was in music "from creation". But I think he did it without really planning it. It just came naturally, through his way of being and his lifestyle. When I was a little kid and stayed at home with him, he was constantly busy making percussion instruments, which he then sold, and all day long he played records. Reggae of course. That's the setting I grew up in: I watched him build instruments, I played percussion, I listened to reggae and I was the one who changed the vinyls on the turntable. When I was a kid, it was something magical for me to change the record, watch it spin and hear music come out of it. So I danced and sang.
Did you play percussion?
Yes, I started playing drums and other percussion very young. I got my first drum kit around 6 or 7, I played it a huge amount. When I was thirteen, friends of my father's asked me to help them out as a drummer for some gigs by their reggae band. I did that until the day I told myself that if I wanted a future in music, then I had to sing. I was already writing and singing at the time, but my intention wasn't really to be out front on stage singing. But at some point, I made my decision.
Was it also your father who taught you Rasta culture?
Yes, I grew up with a Rastafarian father. My father is truly turned towards Africa. That's the case for all rastamen, of course, but with him, it was really on a higher level. He studied Africa enormously: the music, the culture, the history… How Africans live, what they believe in, how they live from day to day… And I have also travelled to Africa several times. It gave me a lot of strength. When you think about it, everything comes from nature. If in your life you are at one with nature, and you know that nature is good, your life will be easier. Africans are very wise and they know nature very well. In Africa, sometimes all you need to do is sit down, observe and listen to learn plenty of things. Some things you wouldn't even have suspected existed! Only time and experience can bring you that knowledge.
You devoted a lot of time to music; despite that, were you able to have a normal education?
I had a classical education in Switzerland. However, during the last two years of my schooling, I was already on the road, touring under the name Cali P. Sometimes I called the school to say I was ill when in fact I was, for example, at Summerjam giving a concert.
At the end of school, everyone generally starts looking for a job, or goes off on a work placement… But I didn't see myself doing that. I told them I wanted to make music my career and they replied that music isn't a job. That's when I found myself out of step with my school. Because music is hard work. But in Europe, they don't want to accept that fact.
You're about to leave on a tour of Europe. What's on the programme?
There are dates in France, Switzerland and Austria. We're still busy promoting the album "Like A Lion". While I'm at it, I'm going to Switzerland because I also have an album coming out there, for the European market: it's called "Unstoppable". It's a project I did with a producer in Switzerland. But careful, it's not a reggae album. The vibe is mostly dancehall, hip-hop with touches of r'n'b. That's why I originally only wanted to release it in Switzerland. Because I'm a reggae artist for real. So the albums I want to release worldwide have to be strictly roots reggae. I'm currently working on an album in that vibe, in Jamaica, which will be called "Musically Speaking". It should already have come out, but "Unstoppable" was finished first, and as we had invested quite a lot in production and in shooting video clips, we didn't want to set it aside. But I repeat, it's not an album for all the fans of Cali P the reggae artist. If that's you, you'd be disappointed. "Unstoppable" has a different vibe.
The roots album should come out in 2011?
Yes, absolutely. I'm working on the promotion right now in Jamaica and I'm preparing the ground for its release. I want to build up anticipation for this album, I really want to make a strong impression, and distance myself from the commercial current of dancehall. I want to get back to the real roots and the real Jamaican culture. For "Musically Speaking", we're using fresh riddims as well as old riddims brought up to date. There will also be a few riddims from Digital B's camp.
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