INTERVIEW : TARRUS RILEY
Interview by : Sébastien Jobart & Benoit Georges
Pictures by : Sébastien Jobart
on Friday, April 13th 2012 - 9 375 views
Grafton Studio, on Grafton Avenue, just behind the Up Park Camp sung about by John Holt. Dean Fraser is playing dominoes, and Tarrus is not available: he is rehearsing for the Nine Miles Music Festival in Miami two days later. We come back a few hours later. He is there, sitting in a corner of the studio, eyes glued to his mobile phone, while Dean Fraser is busy at the console.
It is not the first time we have met him (we even had him play in Paris), but Tarrus Riley is distant, even wary, at the start of the interview. The ice has to be broken, and the conversation gradually relaxes as we talk about his acoustic album "Mecoustic", and plenty of other projects.
Reggaefrance / Thank you, Tarrus Riley, for giving us your time for this interview.
Tarrus Riley / Yeah, respect. I was rehearsing before you arrived. I was getting ready for the Bob Marley tribute concert, the Nine Miles Music Festival, in Miami this weekend (the interview took place on 1 March, two days before the concert, Ed.).
I wanted to know more about the two albums we are expecting from you…
(He cuts in) What do you know about these albums so far?
Not much yet…
How do you know there are two?
 Nous sommes une famille. Restez à l'écoute, et je ne vous décevrai pas. 
I know there is an acoustic album, coming out on a French label…
Yes, that's right.
How did the idea for this acoustic album come about?
With Dean Fraser, we had the idea of making this acoustic album. We had a few songs, songs that are very special to me, which hadn't received all the attention and listening they deserved. And I really wanted to share this music with my audience. On this album there are old and new songs. It's very special, you know? I think the songs and melodies are very rich, and the lyrics are important. With acoustic, you can really hear the words, it's very personal. And I think these songs had to reach you that way… There will be old songs and new ones.
Who are the musicians?
Some of them come from my band, Black Soil, and many other musicians that Dean Fraser brought in. It's an acoustic album in the "unplugged" sense. It isn't just a guitar or a piano. It's truly "acoustic". There are even flutes…
The Soulbeats label is releasing the album. How did that connection come about?
Soulbeats contacted Dean Fraser. I find it a very soulful album, so if it's coming out on Soulbeats, I have no problem with that! (laughs). Let's see how it goes, you know?
And what about the long-awaited follow-up to "Contagious"?
(Big smile) I've started working on it. I'm writing, and we've started recording. We are experimenting with a lot of different musical forms. It will be very interesting, and very beautiful too. What did you think of "Contagious"?
I liked it a lot. So will we find the same variety?
Yes, definitely. That's how I make music, across a very wide spectrum. I don't stick to one style. I do dancehall tracks, ska, everything… And I think my fans enjoy that. They like Good girl gone bad just as they like She's Royal. I think I can do justice to several musical genres.
Any idea for a title?
No.
Many see you as reggae's brightest hope. What do you think about that?
I don't think anything of it, it's people's opinion… I take it as a compliment, but I don't give it too much weight. I just play my music… You know? People have big expectations, and that's good, because it means they like what you do. But I don't glorify myself over it, I'm not like that.
It could put more pressure on you…
No, because I don't pay attention to it: it doesn't put pressure on me, and it doesn't go to my head. I hear what people say but I only take it as a compliment.
Even the BBC…
(He cuts in) What about the BBC?
They named you "Jamaica's brightest hope".
It's a compliment. But once again, I'm not going to get a big head. I'll carry on doing what I do.
Reggae Month and Black History Month have just ended (they take place in February in Jamaica, Ed.). Were you involved?
Yes, I was on the bill of the Bob Marley Concert in Trenchtown. And I also took part in a project with Irie FM called Freedom Writers, to encourage young people to write about Black History and similar subjects (now in its second year, Ed.). I help young people write a song or a poem, of 200 words or fewer, about what Black History means to them. It's a way of getting them involved in writing, and letting them express themselves…
Does it involve many children?
Yeah man. That's why we're doing it again this year, they're passionate about it!
This year, Jamaica is celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of its independence. Has that inspired you musically?
I've taken part in several projects. One with Shaggy and lots of other artists: Damian Marley, Beres Hammond, Assassin… And then I have a song recorded with my friend Charlie Pro called We Run it. Even last year, I made songs for and about Jamaica. We are always here to big up Jamaica. Reaching 50 years of independence is a good sign, we look forward to the next 50 years, more positive, more productive…
At a concert given for Reggae Month, Protoje said that 50 years on, it is still a matter of achieving full independence. What do you think?
"You cannot free people without a plan", those are the words of Marcus Garvey. Now that we are independent, we should behave as such. It's like when you leave your parents' house to settle on your own, you have to fend for yourself. Slowly but surely, we should become more independent: buy Jamaican, build Jamaican, things like that, so that we can feel and be truly independent. There are many paths and ways to become independent, you don't become so overnight. Even if you are free on paper, yes, you have to be completely independent. It takes a lot of effort. But we have time.
Is there anyone you have never worked with and would dream of working with?
I love music and I'm ready to work with anyone who loves making good music. Sometimes the people I'd like to work with are dead… like Amy Winehouse… I love what she did. But I'm a big music fan, and there are so many artists, all over the planet, making good music. It would be a pleasure to work with them. We're also working on a lovers rock album, with lots of love songs… It's a project for women. I've never made an album dedicated to them, and they give us a lot of energy and support. So we're going to record an album for them, with songs for lovers… I think it will be really nice. A little lovers rock gift… Because I like different musical genres.
Your songs are often inspired by social issues: domestic violence, global warming, education… Are there subjects in the news that inspire you to write?
(He thinks) Well, I always try to be honest in my songs, without being too personal. My music reflects who I am but I try not to become too personal. Even Shaka Zulu Pickney, that tribute to Africa… I take an interest in those things… On the lovers rock album I was telling you about, I'll give love songs, but my love songs are different, I don't just go "oh girl I love you"… So to answer the question, there are lots of different subjects, there are different people, different children, different trees… And it always comes from what we live every day. You can get carried away by the music, and the lyrics evoke something for you and you can picture yourself in that song… I try to be really distinctive, precise, in what I sing. Like when I sing: "ina mi going out and comin in…" (Never leave I): I wrote that song while I was travelling. Now, when people come and go, they have their song! It starts from a personal feeling, which I try to pass on to as many people as possible.
At the time of the curfew in Kingston, in May 2010, you released several songs urging people to protect themselves (Protect your neck, Wildfire…)
Wildfire (on Don Corleon's Major riddim, Ed.) was written during the state of emergency in Kingston in May 2010 and is about that situation. Long before me, that is the reason reggae exists: social commentary, what is happening in the community.
But you also talk about gun violence, and you tell people: "be careful!". Do you think things have changed?
I will always carry this message to people, until guns no longer exist. Because even the man who made the gun is afraid of it. That's why I sing "Why do they make guns?" (in Living the life of a gun, Ed.).
That comparison was well judged…
Yes, because Taurus is a make of pistol, a Brazilian one. Those weapons can do no good. And yet they are still being made. I try to tell the truth, we try to motivate people, without preaching to you. It's my only religion. I call my music Healing music, so that people feel better, or learn something.
Thank you, Tarrus Riley.
Respect. I really thank you for coming to meet me here. Be sure to tell people that we thank them for their support. Tarrus Riley is a big fan of his fans, and I don't take it for granted that people like my music. I love them and thank them for that. We are a family. Stay tuned, and I won't let you down.
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