INTERVIEW : GAYLARD BRAVO
Interview & pictures : FX Rougeot
on Friday, September 27th 2013 - 7 077 views
"Small World, big beat!". This witticism from Big Youth perfectly illustrates the work of Gaylard Bravo. A sound engineer and producer based since 2005 in his tiny studio called Small World, on Orange Street, downtown Kingston, he gets a unique sound out of it. For him, it all began in Leggo's shop (not yet a studio) in the late 70s, where he would become the resident engineer. Active since the early 80s, Gaylard Bravo has worked with Dennis Brown and U-Roy, but also Danakil, Flamengo and… Doc Gynéco! Passing through Paris ("my second home", he tells us with a smile), he looks back with us on his career and his vision of his craft.
Reggaefrance / For you, it all began in Leggo's shop, Cash And Carry...
Gaylard Bravo / I started working there when I was a child, going to school. I must have been 17 or 18. At that time it was just a record shop, not yet a studio. It was a place where Dennis Brown, Gregory Isaacs, Junior Delgado and lots of people used to come. Until Leggo emigrated to the United States in 1981. By the time he emigrated, I was the person in charge of the shop. So I've been there from 1980 to... now. But after leaving school (Kingston Technical High, where he spent four years, from 1982 to 1986, Ed.), I started hanging around in the studios. In 1988, when Leggo came back from the United States, he built a studio, so I started there. From 1988 and 1989, we really began to make lots of recordings at the studio.
Who influenced you in your work as an engineer?
At that time, in 1988, it was David Hamilton who taught me the engineer's trade. Until I met Errol Brown and Sylvan Morris. They are the ones I spent a lot of time with. I would come to Leggo's studio, the young guy, super focused, asking lots of questions. That's how I started. At that time, albums sometimes had 10 tracks. They would mix 8 and ask me to finish the job. There, you sit down and try to copy their sound, you do your best. And then after a few months, when the studio is closed and everyone has gone home, you sit down, you practise, you experiment with things, and so you get a sound. You have to develop your own sound, that's the trick.
In practical terms, what did you learn?
First, I learned how to set up a drum kit. It's the most important thing, because it's all about live sessions. You have to learn to position the drums, the microphone, and then to balance the drums. That's the main thing. Because all the other instruments are just going to be plugged in: you plug in the keyboard, you plug in the bass, you plug in the guitar. But the drums have to be well balanced, so you have to spend time on them. The drums take more time than all the other instruments.
 Il ne s'agit pas juste d'effectuer des branchements et d'enregistrer, non ! Le son est important 
As an engineer, what is the most crucial thing when it comes to music?
The most important thing for me, as an engineer, is the recording. Because it's from what you set up that you're going to reproduce something afterwards. It's like planting a good or a bad seed. If you go into the studio, and for example someone sings into the mic and you don't have the right level or if it's too "hot", we call that distortion, it's not good. And it will then cause the engineer a lot of problems when it comes to balancing. You don't record and mix every track in the studio. Sometimes there are other engineers, depending on the producers' preferences. So when you go into the studio, you have to do the best you can, so that when it goes to another engineer, he can say "Ok, that was done cleanly" and it doesn't cause him any problems. If you receive a track to mix from another studio, and the bassline wasn't recorded properly, or the drum mic sound is too "hot", you can't get rid of it; even if you try to bring the level down, the distortion remains. So recording is very, very important.
Do you hear it instantly when a sound doesn't sound right?
(Very emphatically.) Yes, that's your job! For example, the keyboard makes a mistake that isn't obvious to most people. If you're not paying attention when you record it, you won't hear it. But once you've heard the mistake and it's made, stop! Back then, we worked on four-track consoles, so everybody had to rehearse, because there was only one take. Sometimes they play, a small mistake is made, and it's copied onto the tape. But you, as the producer, don't know it; only the musicians can identify that mistake.
You worked with U-Roy on "Pray Fi Di People" and "Serious Matter".
The first time I worked with U-Roy was on a track produced by Tappa Zukie. He produced Beres Hammond's album "Putting Up A Resistance". He wanted to make a 45 with U-Roy and Beres Hammond. So he brought U-Roy into the studio. It was a great honour for me to record a track with him, knowing that this man was the first DJ icon in the business. After that, we started working together, and we're still working together today. I produced his latest album, which is a good album, in my studio.
You also worked on three Dennis Brown albums. What was your relationship with him?
Dennis Brown was a good friend of mine, a lovely person. He could come into the studio, voice a song for a producer, and at the end of the day end up giving all his money to everybody. So there was always a crowd of people around Dennis Brown (laughs). One thing about Dennis Brown: when he came to the studio, he would sometimes book for 2 p.m., you'd wait, and you wouldn't see Dennis Brown until maybe 2 a.m.! He was someone who liked being in the studio at night. It was better for him. He would say: "Yeah, better vibes!".
And do you prefer to record at night?
I can work all the time! But at night, it's better for mixing. Because when you're in the studio at night, most of the businesses' power supplies are switched off, so you have more power for your equipment!
You talked about Gregory Isaacs earlier. You took part in the "We Sing Gregory" project (review of 23/05/2005). How did that come about?
As I was saying, from being by his side for so long... Gregory Isaacs is a great icon. I did a lot of things with Gregory, I looked after him when we went on tour together. The idea was to make an album about Gregory Isaacs with different artists, so we tried to get back to the original Roots Radics: Style Scott, Flabba Holt, the main roots of the Roots Radics. So we did 14 Gregory Isaacs songs. Then I called him to come and lay down his vocals. (He smiles.) One day, he came to the studio. He was listening to the songs, and he said to me: "Oh, bravo, you really need me to redo them all!" (He laughs.) But he was happy for me. He said to me: "Yeah, man, you're doing a good job." And I thank my friend Guillaume Bougard for helping me produce this album. He had a major influence, along with me, on this project. I was happy to have achieved all that, to have so many artists like Errol Dunkley, Sugar Minott, Max Romeo, Gregory Isaacs himself... It's a beautiful story. I hope that in the next 20 years, people will start buying this album (laughs).
You also worked with Danakil.
The first production I did with them was for their album made in Jamaica ("Echos du Temps", Ed.). They wanted to do a combination with U-Roy (Non, je ne regrette rien). U-Roy got a phone call, and we went to Tuff Gong. That's the first time I met them. It was a good experience. They have good lyrics, they're attentive, they listen to advice. Not like some artists who, as soon as they arrive in the studio, because things are written a certain way, refuse to go back over them.
Over time, you also became a producer.
My very first production goes back to 1994. I had recorded an artist called Bounty Hunter. At that time, I started working with Stranger Cole. I made an album with him, but I didn't record it. I gave it to him so he could release it. I also made an album with Winston Jarrett, another with Daweh Congo. And then lots of different songs with Dennis Brown, Michael Rose, and many other artists... But now, I'm trying to work with a few artists I want to push under the "Small World" label: Zaza Bella, Johnny Builder, R Mony and The Analyst. I'm finishing the production of their albums, which will be out soon. It represents a lot of money and a lot of time, but when you're an independent producer, you have to try to stay focused on your goal, and do what you're capable of.
How does the size of your studio affect the music that is played in it?
Lots of people record in big studios, but I'm telling you: when you come to Small World, you can't believe the sound! People say: "Hey Bravo! How did you get that sound?"
What do you tell them?
As Big Youth would say, because he's the one who gave me that slogan: "Small World, big beat!" He said it because of the sound inside. When people come in, they can't believe it. Many producers want to build their studio like other people's, and so they end up with the same sound! Me, I use different types of speakers, I try to keep an "old school" side. I use amps with my speakers, whereas some use powered speakers, which gives a different sound. When the musicians come to record, you have to try to project the sound that people are going to like. It's not just a matter of plugging things in and recording, no! The sound is important.
Does it ever happen that the singer is so good that you switch off from your work for a moment?
No, man! Well, you can have that kind of feeling sometimes. But when you listen to the song after recording it, you may find yourself saying: "Hey, I don't like that word!". It can never be too perfect! As an engineer, you have to develop that rapport with the artist. Some people don't want to change, so you have to give them the reason why they should change this or that line.
Even with artists like Dennis Brown?
Yes! But Dennis Brown is one of those artists who don't just wait for you to record. He asks you: "Hey, is that OK, does it work like that?" That's the trick: communication! And that's partly what gives you knowledge day to day, when you have to tell the most perfect of singers that you don't like a passage.
Is it important, in your eyes, to have your studio downtown?
For me, it is. Being downtown, in the ghetto, is like keeping the "old sound". Because the music changes little by little, every day. But the authentic part of the music... Someone has to be there to say: "We make music, and we don't make it too "pretty" ("pretty")"_. Me, I like a little "dirty" side, sometimes. Music, now, is my lifestyle. If you're in the studio, you can sing something about a girl, and you can say things that I don't like. Then change it, put it from another angle.
What do you think of the evolution of the music business in Jamaica?
First of all, the business changes more and more every day. Lots of people have stopped supporting music by buying CDs. Many want free downloads. For a producer, when you don't have a big company behind you, being independent is a challenge. Because at the end of the day, you've paid big sums to produce something and promote it. And you don't know what you can earn. Because when you put a song on the Internet nowadays, how many people are going to buy it? Maybe one person will buy it and download it for 99 cents. But at the same time, he'll give it to another person, who'll give it to another person, and so on. So the business isn't supported. We need people who support the music, rather than wanting to get it for free all the time. Because in the end, it makes no sense...
To work for so little return?
Me, I do it for the love of music. I'm not going to give up, because it's my life. Even if I don't make a dollar from music, I'll still keep putting a dollar into it. Some people go to bars and just drink beers. Me, I'd rather go to the studio. If I can afford, for example, to have an artist voice a Gregory Isaacs riddim, I do it. That's the whole challenge: you mustn't give up, you have to keep fighting so that this thing keeps living. The music will live! The music has to live. Reggae, for me, is one of the freest kinds of music, one where you can say what you think. It talks about challenges, suffering, and the trials you go through. But I think the system doesn't want to hear about that. They want to sell music that talks about sex. The people who have the money don't promote good things. As an independent producer, if you go to them with a piece of work, and they haven't been involved in producing it, they don't want to release it. It's a challenge. But because we love the music, we don't give up.
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