INTERVIEW
Interview by : Benoit Georges
Pictures by : Nof-Nof (couleur) & Camille Chauvel (n&b)
on Wednesday, November 24th 2004 - 11 141 views
Interviewed during his short visit to France just as his album "Signs" had come out, the " Nyahman " Bushman told us of his satisfaction at finally being able to produce his own music. Six months later, "Signs" has made its way and allowed Bushman to return to success with singles such as Downtown, Creatures of the night and Lighthouse. It is a new turning point for his career, as he explains to us that day.
Reggaefrance / Hello Bushman, thank you for having us...
Bushman / Yes France, this is Bushman, the “medicine man”, a lover of music and a conscious voice. One love.
How did you get your musical education?
As far as education goes, I have general knowledge. I never really went all the way through school. I left school after Hurricane Gilbert devastated Jamaica. I made up for that by reading, following the news, taking an interest in what's going on. As for music, it's harder to say. You know good music when you hear it. Me, I listened to a lot of Jacob Miller, Bob Marley and so on. It's that music that taught me music. At the start I was doing dancehall, but I found out that roots was more my thing, because when I was a kid I listened to roots. Soon after, I needed to learn to play an instrument and I learned the guitar. It really helped to develop my musical education. I played guitar for a while and, playing with the metronome, I learned rhythm. But it was also an innate concept
You started out as a selector, how did you come to singing?
Actually, I've always sung, in church, at school. I sang in the Sunday choirs at church, the “Sunday school”, because my family is Christian. In the record books, Jamaica holds the record for churches per square metre. I became a selector because I wanted to get a foothold in the dancehall, and in St Thomas, where I'm from, there was no structure to develop my talents. It was by moving to Kingston to record artists on dubplates that I started in the business. When you're a selector you often have to move around to look for tunes. So I started by recording a special for the sound I was selecting for. And at the age of 21, I stopped being a selector altogether to record my own music. That's when I met Steely & Clevie, for whom I made the album ''Nyahman chant''.
Indeed, there's a little story about your first track (he met Steely & Clevie while playing football with them)...
Yes, my first track was dancehall, it was called Call the hearse (he sings it). I sang that song in the sounds, on dubplates. Even today, people ask me for it for dubs. It's a big tune. After that there was Grow your natty and Black Star liner (he sings) and then Remember the days, a kind of R&B. Since then I've been writing songs, but the problem is that to get into the competition, you have to do covers, covers in the studio, covers on dubplates. You see, Call the hearse is a cover of a melody (he sings Baby come to me by James Ingram). And it was like that at the start, because nobody wants to risk producing original songs from a young artist. We had to wait for the hits of Garnett Silk or Luciano for conscious singers to get the chance to record songs they had written themselves. Because at that time, it was singers like Sanchez, Thriller U, Ghost, Lukie D, Singing Melody, Mikey Melody who were at the top of the dancehall, doing lots of covers. That was between '88 and '95. And that's why we have the greatest respect for Garnett Silk, because it's thanks to him that conscious music came back to the forefront (he sings A man is just a man). Then Luciano carried on carrying the torch and today it's people like me or Warrior King, Jah Mason, Jah Cure... So Garnett Silk, you have to give him that recognition: he changed the musical direction of his era.
Are you going to keep putting conscious lyrics on hardcore riddims?
From the start, I've voiced digital riddims, since the days of Steely & Clevie. Now what I want is to have real musicians behind me, 100%. Because live music is what matches what I sing, it's a message that comes from the heart. When the musicians are in the studio and they play your song, there's more feeling for them, they feel better what you're singing so they play with more feeling. The digital stuff, I'm not really interested in it any more.
It's still good for young artists, or for those who have no money: no need to pay musicians to get an instrumental.
Yes, maybe for someone who doesn't have the money to make live music. But I see digital more as an influence of hip-hop. Music with instruments is the true root. And I don't feel like changing that. You see, many great singers are first and foremost musicians, look how many singers play guitar: Dennis Brown, Gregory Isaacs, not to mention Peter Tosh, who was one of the best guitarists Jamaica has known. It's like a tradition, there we don't talk about singers, we talk about musicians, which implies that you play something. With the computer everything changed: a guy makes an instrumental, brings it to a singer and the singer records on it. And often, things come out that are out of key, quickly done or badly played... Live music teaches you what music is, not only the practice but the whole theoretical side
Your latest album ''Signs'' was produced by yourself.
Yes, with a bit of co-production from Ian Coleman.
And do you want to head in that direction, or will you carry on working with other producers?
I think working with lots of different producers adds to your experience. I'm going to carry on working with other producers because music has no limits, no borders, and because it gives me other perspectives. But working with different musicians to produce my own album, and I'd like to produce all my albums from now on, is really good. I'm open, so if they offer me something I like, no problem. But I need musicians who can play what I hear. That's why I picked up the guitar again, so I could express myself directly. I'm going to work with producers but I'm going to produce more and more sounds myself, because it's the only way you can directly express what you feel, without someone else dictating what you should sing, which riddim you should use. And I think the album ''Signs'' is really my reflection.
What are your plans?
I have a collaboration with Morgan Heritage, they're from St Thomas too. We did a song, it's more me and Gramps, who both have baritone voices. I think it's a superb song. I also have a combination with Turbulence at Penthouse, who is also a great producer. And Prezident Brown too. And I'm already working on the next album. In the meantime I'll be on the road promoting ''Signs''. Because for a long time, there were no big companies behind Bushman for promotion. Now I've signed a deal with VP, I have to give them 5 albums over the next 5 years. And if they plead my cause well... But in any case, if I'm on tour it's to plead my cause well! It's a collaboration between Burning Bushes, which is the label I set up, Kings of Kings and VP. You can see these logos on the sleeve of ''Signs''. So it's a next level, definitely!
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