Stitchie Vibes releases three orig
Onyolla Phillips, popularly known as Stitchie Vibes Machine or Stitchie –The One Man Band, holds the title of jack of all trades in music. Stitchie has spent the last 28 years in the entertainment industry performing mainly covers of hit songs but has taken things to another level for 2021 by releasing his first three singles.
According to the singer/songwriter, the release of the songs is certainly an accomplishment for him. Stitchie has several known originals including “Rucatux”, “Keep
Meh Name Out Yuh Mouth”, “Sprinkle and Dash”, and “Obeah Man”, which he has never recorded, but which fans always requested whenever he performed.
Last year, the performer collaborated on a song called “Tribute” with popular Soca artiste Jumo ‘Rubber Waist’ Primo. The song was a tribute to the longstanding Yoruba Singers Band.
His new releases are “Spanish Thing”, which is a Latin/Soca fusion in genre; “Big Girls”, which is a slow Soca; and “Boat Cruise”, a Soca/Dancehall mix. They are part of a 12-track album the singer is working on. The three songs were recorded at C Fanatic Rekords, situated at ‘C’ Field Sophia, Georgetown.
Back in the 1990s when the singer entered the local music arena, he did mainly Dancehall covers, many of which were Beenie Man songs.
Stitchie grew up in church where his father played the guitar, and his mother sang. He later began singing in church also. When he was young, he and his brother had a ball of time every time they found a tin which they quickly turned into drums. His brother, he said, had a passion for drumming and learnt to play the drums while he took up playing the keyboard, an instrument he can play remarkably well today.
Surrounded by a musical family, it is no wonder Stitchie was able to create his own one man band. Stitchie, the Vibes Machine plays the keyboard, sings, DJs and operates an amplifier and equalizer during his performances, engaging his audiences and making them ask for more. Sometimes his performances last a couple of hours or more. In addition to all that, he also builds his own musical tracks.
“I didn’t grow up with a lot, and music has helped me financially and helped me achieve certain things in life, my talents and material things also. Music is life to me,” he said.
Before his one man band act, Stitchie was a member of a number of bands including the GDF Frontline, Mischievous guys, Sheriff’s Deputies, Chosen Few, and the Undertakers Band through which he became an established entertainer. All of these bands, he shared, contributed to honing his many talents. But Stitchie believes he works better on his own and he is continually working towards learning all the Ps and Qs of the music business.
The artiste shared that what he has learnt more than anything else from his years in the music industry, is