Wailers high on
GRAMMY-NOMINATED musician Aston Barrett Jr is advising his fellow musicians to pay attention to the technical quality of their recordings if they hope to be considered to catch the ears of the international market and be recognised.
Barrett who currently helms reggae band The Wailers, comes from a line of reggae royalty. He is the son of Aston “Family Man” Barrett and nephew of Carlton Barrett, both of whom were central figures in the musical life and sound of reggae king Bob Marley, co-writing a number of his international hits and playing bass and drums as part of the musical icon’s aggregation.
The Wailers, Marley’s former band, is one of the nominees for this year’s Best Reggae Album Grammy Award which will be handed out on January 31. They are nominated for the project One World and are up against Buju Banton’s Upside Down 2020, Higher Place by Skip Marley, It All Comes Back To Love by Maxi Priest, and Got To Be Tough by the late Toots & the Maytals.
For the younger Barrett, working on this project – which features music produced by celebrated musician Emilio Estafan – is his answer to the charge he received from his father in 2011 as he was preparing to take over the reins of the iconic band, which was to always keep the music on the highest level.
“We cannot just rely on the Wailers name so we work really hard, always thinking outside the box and thinking deep. When my father got ill and told me to take over the band, I hesitated because I know how difficult it is out there. But then I decided to go ahead and face it as there is also a lot of good out there. Despite the fight that is out there I put all my efforts into this album and we are now getting the recognition,” he said.
Barrett is optimistic that the band will earn the Grammy, but even if the award ends up elsewhere he vows to keep on with the music that is part of his DNA and courses through his veins.
As for advice for musicians who want to make it into that very limited enclosure of Grammy winners, or even a Grammy-nominated artiste, Barrett encourages them to pay attention to the audio quality of the recording.
“Don’t believe that it is only the music and the lyrics that makes people win a Grammy. It is a lot of other factors, including production. When a recording is done using good-quality equipment the difference is clear. The Grammy voters can hear what has been recorded
Chronixx’s album and it was good, but when I listened to other albums the sonic quality was great and it is things like this that make the difference. It is a gamble you take. It might cost more to record and you have great sound, but the other elements on the album are lacking, but it’s a gamble you take. Many people see the Marleys always nominated and question it. The truth is they take the time to do really good productions. It is something we could all learn from them,” he continued.