Serani conspiracy
Serani is currently working on a yetto-be-titled
‘live’ album, scheduled for release next month.
The set, his third, will be produced by Rockstone Records.
“This project is almost totally different than the others. I’m creating an album where I can perform almost all tracks on the piano ‘fluently’ on any stage. The fact that the album is mostly created by my band and I, tells how different it is. My other albums were produced by me and other producers and beat makers. When very talented musicians unite in the creation of one song, it’s magical and euphoric. We have Dean Fraser killing scales on this album! This is very different,” Serani said the Jamaica Observer. The singer/producer said he will be producing 90 per cent of the material, which will have between nine to 11 songs.
His latest single, Conspiracy Theory, released on May 1 will be included on the set. Produced by Rockstone Records, it features dancehall elites Bounty Killer and
Agent Sasco.
“I want to put ‘Conspiracy’ on the album as the only track that’s not live. I would love to have more collaborations on the album but at this point we’re still thinking about who would fit the few songs that I would collaborate on,” said Serani.
He explained the message behind Conspiracy Theory.
“The Conspiracy Theory song is about all the possible ways we can look at what’s going on in the secret world today (the real truth) as opposed to what we’re being told. All I need from my fans is a listening and open-mindedness,” said Serani.
“I’ve known both artistes for over 15 years and I couldn’t ask for two better artistes to sing on this song. Bounty when it comes to social commentary, he is the most impactful. He delivers with conviction. Sasco, you can throw any topic at him, and he’s going to nail it. If I’m going to do a collaboration, I would need super talented artistes like my brothers Rodney Price and Jeffrey Campbell,” he added.
He said the current global pandemic, caused by COVID-19, had a two-sided effect on his music.
“The pandemic has had both good and bad on my career. I was about to have a good year due to recent successes. Even though restrictions are not there as much, there aren’t any shows happening. Over the time, it has allowed me t ted out as a musician and in the early 2000s, where he and childhood friends, Craig and David Harrisingh, formed DASECA Productions. He later became the musical director for Bounty Killer’s Alliance pool of talent, before embarking on a solo career.
His hit singles include Skip to Ma Lu, Doh featuring Bugle, Stinking Rich, Study People, Romance
Me, Mama Still Hungry and the Billboard-charting hit No Games.
His previous albums are No Games (released in 2009) and It’s Serani (2012).
IT’S beginning to look a lot like Christmas for
Dean Fraser.
Christmas, that is.
That’s the title of the saxophonist’s first Yuletide album, scheduled for release in November by Tad’s International Record. It has 16 Christmas songs, driven by traditional Rastafarian rhythms.
Fraser began production on the instrumental project last year with co-producer Tad Dawkins Jr.
“Nyahbinghi is Jamaican music, an’ I want to bring a new instrumentation to these songs. Wi keep it musical but with a different vibe,” Fraser told the Jamaica Observer.
Some of the popular songs that receive the ‘binghi’ treatment are When a Child is Born, Christmas A Cum (Mi Waa Mi Llama), Long Time Ago, Santa Ketch Up Inna Mango Tree, Merry Christmas, Feliz Navidad and Auld Lang Syne.
For the authentic Nyahbinghi feel, Fraser brought in percussionists Congo Billy, Hector Lewis and Denver “Feluke” Smith. The sessions were some of the last for Smith who died in September from colon cancer.
Bassist Mikey Fletcher, guitarists Dario Morgan and Lamont Savory, keyboardist Andrew Marsh and flautist Zoe Mcintyre also played on the songs.
Fraser has done a number of albums, including instrumental tributes to Bob Marley and Dennis Brown. He also played on Christmas albums by other artistes but the thought of doing one for himself never came up until last year.
“I wouldn’t say Christmas is my favourite time of di year; only thing I love about Christmas is di songs...they are well-written and worth listening,” he said.