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 two culture clash
 to access audio and video on collective you need real player.UK producers take a busman’s holiday to Jamaica. From The Clash embracing reggae in the 70s, through Soul II Soul to Sean Paul’s current conquering of the charts, Jamaican culture is as ubiquitous in British music as Bob Marley posters are in student digs. But while the influence of Jamaican production pioneers like King Tubby and his contemporary heirs like Elephant Man is well-documented, to date the trade in ideas has seemingly only flowed one way.“If you asked me how much influence UK music has in Jamaica a few years ago, I would have said absolutely none,” says Jon Baker. “Recently, though, satellites have been put into even the most isolated backwaters, so outside influences on the island have changed radically. Jamaican music is traditionally influenced more by great songs than production techniques, but some producers there have now been exposed to dance and electronica, and the two are getting closer together.”  Spragga Benz, Roni Size, Jon Carter Dancehall and dance might have been flirting with each other until now, but the Two Culture Clash project finally consummates the affair. Presiding over the nuptials is Baker, former head of Island Jamaica during the 1990s and founder of Gee Street records, and Wall Of Sound label owner Mark Jones. The two conceived the idea after a chance meeting on a plane. Baker’s years of experience in Jamaica enabled him to select the hottest vocalists from the island, while Jones must have had his work cut out tempting producers like Justin Robertson and Kid 606 out to Baker’s Gee Jam studios overlooking a palm-fringed Caribbean beach. The ensuing sessions were soaked in sun and spliff and filmed by One Love documentary director Rick Elgood. They saw vocalists from the internationally established likes of Horace Andy and Barrington Levy, to newer bloods like Innocent Kru and Bling Dawg, in the studio with producers such as Howie B and Mark Rae, who were relishing the opportunity to give something back to the island that’s had such a profound impact on their own musical upbringing.  Big Youth, Justin Robertson “It’s an amazing project in terms of how everyone actually wrote together, rather than just putting rhythms in the post for people to put their vocals over,” Baker enthuses. “We needed artists who would be broad-minded because I remember when drum’n’bass seeped back into Jamaica through the West Indian communities in the UK. There was a very conservative reaction with people saying, ‘This is killing our heritage.’ But plenty of people are also up for broadening their musical horizons. Someone like Big Youth is an absolute legend in Jamaica but he’s also keen to experiment.” In fact, so wide-ranging is the album that Two Culture Clash is less a musical mongrel than a whole new breed of sound. “Everyone’s looking for the next Sean Paul, but what’s really going to expose Jamaican music internationally is crossing it over with new sounds,” claims Baker. “Because it’s an island it incubates external influences. I’m a Jamaican citizen now and there really is something different about the place. The population is only 6.8 million, but the amount of artists and athletes Jamaica has produced is well out of synch for its size.” And Two Culture Clash proves that it's not just their cricket team who'll knock you for six.
Paul Clarke
Two Culture Clash, released 23 August 04 on Wall Of Sound Records.
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