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March 2002 Edition |
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It has
often been said that true roots music must originate in Jamaica. But the strong
rastafarian community of St. Croix seeks to shatter this myth with the emergence of Midnite
at the 21st annual Bob Marley Day Festival held in San Diego on February 18, 2002.
Produced by The World Beat
Center and Moss Jacobs, this one-day festival featured some of the finest
artists in reggae music including Luciano, Bushman, Morgan Heritage,
Linval Thompson, Tony Rebel, Sizzla, Jr. Reid, Mikey
General, Turbulence, Gregory Isaacs, Damien Marley & Ghetto
Youths Crew. Thousands were already in attendance at the Sports Arena when Midnite
took the stage in the early afternoon hours for what was to be their very first
performance in California. Founded in 1989 by brothers Vaughn
and Ron Benjamin, Midnite features a musical style that weaves modern day
experiences with the rebel roots and cultural lyrics of "old school"
reggae. Reggae - naked and raw is perhaps the best description that can be given to the
"classic roots" style of Midnite.
"The music is basically a conversation with a melody and musical instrumentation
wrapped around it" explains Ron Benjamin, Midnite’s keyboard
player and the director of this musical quintet. By forgoing extensive remixes,
overdubbing, fancy endings and other frills, Midnite presents a unique musical
style. The hauntingly potent lyrical style of singer Vaughn Benjamin is united with
hypnotic rhythms to create a vibe that penetrates straight to the heart. |
| The San Diego audience was deeply moved by the solid
presentation given by Midnite at the Bob Marley Day Festival. They managed
to include Africa, Bushman, Love The Life You Live, Kaaba Stone,
Merciless, Bless, and others into an extraordinary though all too
brief (40 minute) set. Midnite had the audience rocking and they also drew a keen
eye from those within the reggae fraternity that have yet to be exposed to the rare brand
of roots music emanating from St. Croix. Midnite also impressed their
"underground" following that has developed on the West Coast based upon the
strength (and relative unavailability) of their 3 albums released to date. |
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| "Unpolished" is the suitably named title of their debut
album which includes such classics as Don’t Move, Mama Africa, and Love the
Life You Live. Originally released in 1997, while the band was located in Washington,
D.C., this crucial album has recently been made widely available on Rastafaria Recordings. In 1999, Midnite linked up with Wildchild! Records to record
their second album "Ras Mek Peace (Before Reverb and Without Delay)" The
album was recorded at Mapleshade Studio using only 2 tracks, one for vocals and one for
instruments. Incredibly, the tracks were put together using no mixing board, no filtering,
no compression, no equalization, no noise reduction, multitracking or overdubbing. Rasta
Man Stand, Hieroglyphics, Pagan, Pay Gone and Lion Wears The Crown
are some of the wicked selections contained on this inspiring heart-felt album.
Following the release of Ras Mek Peace, Midnite
returned to live in St. Croix so that they could work with the local musicians and make
recordings at their African Roots Lab without any outside interference. The fruits
of these labours can be found on "Jubilees of Zion", the third album
released by Midnite. The CD has 15 roots tracks including Ras To The Bone
and a phenomenal nyahbinghi chant entitled One.
In addition to their own releases, Midnite has also
collaborated with I Grade Productions on three albums Nemozian Rasta,
Fya and Assini each of which are available from CDFreedom.com.
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Prior to their stunning
performance at the 21st annual Bob Marley Day Festival, Midnite
made a brief but enjoyable appearance on the morning news for FOX-TV in San Diego. This
writer also had the privilege of listening to "Seek Knowledge Before Vengeance"
the brand new Midnite album that will be released in just a few weeks. This CD
personifies roots music at its finest, with a massive title track and selections like Ras
For A Reason, Late Night Ghetto and New Life, a song written and sung by
Ron about his son. |
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Midnite has shunned offers from most of the
major record labels, electing instead to record on their own. Midnite
refuses to be confined by some executive’s vision of what their music should sound
like and how it should be packaged. The quality of their recordings to date is the
ultimate testament of both Midnite’s hard work and their livication to their
beliefs and vision. |
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| Lovers of roots reggae music
should not hesitate to pick up any of their musical works to date, all of which may be
ordered from Rastafaria.com.
And be on the lookout for Seek Knowledge Before Vengeance in the days to come. By
JAH good grace - Midnite will also be returning to California in June for more
performances including an appearance at the 9th annual Sierra Nevada World Music Festival,
which takes place from June 21-23, 2002, in Frogtown, California. Time is not counted
from daylight, but from . . . Midnite.
Daniel - Ireggae |
Listen to Midnite's San Diego
performance
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March
2002 Edition |
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