Capital City
February 25 - March 3, 1999

Reggae DJ Spins His Own Way (cont.)

by Tralee Pearce

Named for an Augustus Pablo tune, Smith says Reggae in the Fields refers to the varied grooves of the soulful genre, from rock steady and ska to roots and dancehall. Still, Smith admits to being a traditionalist in both sound and form. He confesses to an unswerving affection for the Marley, Jimmy Cliff and Maytals reggae staples, saying that history seems to be agreeing with him.

"Reggae's gone from the roots stuff of the 50s and 60s into the dub and DJ phase of the 70s and 80s, which is where hiphop came from," he says. "But it's coming back to the traditional roots with newer artists like Luciano and others like Burning Spear being popular again."

Smith sees younger reggae fans pulling back from the raunchier modern dance music with its sometimes lewd lyrics and towards more spiritual topics.

"It's becoming more godlike. They talk about Jah in the music. Even the young people are dancing to the more rootsy stuff. It's cycling back," says Smith.

But despite his buttoned-down appearance Smith's no prude when it comes to the newer trends.

"I feel the need to let others experience it," he says. "One thing I've tried not to do is sanitize the music. I don't edit it. I'll play almost anything to give it a chance."

On the technology side of things, though, Smith's less open minded. He's sticking with vinyl, thanks very much. All the better for mixing.

This record fiend figures he's got 3,000 albums and twice as many single 45s - all collected since his teenage years in Kingston, Jamaica.

Emanating from a relatively small Caribbean island, the genre has influenced so many forms of popular music, Smith's lost count.

"It's unfortunate though that the reggae artists - even Bob Marley - don't get played as much on radio. You see people like Eric Clapton taking a song like I Shot the Sheriff and making it popular," Smith says. "Marley's version is as good or better. But the powers that be, the radio stations wouldn't play it."

Smith's success at just that has its bittersweet edge. Part of the reason he's been at it for 21 years and remains tops in Ottawa is the lack of anything like Reggae in the Fields on commercial radio.

Years ago, Smith recalls, he did approach a local station about doing a reggae radio show. "The program director told me people wouldn't like this music - there's too much bass."

Ironically, though, Smith knows that one of the local mainstream stations noticed a big drop in their ratings - during Reggae in the Fields.

"So CKCU can hold its ground," boasts Smith. "But I'm not deterred. I couldn't do this show anywhere. CKCU is free form. I've done a lot of topics here I probably wouldn't be able to cover elsewhere."

Smith's right. Transposing his organic, loose arrangement to mainstream radio would require filing down all its quirks and surprising edges.

And who knows, at a mainstream station he might not have landed that Bob Marley interview back in 79, a moment Smith revels in from time to time on the air.

"He only gave two interviews in Ottawa. I was so nervous. I listen back to the interview and I cringe. But he was so calm. You could feel that positive energy coming from him," Smith says. "I also think he had inkling to prophesize or see things. I mentioned Peter Tosh and he said to me 'Did he not answer you when you asked him that question?' But I hadn't told Bob that I'd interviewed Peter. It was bizarre."

Smith's eyes light up when I ask him what might have become of his beloved reggae if Tosh and Marley had grown up to ripe old ages, instead of being downed by a bullet and a brain tumor, respectively. Tellingly, Smith speaks in the present when referring to Marley.

"Bob is 57 now, I guess. Like the Glimmer Twins, he'd still be playing. He'd be in there somewhere."

Reprinted from Capital City. Copyright © 1999 Capital City Media Inc.

Ottawa Citizen article part 1

Capital City article part 1

Home