Lee "Scratch" Perry"s legendary Black Ark Studios may have long been in cinders but its legacy lives on in the sonic escapades of Junior Delgado.
Living in Kingston, Jamaica, during the early days of reggae, Delgado's gruff singing
graced classics such as "Reaction" and "23rd Psalm" which were recorded at the very
same Black Ark. Delgado's voice echoed the sentiments of reggae artists from his
generation, and his lyrics espoused defending the poor, and preaching righteous
concerns.
Since leaving Jamaica , Delgado has passed through various countries recording music
along the way. In Miami he released "Illegal Gun" on the Jammy label. In London
Broadwater Farm Estate, is Delgado's British base. Then there's his Euston-based
record shop and label, Incredible Music.
But far from being a traditional affair, he strays into new sounds in much the same
wayreggae star Horace Andy does through Massive Attack. Delgado's new album
Fearless melds his socially aware lyrics and gravelly timbre with more contemporary
approaches to sound. Traversing drum & bass through to soulful sound sculptures,
Delgado relays between classic reggae and the Anglicised world of beats that have
inspired his own mutated craft. Of course the neck-fracturing head nods and slo-mo
body moves of this new sound religion has had a revelutionary impact on
contemporary music. So although Delgado may never grace the charts, his reggae
styles sound can be heard on tracks from The Beastie Boys to Monkey Mafia.
But steering away from such a prescriptive formula can be a risky business. "I'm not
straying, its just a different era," Delgado avers. "It's a different time, you've gotta
move with the tide. I'm not gonna stick around playing one type of music-I'm gonna
go through all of them".