In 2016, on Frederic Piguillan’s initiative, Brain Damage, for the first time, performs in Colombia as part of the Télérama Dub Festival. On site, the meeting with Gatos Negros will be determining. For many years, with an endless dedication, Macky Ruff and La Gaitana, surrounded by budding artist or legendary figure as well as many social- cultural participants, the collective intervened daily in some of forgotten district in Bogotá. This intervention concerns the youth who was discredited though constituting an important part of the population. A communal creation borns, and with some of atypical local artist, they make fruitful recording session.
One year later, Martin Nathan with the support of Jarring Effects goes back on the spot during the year France-Colombia. His idea is to lead with success the project, far to the limelight. The photographer, Romain Etienne from the Lyon collective, Items goes with him and they make an original and a subtle image result. New meeting happened during marathon recording session, to complete a dream team.
In the recording studio, a lot of pioneers comes on after another, like Javier Alerta Kamarada and Kontent Thug, who both brought to Colombia for the first time Reggae music and Hip Hop music in the 1990’s. Also Jimena Angel, pop icon with a voice word class, passionated of traditional song along with Macky Ruff and La Gaitana who came from militant anthem.
Thanks to this raw material, Martin Nathan finalized the project in his studio. As usual, the result is an unexpected. Far from the current trend of the reggae and dub music but also from the cliché electro-cumbia, this a mix of reggae and dub actual trend but also spread through by Anglo- Saxon influence but far to the cliché electro-cumbia springing up for few years. This 14th album of Brain Damage is against the flow as always. Between Latino tune falsely lo-fi, unlikely fusion of digital technical and centenary tradition. and a neat esthetic which spotlights raw and protesting lyrics. All ingredients are presents for a UFO and a new unique album, who shows the contrast between cultural richness of a country and reality of a daily.
credits
released October 19, 2018
Lyrics & vocals written and performed by :
Jimena Angel, Javier Fonseca, Kontent Thug, Pablo "one2" Araoz, Macky Ruff & La Gataina.
Music written and performed by :
Martin Nathan, José Miguel Vega Ch. aka El Profe, Niko Yembe, Nicholf David Nicoyembe Rodriguez, Jesse Kabaro, Antonio Jíménez aka Wilmar Millo, Gerardo Ramírez, Hernando "Ernie beat" Becerra, Céline Frezza.
Recorded by Nicolas Matagrin and Martin Nathan at One2 records studio & La Ñ Studio /Bogotá and JFX Studio / Lyon. Mastering by Brice Marin and mixed by Martin Nathan @ JFX Studio.
With more than 14 albums & 750+ concerts, Brain Damage ventures for 20 years now, into many artistic & stylistic
experiments. Acclaimed as one of the founders of the French dub scene in the late 1990s, he soon appears as a major influence for a whole generation of musicians. But the artist is definitely not among those who forever rest on the models he founded, and he constantly reinvents himself....more