Press & Media

Reggae Geel 2003 ­ the 25th anniversary: fridaynight kick-off.

Expectations were set on high for the 25th edition of Reggae Geel: for the first time in musical history a selection of Belgian reggae artists were selected to open the festival on Friday night, backed by the Belgian reggae band Calabash. After the warming up by Red Alert sound system, the session started with a fine medley by the already famous Calabash Band, Flanders' pride in reggae music, then The Bubblegum Crew came on stage: three raggamuffin girls with a bad attitude, but with a fre(n)ch approach to reggae music, some hit potential here. Good combination, good vocalising and a good performance! And they heated the crowd for the next act: the promising Factor X, Mika's sister. Apart from being blessed by Jah with a voice like a bell (and a typical sound that is), she also has the ability to bring conscious songs with a catchy melodic structure, another hit on the Belgian reggae scene! Songs like: "Je serai la", "Administration General", are hits that will capture the hearts (and feet) of the listeners! Her performance is very powerful and she gives everything she has to entertain the audience! Great stuff! Subtle being drawn into the roots vibes by Factor X, the crowd roared and cheered, yes the tent caught fire when Eric Judah hit the scene: he seems to be very popular amongst the in-crowd! Being a conscious rastaman from the early days of reggae music inna Belgium, he brings a selection of timeless roots classics, among them several of his own writing! His message of Universal Harmony and Spirituality, his beautiful roots voice and the x-treme self-control he maintains during his performance is very much appreciated by the crowd: Cool Rasta Cool, Rasta no Fool! After the veteran rasta, it was time for the new generation of true (Belgian) rastafarians: Ragga Yves. Ragga Yves became a conscious rastaman after having had a serious car-accident that almost cost him his life: having been granted a second chance by Jah, he livicated unto the Creator and now brings a true revolutionary message with nuff power ànd a genuine Jamaican feel with it: having the looks of a young Marley, his vocal frazing and melodic structures are reminiscent of the island's calypsonian oral traditions! Nuff said! After the roots ragga it was time for the more commercial stuff: as Original Uman (nuff respect to the MC) stated: "Raggamuffin Whiteman is the hardest working brother in the business.". Yes, that's a fact. He is also the one with the most hit-potential, personally I'm convinced that his songs should have been put on the market now already! His professionalism and sympathetic attitude makes his show a pleasure to watch, while the presence of his all-female, all-sexy and all-soul-voiced sparring partner Sister G builds the set up to an orgy of Jamaican Dance-Hall vibes. And they both know their moves, in fact they move very well, it's a joy to see their show! Another dance hall duo comes up next: 3T and Nele (Neela). 3T has a very typical concrete voice, almost synthesised (in fact he uses many voices in one song) and a determination and power in his performance that strikes the crowd and make them respond to his set: very entertaining! His duet's with Neela are different than the Raggamuffin Whiteman/Sister G combination: more about serious relationships, respect to the girl's personality and pure (first) love. Neela, with her smoothening and fragile voice, pure and innocent like Indian Incense, will attract all beautiful flower-children who are conscious of their own self; give this girl some tabla riddims and she'll blossom like a Lotus! Should be said that a little more stage-presence would make the show even better! ROC is a rap-collective from Brussels. Their hyper-active performance with concrete voices, rapping heavily over wicked fundamental ragga riddims, and their positive attitude towards self-education and self-determination; equal rights and justice, makes them a must for the hard-core fan: "get up, stand up, stand up for your rights!", ghetto-ology to the max! And the Calabash Band, playing more than two hours a set of Jamaican Classics, the newest dance-hall riddims, Belgian reggae ànd ­ dance hall riddims, performed a splendid and disciplined set in the modern Jamaican style: this is the most Jamaican sound around! Tell them I said it! During the early hours of saturday morn, David Rodigan's music machine set another new standard for sound systems around the world: Rodigan is the only guy who has a Bob Marley Dub-plate, and his latest thing is to bring the frechy-est dub-plate ever: downloading thru his lap-top, he can play a dubplate freshly voiced over in Jamaica for his purpose, and play it in the dance-hall almost instantly! What we say? Niiiiiiiice! (Ras Feel Flashman)

Source : www.reggae.be