Aba Shanti I interviewed by Jakob Levi on the 25:th of March 2006, Uppsala Sweden.

Aba Shanti I is one of UK's leading and most prominent sound men who's spread the good words of Rastafari love, peace and unity in numerous dances and sessions all over the world. I had the chance to link up with Aba Shanti I for a shorter interview in Uppsala Sweden where he was invited to play a session recently. The following are the fruits of the short amount of time I had with this humble and deditcated man Joseph Smith also known as Aba Shanti I.

Guidelight Movement: Greetings Aba Shanti I.

Aba Shanti I: Greetings and love to every one. All conscious people.

GLM: Alright. Could you introduce yourself for those don't know you and your music ?

ASI: Yes, I go by the name of Aba Shanti I which means hail Selassie I the power of the trinity. I and I spread the works of righteousness, Rastafari movement, Rastafari teachings and I run a sound system in England which is a international sound because we've been all around the world playing the music and we're here in Sweden tonight. It's a great honour and great pleasure that we can come and bring the power of what we do to the people of Sweden. I know some of them come across to Nottingham Carnival and come back and express it to their brethrens and thing. Well, tonight we'll bring it live and direct.

GLM: Nice. Could you tell us something about your early musical experiences ?

ASI: Well, most of my early musical experiences came through my dad because my dad had a sound system. Like from when we came over to England in 1960. We had a little small sound that would play blues parties...

GLM: What was the name of that sound ?

ASI: Count Allen. Back in them days there were alot of sirs and lords, you know. So that was my first interaction with like sound system and...well reggae music basically because that was played in every home in England throughout the sixties and seventies, you know. And growing up you had sounds like (Jah) Shaka, Coxsone, Fatman and (Jah) Sufferer, you know. All these sounds that, bwoy, kind of amazed with the amount of speakers and overall just the vibes of the dance, you know. You see that you can have alot of people gather together in one place and it's just one unity, you know.

GLM: Truly. Before heading into your own you were a mic man for Jah Tubbys...

ASI: Well, I had a sound system way back before that. Nothing major, you know. But still keeping the tradition up and playing the music.

GLM: Were the name Aba Shanti I in use back then as well ?

ASI: No no, that was more of a party sort of vibe, you know. We'd play parties and stuff but within that just keeping the whole emphasis of the...

GLM: Sound system vibe...

ASI: Yeah, no matter what music you play you still have to have your own tools which is a sound, you know. In the eighties now I did link up with Jah Tubbys and I were the mic man for Tubbys for like going on ten years, you know, and learn alot. I learned alot from Keith (owner of Jah Tubbys). It kind of gave me the blueprint in what I'm doing now. In going around and spreading the message. A very very usefull experiences being with Tubbys.



Soundclip - Aba Shanti I in session Uppsala Sweden 2006-03-25



GLM: Ok. At what stage did you feel that it was time to move on and begin your own thing ?

ASI: With the turn of the eighties. The first part of the eighties the music was more conscious. But moving into the second part of the eighties it got more dancehall as we know it today, you know. The message of the Father and thing weren't being said, you know. There were a few brave warriors like Shaka that kept the tradition of that. Bwoy you know, if you wanted to hear anything like that you had to basically find a Shaka dance, you know what I mean? Right now we have a new generation of people coming along and I think it's time that...I and I have a message. Going in to all of the dances over the years getting the wisdom and knowledge and that. You have to put that wisdom and knowledge to use at one stage. So you know...

GLM: It's up to each and every one of us to spread the word...

ASI: Yeah man, and within that now the sound manifested in 1990 when we played at Leicester Carnival and from there it has just grown and grown and grown, you know.

GLM: So how have things developed from the early days and up to date then ?

ASI: Well, the early days were a foundation. There were just a few people coming but within that audience it got wider and wider. Different nations come in, you know. So you have to kind of adopt a stance where this is Jah message and you got to make Jah message easy for everyone to understand. Seen? Because this is not a specialist thing. This is not given to any one person, you know what I mean? It's a collective vibration brethren. So within that I had to say yeah this is the time. This is the time to spread the works. We're just singing a new song brethren. It's a new beginning, you know what I mean.

GLM: Speaking about collective. You have a record label as well...

ASI: Yeah, we got the Aba Shanti I label and we got Falasha Recordings label as well.

GLM: Could you tell us about them as well ? How they came about and such ?

ASI: Well The Shanti-Ites is the really the rhythm section of Aba Shanti I. Most of the music you hear me play coming from the Aba Shanti studio were done by Shanti-Ites. That's our entity of getting the music across, you know. Because the sound can't be everywhere but the records can be alot of places you know and bringing that message. So within that we got Blood that's our main artist for Aba Shanti and we got a live band as well which is The Shanti-Ites where Blood is the drummer and singer at the same time, you know what I mean. So yeah the label is a very important part of Aba Shanti as well because like I said the sound can only be at one place at one given time but the music can be spread universal.

GLM: Yes truly. Talking about Blood Shanti I heard he's working on a new album ?

ASI: Yeah, we got a new live album with The Shanti-Ites where everything will be live, you know what I mean.

GLM: With Blood Shanti and The Shanti-Ites or The Shanti-Ites only ?

ASI: Blood Shanti and The Shanti-Ites. Most of the music we made before was like part live and part computer but this one will be strictly live.

GLM: You've been doing works with other artists as well like Ras Iyah...

ASI: We got some stuff done with Ras Iyah from the time of "Rasta Souldier" and like that. That we havn't put out yet. As well as brethren Dan Man and we got a few artists that we're working with. In the near future there gonna be alot and alot material coming out, you know. There's alot of stuff that I've been playing on the sound system for years and it's time for the people to get it now, you know.

GLM: Future plans ?

ASI: My future plans with the recording or the sound system or with the whole ?

GLM: All of it, hehe...

ASI: Well oh, just bwoy, Father give me health and strength so that we can continue the works that we're doing. That we can continue to uplifting the people, you know. That we can continue spreading a positive message to all nations around the world and just reinforce and advocate that, yeah man. Peace and love is the order.

GLM: Truly. At what part of your life did you adopt the philosophy of His Majesty and Rastafari ?

ASI: Well that's something that's been inside my since I was a child. That's something that's been in me from a child. The identification of HIM.

GLM: Alright, thank you very much for your time. Give thanks.

ASI: No problem brethren. Anything to let the people understand or overstand what we're dealing with, you know what I mean. We're dealing with the collective oneness, you know. The worlds in terminal right now so either we can add to the stupidness or we can bring about something that never been seen in the world yet today that man and man, woman and woman will dwellethl together in love and harmony. Let the peace increase and the wars them cease, yeah. Rastafari. Jah.

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