Jonah Dan interviewed by Jakob Levi & Truzd Issachar (Guidelight Movement) at Andreas (Meditative Sounds) apartment. 2004-04-08 in the evening time.

If you listen to any steppers or UK-roots tunes with bongos playing in the background, it's properbly Jonah Dan playing. Apart from running his own record label Inner Sanctuary and being one of Europé's most employed bongo players, he finds time to link up with his brethren Paul Fox to record and produce under the name Shades of Black, when not producing his own material. The man seems to use his time well efficient I must say.

Guidelight Movement: Yes, Greetings Jonah Dan !

Jonah Dan: Greetings and love. Rastafari bless everytime.

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

JD: Well, Jonah Dan been in the business for a while, still, you know what I mean. I'll build up a website soon still. Well..me growing up in the soundsystem from the seventies coming up, I had my own soundsystem in the seventies called Black Scorpion and from that I joined a local sound called Rever. I been ina band called, a few bands like, one was called Roots Foundation and a another one, in the eighties, was called Streetservice. By the late eighties I got introduced to Russ Disciple, in –89. So I been with Russ Disciple ever since, you know. So my main function is a percussionist, you know me mean. I'm a percussion player. I'm the most recorded bongo player in Europe still. I play mostly on the UK dub and for various producers, you know. My mentor is Skully Simms and Ras Michael, from Sons of Negus and ting like that. So that's were I get my inspirations from playing percussion and bongo, you know. That's why I specialising. So if you here Jah Warrior or Bush Chemists or other producers from the UK. But not only UK. More time in Switzerland.

GLM: You also played on Zion Gates (french reggae label) productions as well...

JD: Yes, on Zion Gates. Quite a few people about still, you know what I'm saying. Yeah that's my main job. I'm a musician. A percussionist. A bongo player rather. I produce. I got my own studio.

GLM: And you sing also?

JD: Well yeah. I'm a chanter. I'd say I´m a chanter. I don't say I'm a singer. I'm a chanter more time, you know, and I produce. I got my own studio called Abba Cristos Tafari. But in later days it was changed to Inner Sanctuary. But I still keep the initials A.C.T. So on my new label you see A.C.T. It stands for Abba Cristos Tafari and with the new name Inner Sanctuary.

GLM: And this being your record label, have you only put out your own material or other peoples as well?

JD: Yeah, well I produce. Otherwise from my my own label. I produce alongside Russ Disciple. Like I said I been with Russ Disciple since -89 and we kind of grow up together, you know what I'm saying. So alot of the productions you might think is only Russ Discple but it's both of us. And if you look on the labels you always see like Jonah Dan as well, you know what I'm saying. On the Backayard label, which is mostly me and Russ. What it is, is that the riddimtracks is Russ Disciple. But the artists are brought to the studio. You know were talking people like Prince Allah, Sister Rasheda and Danny Vibes, you know what I mean. Nuff artists I brought to the studio and we've done some positive works.

Bagga Worries I recorded in my own studio and brought to Disciples to remix. So many of the works me and Russ ah work. Like Prince Allah I brought to the studio, you know. Many of the works that's on Backayard has got my name and Russ. It´s his riddimtrack, but I brought the artist, you know what I mean. I brought most of the artist that we´ve come to work with. So to answer your questation. Yeah I do sing, but I wouldn't call myself a singer. I'm a chanter. But I´m more comfortable with playing the bongo, you know what I mean. And don't forget Bush Chemists as well. I been with Bush Chemists for many years as well. Since -86.

GLM: Yes, you have an album out together. "Spungdubulous Dub"?

JD: No the first one was "Dubs From Zion Valley". Which we might repress sooner this year. That's the first album. Half was Bush Chemist and half was Jonah Dan production.

GLM: Ok. So having all this in mind that you sing, play percussion, produce. You´re a multi talented person. But where did you learn it all? Like bongo playing?

JD: Well, bongo became quite natural, you know what I'm saying. Like you said "Spungdubulous Dub" cd. Which was between me and Russ Disciple. And if you read on the inner sleeve it give a little bit of history of myself. That I grow up in the Caribean. In Dominica, you know. And from when I was around 10-11 (years) remember my next door neighbour. This old man used to play bongo drums, you know. He had one leg and like he was my next door neighbour and I was just sitting on me veranda like deh. So I could just see him deh. Play his binghi, you know what I'm saying. So all this years that kinda captured my mind. So when I used to play steelpan in school and all them things deh in Dominica, and when I came to England and stuff like that and really came into reggae music and thing like that. I hear that same binghi drum. Plus I was getting to Rastafari and stuff like that. This were the seventies. So when I start to hear like rockers tune them, King Tubby, Scientist. They always had percussion and thing like that. Yeah, Skully was the man, because he got what I call the flow. The rippling style and that's the kinda style that I like, you know what I mean. So when you hear me play it's always kinda fluent. Compared to the binghi which is kinda deep and slow and them kinda things deh, you know. I can play binghi, but it's really slow. Sometime the time can really drag. I'm more fast, you know what I'm saying. Yeah more fast that.

GLM: So you were born in Dominica and moved to England?

JD: No, I was born in England. But in 1969 I went to live in Dominica with my mom. I lived there for about seven years. Something like that and than came back.

GLM: And why did you come back and how old were you at that time?

JD: Well, I went to Dominica when I was about eight years and came back when I was about 14-15 (years) or something like that. I enjoyed that time. I had a good time, learning about me roots and me culture, me history and them kinda thing deh. You know what I'm saying. I used to go fishing every weekend. I used to make my own harpun gun and shooting fish. Diving and shooting fish or slinging hooks to catch the fish, yeah I love fishing man, or when I used to go into the bush. We used to carry bananas for me grandfather. My family got loads of land. So I used to helping my grandfather with my friends. Helping carrying bananas. And sometimes when six weeks holidays, like when you have six weeks holiday from school. I used to be six weeks in the bush with me grandfather. So we be cultivating and stuff like that. Be catching birds and stuff, and start making traps for birds and all that kinda stuff, you know what I´m saying. So it was quit nice, you know. Quite nice, but at the same time it was really hard work. And as a youth growing up and stuff like going to school sometimes you get rebelious you know. So I start to become kinda rebelious. So my parents couldn't take it so they send me back to England. So we came back to England in -74, and met me brothers and sisters again, joined up with me brothers and sisters again and start were it all started man. 1975, in -75 I started to collect nuff tunes and stuff like that. All them old tunes. We used to go to all them old dances like (Jah) Shaka, Coxone, Fatman, old sounds, you know what I'm saying. Them days were beautiful days. I would say if I had one more chance to live my life again. Trust me man. I would go back to the seventies. Loved it man. Loved it, and the beautiful music that was coming out and the sessions. You know what I mean? To hear serious dubplates like beautiful. I really miss them days deh, you know what I'm saying.

GLM: Did you already have a sound in those days?

JD: Yeah, I had a sound. The sound between me and my brother was called Black Scorpion. If you see some old tunes it may still have Black Scorpion on it (on the sleeve). We were a small sound...

GLM: Were you playing along other deejays as well?

JD: No, not those days really. We used to play music in a youthclub and stuff like that. But there was like a bigger sound in the area and they were called, their named changed from time to time, but they were called Rever. Which is short for Revolutionaries, you know, and because we were small sound and kinda became friends with them we kinda joined together with them. That was it.

GLM: Why do you do this you do? Why not anything else like going back to Dominica to become a fisherman?

JD: Maybe one day. Well I'm 45 now, so I don't know if I'm ready to do that. But I loved to do fishing and something like that. But music me say is just me life, you know me mean. I used to do carpentry and all them kinda things like painting and decorating and all that kind of stuff like that. But since -89 I got a taste of creating my own music. My own dad, remember that in the "Spungdubulous" album you can see that my dad was musician from the sixties and from that tender age I used to see them my uncles and dad practice and all that kinda thing, in the background you know me mean, music. So when I became with myself and that. I started to go to studios and stuff like that. I thought that was just for me, you know. And yeah that's me life. Me life, you know. Just love recording. Just love me next session as a new artist in town and stuff like that. Just kept approaching. It's just so facinating, you know what I'm saying. So facinating making music, you know. Plus we get to like tour around to meet new people and stuff like that and see countries you never seen before. So yeah Jah have really done alot for me still on that way. I seen so many places, especially like that religious places that I read about, you know. Beautis in life is music. Reading about me history and stuff like that. You know, and me love me kung-fu movies, you know me mean. Got the biggest collection of kung-fu movies there is, you know me mean. Yeah, those are me passions, you know what I'm saying. Definently my passions.

GLM: Ok. So we can narrow it down to music, history and kung-fu movies...

JD: Yeah, and my books. Like I said to me sister the other day that if I got married. Like you know in America you have to sign a contract with my future wife that if we were to broke up, you know me mean. My music, my books, will belong to me. You can take the house and that but those things that's mine. Me studio, that me. That got nothing to do with you. Yeah seriously man. Them can have the house and them kind of thing.

GLM: You´re a family man as well right?

JD: Yeah, I'll be a grandfather soon. In two months time. My son's 23 and my daughter is 15, but I have some other youths and children grow up with me and last year when he was 18. He got killed. So last year August, actually the way it happens was that me and Bush Chemist was coming from a tour, with Kenny Knots and stuff. We were coming from Belgium. Bush Chemist and I had just gone to country when my big son phone me and say that something happened to my other son, my stepson, and I thought he just say that he got hurt and stuff like that, you know. So while talking to him on the phone he said, no he got killed. So I really had to rush. Put down the bags and run to check out what's happening, you know. So London is getting crazy, you know what I mean. That's last year, and straight after that my mom died as well. Straight after that. He passed away in July-August and my mom died in October, you know what I mean. So all last year was kind of down and stuff, you know. I try to pushed it through but still it hurtful and painful and stuff like that. It's so painful that I can´t even go back to my own house. I got a place to stay because I won't go back to my place to live because my mom used to live with me and stuff like that. That's why I won´t go there, you know. That's why I'm looking for a place so I can set up my studio again. And get me books and kung-fu fims and stuff like that and I´ll be happy, you know what I mean.

GLM: So what about you label Inner Sanctuary?

JD: Yeah, most defenently. As it is with the Inner Sanctuary label is that it's always been going, you know. Like the first album was "Dubs From Zion Valley" with Bush Chemist. Then you have a 12:inch called "Yum Kippur". Which (Jah) Shaka played all the time. Then we have the "Intergalactic Dub" LP and we have the "Shades of Dub"album. "Meditation Rock" on 10-inch. Which I repressed recently. We have a 7-inch called "Captivity of Mount Zion" with Dennis Joseph. We have Shades of Black, a 12-inch called "Friend or Enemy" with "Fight for the Right" on the other side. We got "Sounds of Time" album. Which is another Shades of Black album from last last year. I have an album with Alpha & Omega called "Spirited of the Ancients" and this year now I'm gonna put out quite a few tunes because I got artists like Gregory Isaacs, Ras Mc Bean, Lutan Fyah and another few like Kenny Knots and some dub tunes. So it's like yeah, this year will be pretty productive, you know what I'm saying. Once we can get things going, you know what I´m saying. Plus I still be doing things with Russ Disciple, otherwise from my own personal label, there still be things coming out on Backayard label with Russ Disciple. Because we got nuff things deh. Bagga Worries stuff is still deh. I think we got about 50-60 tracks with Danny Vibes. So all that is still in the can there, you know what I mean. Things with Tony Roots. I brought Tony Roots to the studio as well, you know what I mean. It was a swap thing, because me brethren Roots Hi-tek wanted some of my tracks so Tony Roots were to give me some songs. So you know what I mean. We had one of them called "Jah will Deliever Us" with Danny Vibes on the other side. That's a 12-inch on the Backayard label. So there's nuff things deh you know. So precently I'm about to put out "Zion Gate" with Danny Vibes and the other side maybe Kenny Knots or Lutan Fyah and we got a dub tune called "Feel the Vibes". That's coming soon, you know. As soon as (Jah) Tubby's can get together and then I'll start put out the other stuff, you know what I mean. Yeah, there's nuff things to come.

GLM: What about the other people you have been working with like Paul Fox on Shades of Black?

JD: Shades of Black was myself, Paul Fox and Julian Ryan. We started about -97 or something like that Shades of Black was formed. We were using my studio. My in-house studio and that´s were we were formed. We started making music together, you know, but one of the members start to mess about a bit so have to kind of dispand him. So it's just me and Paul Fox. So like the early material like "Shades of Dub" was all three of us and then after that there was a 12-inch called "Friend or Enemy" and the "Sounds of Time" album was just me and Paul Fox. But other stuff are to come out on Dubhead albums and stuff like that, few bits and pieces, you know what I'm saying.

GLM: You mentioned Ras McBean as well before. He´s kind of a newcomer, right?

JD: Yeah, Ras McBean might be the biggest artist in France the current right now alongside Lorenzo. Lorenzo comes from Jamaica. Ras McBean is gonna be really big. He´s gonna be really big in France. Yes, he's a beautiful singer.

GLM: Yes. He got a 10-inch out on Irie Ites label, which is a wicked tune...

JD: His album gonna contain Morgan Heritage, Anthony B, nuff yard artist. So it's gonna be a big album. When we go on tour and stuff like that sometimes like with Zion Gate. He's there with Lorenzo and them guys. Chronicle from Jamaica and all of them. So we kinda linked up.

GLM: What about Danny Vibes? He's a young artist and I think that his last output with Disiples (Danny Vibes "When Jah Say") was a good piece because it shows he has matured alot, especially when it comes to his voice because now it sounds more secure and fluent than before.

JD: Yeah, I met him a time at Conscious Sounds studio and them times it was Prento, who was the apprentice engineer for Bush Chemist, for Conscious Sounds studio. And a young group called Roots Conquest was recording in the studio and one of the artists, Danny Vibes, done some tunes for Prento, a track called "I Never Survive". As soon as I heard that song man I said: Who's this ? Deep voice, like a mature artist from ancient time. I said who's this man ? And then Prento start to explain to me that's a brethren called Danny Vibes and I said: I want meet that brethren deh. So Prento set it up. So I phoned him and talk to him. Deep voice and thing, when he was talking and thing. So me and Danny Vibes made arrangments to cut some tunes. So I said meet me at Waterloo station at 11 o'clock. So I come down to meet Danny Vibes, this big man and thing, seen. So yeah I got there now, and I'd said meet me at platform one. So me walking and looking, reaching platform One and look around and can't see nobody deh and saying weh this bredda at? You now what I mean? But at the same time as I been looking around, this person comes approaching me slowly slowly. And I'm just what happened to this man? What time is it? You know. And he come closer and closer and so he stop infront of me and he say: -Yeah, I'm Danny Vibes. And I look at this young baldhead. Clean face. Criss. So I say: -You Danny Vibes? So he say: -Yeah, that me. Me Danny Vibes. You know what I mean ? Just baldhead and everything. Clean face them times he was 18 years old, you know what I mean?

But eventually I got to know about Danny Vibes story. He's mix race. His mother is white, you know. In the days the seventies. She used to go to the dark underground reggae sessions and stuff like that. While she was pregnant with him in her stomage, you know what I mean. So she used to go to deep sessions were they play some hardcore reggae music. So the sonic vibrations enter, you know, at a younger tender age. So when he was born at the time he was like 10-11 years old, you know, he played me some tapes from those times and he sounded almost like Hugh Mundell, you know. Small squicky voice, you know what I mean. So Danny was brought up. Growed up with reggae music and stuff like that. And he was singing at an early age just like Dennis Brown and them people deh. And Dennis Brown is his mentor, you know what I mean. Because you see Bushman, Luciano, Prince Muhammed all them people deh, Frankie Paul, them have that root, that is Dennis Brown, you know what I'm saying. So Danny Vibes was no exception. That was his roots. Nuff of them come from that line. Them have that kinda intornation of Dennis Brown and Danny Vibes is the same, you know. So when I brought him to the studio you could here on his first tunes that he sounded like Luciano and Bushman kinda thing, you know what I mean. But he done different. He done some hardcore. He done some steppers. Some melodic kind of tunes like sound kind of lovers rock but with roots words. So all them time now we have about 50 tracks. And we have approached Jet Star and something was suppose to come out but it never did, because Danny Vibes with his group Roots Conquest was...

Roots Conquest won a couple of years back "The Best New Comer" in whole of England. The one that out ranked hundreds of artists, and big things were promised to them. Manageer, recording and all them kind of things. Big money was involved and within all that and because he got signed, our stuff was like we couldn't do nothing.We couldn't touch it. We couldn't do left or right, you know what I mean. Some big things was about to happen to that. You know Alicia Keys? The r'n'b artist? It was suppose to be on her coming compilation album and all those kind of things. Big things. We're talking billion dollars worth project, but things happen that I can't get into. So nothing kind of happened, you know what I'm saying. But now Danny Vibes is with…Dido, you know the girl singer? He's signed to her brother.

GLM: Yeah, I have heard something about Dido's brother done a reggae record or something like it (actually I mixed up Dido with Heather Nova, which brother has done a pop-reggae record).

JD: Yeah, he does different things. He does hiphop. Different things. He experiment and stuff and like that. So he (Danny Vibes) is signed to him now. But he gives him a free way to do something, some other tunes. So a couple a few years back we toured and stuff. We go to different countries. So one of those years there was Rototom Sunsplash in Italy, you know, in north Italy. And them times Danny Vibes still baldhead and everything, you know what I mean. So I brought him to Italy and stuff like that. The friendliest of all those places deh, and we toured to Rottertom Sunsplash and in the Rototom town we camped for about two weeks. We had like a big rasta camp, you know what I mean. Sistrens, youths, rasta brethrens and thing. A rasta camp, you know what I mean. So with Danny Vibes been with me now. Some people say that me his dad and that kind of thing because he's young, you know. So when he heard that now he was like, there were some young rasses (rastas) his age, you know what I mean, dread and everything like that and he was bald and thing. I used to play binghi all night long, you know what I mean. So from them time deh Danny Vibes say: from that time deh, yeah, this is for me, he gone a vegiterian and stuff like that. And from that he growed his dread and so you see Danny Vibes now he dreadlocked. Dread and thing. He's mom was dread as well actually and because everybody say him sound like Luciano. He kind of changed his style, you know. So now he got that kind of Steve Marley-ish tongue, you know what I mean. (But) He's doing his thing, you know what I mean, I rate Danny Vibes alot. I really care for the best still, because he's a briliant lyricist. The way he writes and stuff. The inspiration that he receive. He got some deep lyrical, you know. If you listen to his songs and stuff, songs that´s even not released, it´s deep, really deep, you know what I mean. Yeah, so that´s the story of Danny Vibes, you know.

GLM: What about your relationship to Rastafari?

JD: That's another big story again. Well Rastafari has always been within. It just have to come out, you know what I mean. I always been a deep spiritual person from longer I-mes (times), you know. Because before I even went to the Caribean and stuff like that I used to always be...I was always what you call a goodie goodie person. I never been no bad bwoy. I never growed up that way, you know what I mean. So like from a early age 8-9 years, i used to draw pictures of like...in Europe it's called Jesus Christ. I don't use that term personally. I don't used that term Jesus. I don't use it, but just to make you overstand (understand) that I used to draw like Jesus Christ and the lamb and those kind of things deh. When I went to the Caribean to live and stuff like that I used to go to christian John Pope church. Stop eat pork and fix up myself, you know what I mean. I was all that way inclined towards the most high and stuff like that, you know what I'm saying. But when I left the Caribean and come back to England and reggae music was licking hot in the -75 and coming up. Obviosly Rastafari coming to it. Bob Marley and everything deh. So Rastafari coming to it. So yeah from that, you know what I mean. Actually I would say I was baptised in Rastafari in the house of (Jah) Shaka. Because 1977 and them time deh when I went to Shaka and stuff like that. Them times was pure black people. Shaka was just chanting on, you know what I mean. So them kind of spirit was buzzing. Yeah, catching the vibe. So I would to say that I was baptised in the house of Jah Shaka really, you know what I mean. So from that I start to chant and...Rastafari is my life still. But Rastafari is like any other emptity, it progresses and change, because life never stay the same. Life is movement. It's motion, you know. It's livity. So if I say like everything else Rastafari never stay tangent. It has to progress and them kind of thing deh. So we find that from the early I-ception (conception), from the 1930:s. From how Rastafari was. It moves with time and new I-ceptions or conceptions comes in and it grows, you know what I'm saying. So things that they would not spoke, for instance I have to bring this in because alot of people still fight it within Rastafari is the thing of Egypt in particular, not Ethiopia really. But the whole reasoning about Egypt because of like the deities and stuff like that. Because christianity said this is devil worship and all them kind of things deh. So in the early days we would not consider the ancientcy of Kemit Egypt. But now as we progress and start to read. Like I said earlier I love history. I love my story. So when I look into my story and the root of my cutlure and stuff like that, if I were to say: -Nah, we can't chant down Kemit Egypt because it's the daughter of Kush, which became Ethiopia, you know. So it is one, you know what I'm saying.

GLM: What about Israel then? Because some people claim that Israel is also a part of Africa. The canal (Gulf of Suez) that separates it from Africa is man-made, it's not naturally...

JD: Yes, the Suez canal. They dug it up. Well yeah, I don't think that we have nuff time to reason about that. But if we do have more tape then I can certainly give you a good grounding on that. Because, you see, from ancient times, we're talking hundreds of thousends of time, we're not just talking the other day, you know what I´m saying. We're not talking about rascism here. We're just talking has and was in the ancient times. So I say that the whole black empire, the whole Kushite empire, consisted of like all of Africa, all of Arabia, Iraq and all those places deh. Streching to northen Iran, Persia, and right into India. That was like the ancient black kingdom, you know what I'm saying. Before the intermixture and stuff like that. We're not talking about rascism but is how the things went. When you look into history and start to see all of the picture grafic evidences and stuff like that. All the people like black people, and they say in their right they were black people, the Sumerians, who became Babylonians and etc. They called themself the blackheads. So I'm saying, when they dug up the graves of southern Persia, these people belong to the same people. The only difference between the black people in Africa and black people in Persia and this places like India, in India they have negro hair as well but the only difference is that they have more straight hair but their features was totally black, you see what I'm saying. So what changed within time before Hinduism and all these kind of things deh, is that all these areas were called in the fertile crescent. So the gateway from the north like people like of yourselfs, from the Caucus mountain, came down and like intermixed and became kinda one people. But the culture changed and like the northen culture intermix within the black culture and than things start to change, you know what I'm saying. So that's just life, that's just life, you know what I'm saying. It's like me here in England and my daughter is mixed race and so on and stuff like that. So people do come together and unite. I'm saying. Sometimes it has it's bad effect, but sometimes it has it's good effect as well, you know what I'm saying. But that's ancient story. We can debate about that forever and ever, you know what I'm saying. It's deep.

GLM: Ok. Give thanks Jonah Dan.

JD: Yeah man, Rastafari. Blessed. Greetings and love.

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