PART TWO: Christafari "Reggae Sunday School" Interview
Aug. 31, 2005 - GospelReggae.com Interview with Mark Mohr of Christafari
PART TWO: About the Songs
Last week we caught up with Christafari founder, producer, chief-songwriter and lead vocalist Mark Mohr, on the eve of the release of the group's first children's album (Christafari's tenth recording). If you missed this interview, please go to: http://www.gospelreggae.com/news/all/list.html Mark had just returned from his favorite pastime of surfing and with the scent of salt water still in his long dreadlocks, he sat down with us for an extensive interview on their most ambitious project to date. In the second segment of this interview, we discuss each of the unique songs found on "Reggae Sunday School":
GR: So Mark, when I heard that you had recorded a kid's album, the first question that came to mind was; any children of your own?
MM: No, not yet. Avion and I have gotten that question a whole lot since we first announced that we were recording this project. Although in certain ways, this album and Avion's "Onyinye" CD have been our kids for the last year and it has taken a whole lot of work to raise them up (he laughs)! As for real kids, when we do have them, we can't wait to have 'em learn the ABC's inna reggae style!
GR: Speaking of the ABC's--Tell us about that song.
MM: It's kind of a dancehall / reggaeton / hip-hop combination. For this track I brought in two of my good friends, RedCloud and Richie Righteous to share the mic with me. It's the coolest way to learn the ABC's that I have ever heard!
GR: What about "Higher Higher"?
MM: I don't think I've ever been to church in Jamaica without hearing that song. The funny thing about that track is that no matter where you go in the Caribbean or Africa; everybody thinks that this song originated in his or her own country. It's still up for debate. We did it in a soca style and incorporated some sweet horns and a steel pan solo to liven it up even more. After all, my wife is from Trinidad and her father invented soca music...
GR: Speaking of your wife, I love her album "Onyinye". You did a great job producing it.
MM: Thanks. Actually Avion's vocal on the Reggae Sunday School song "Beloved" initially inspired us to record Avion's debut CD.
GR: Really? How's that?
MM: Well the song's chorus is taken from a Sunday school classic. I had Jai (Jaibo Culture) sing this part. This is the first time we sang together since 1995 on our "Soulfire" album. We had so much fun working together again!
GR: What's Jai up to now?
MM: He's in Youth Ministry.
GR: How fitting that he is on this album then -- and specifically this song.
MM: It's the first song I ever remember singing in church as a child. But when I began recording this track I came across a problem -- there were no verses. So I wrote some verses and begged my wife Avion to sing the bridge.
GR: And then?
MM: After hearing that, we took a major detour. We took two months off from Reggae Sunday School to record "Onyinye". (Avion's debut solo album)
GR: Interesting. Back to Reggae Sunday School, can you tell me about "Dreadlock Samson"? Which I love by the way!
MM: Thanks. That was one of the last songs to be recorded. It almost didn't make the album. I brought out my good friend Solomon Jabby to record a few of the tracks with me (He has since moved out to Los Angeles, CA to work with Mark Mohr permanently). We were ahead of schedule and had some time to burn. One day I just sang him the chorus and after hearing it, he convinced me that we needed to put it on the album. He plays melodica on the cut and sings lead on "Be Glorified".
GR: Really? Tell us about that tune.
MM: He brought that one to the table. He had thought about putting it on one of his previous albums but it never worked out. It turns out that he had recorded it 3 times before and each time he lost the recording due to computer or gear problems. Perhaps God was waiting for it to be on this release. It's another classic song that everybody knows, and it's so simple to sing along to. But the original version is quite boring (he laughs). Jabby breathed some new life into it and our drummer Fritz laid down a wicked rockers beat.
GR: Let's talk about the song "Name the Animals".
MM: My brother Greg helped me pen some of the verses for this one and his daughter Cassandra sang on the chorus with me. She was great! She's a natural in the studio. Orlando Greenhill played stand-up bass on that cut and when it came time to find animal sounds, we had to look no further. This guy is crazy! Most of the animal sounds that you hear are actually him or myself spazzing out in front of the microphone!
GR: No way! That's incredible. Tell us about "New Movement"?
MM: This one was recorded long before all the other songs on the album. Bobby Cressey lays down some sweet synth licks on this one. We had 30,000 free copies of this song handed out at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. It's been a big hit in our live show for some time. In our concerts I teach the audience 6 dances based out of the New Testament. It's loads of fun and a great workout!
GR: Tell us about "My Lord is Sweet".
MM: For this cut I was going for a Mento sound. Mento is one of the earliest styles of Jamaican music. This tune is actually a medley of two very popular Jamaican church songs; "My Lord is Sweet" and "Real Real". At the end, I threw in an original chat using some of the signature voices that I haven't used since our "Soulfire" album back in '95.
GR: Tell us about track 14, "Zacchaeus". I noticed you have two guest appearances on this one.
MM: Ya, this album has a whole heap of guest appearances. I really wanted to mix things up since most kids have a short attention span. I didn't want them to hear the same voice over and over again. This song features two good friends of mine; Ace Winn, who sang with me on "Word Sound & Power", and gospel dancehall extraordinaire Monty G. I wrote two of the song's hooks one summer when Christafari was the house band for a Christian youth camp. The theme verse for that week was "Don't anyone look down on you because you are young..." I find it easiest to learn scripture by singing it.
GR: What about "Jesus Loves the Little Children"?
MM: Since everyone's heard this and the "Jesus love me this I know" choruses a million times over, I wanted to give them something that they would never expect. I wanted to take them to the left field. The end result is an ambient, jungle / drum n bass / reggae hybrid. David from 'Imisi lent his soulful voice for the chorus. That's a real fun one¡
GR: Speaking of David, he also sings on the next song "Jonah", right?
MM: Ya, he and his brother Jubilee. Dave sings the chorus and Jubes chats. Rob Alo plays guitar on this song and most of the others. His Polynesian roots give the tracks such an island feel.
GR: Towards the end of the album, Patchouli comes to Christ through singing the chorus of the next song, right?
MM: Yes. Track 19 is another medley of classic Jamaican church choruses. I think that this song consists of four different standards done over a rhythm similar to Toots and the Maytals' 54-46. The chorus is so simple yet so profound, "Come into my heart Lord Jesus". That's my wife's favorite track, she begs me to put it on every concert set list.
GR: And the final song on the album?
MM: We slowed the pace down considerably for the last track. This album is so diverse; we have dancehall, roots, jungle, soca, calypso, and mento. So I wanted to break it down with some serious percussion and teach the kids the heartbeat of Nyabinghi. The original lyrics of "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" were too complicated for children so I had to simplify them a bit.
GR: And this song brings closure to an excellent album that I'm sure many generations of children will enjoy.
MM: Thanks.
GR: Thank You for taking the time from your busy schedule to answer my questions.
MM: No problem. God Bless.
===============================
For a complete review of the album, soundclips of all the songs, and to purchase your copy today, simply go to: http://www.gospelreggae.com
