Labour Of love: Argentinean Produced Album Nominated For 2020 Reggae Grammy
Contributed by Christian Borlenghi
The 2020 Reggae Grammy nominees have been announced: Koffee, Julian Marley, Third World, Steel Pulse and… an Argentinean produced album!
Argentina? The land of Tango and wine? What would they know about reggae music ?
Well, the fact is that producer and percussionist Hernán Sforzini (Don Camel) had a dream which became a plan, which became a reality. He got together The Roots Radics and Sly & Robbie and recorded “The Final Battle: Sly and Robbie vs Roots Radics.”
How did he manage to do that? Word of mouth says he knew Errol Flabba Holt and a few years ago when Sly & Robbie played a free live concert in Buenos Aires with Mykal Rose, he grabbed the chance to talk with them about this project, and while eating dinner, he asked them if they would like the idea. They did!
Don Camel is no newcomer to producing nor to interacting with international artists, he already produced “Hemp” a reggae tribute to The Beatles, with an awesome lineup including not only the major Latin American reggae artists but also acts like Steel Pulse, Dennis Bovell, Ras Michael, Andrew Tosh, Ali Campbell, Mad Professor, and many other artists.
He tours extensively with reggae bands in Latin America and also produces his own material in his “Afro” studio in Lanús, Buenos Aires.
Mykal Rose, Brinsley Forde, Freddie Mcgregor, Toots Hibbert, Ken Boothe, Cedric Myton, Horace Andy, Luciano, Maxo Romeo, Pablo Moses, Earl Chinna Smith, Addis Pablo, Sly & Robbie, and the Roots Radics are just some of the legends who contributed to this joint venture. In addition to some of the finest reggae musicians from Argentina, including a 10 years old trumpeter, son of Sergio Colombo, one of the greatest reggae saxophonists Argentina has produced.
It´s not going to be easy! But if they win, it will be a historic event, although Toots and Sly & Robbie already have a Grammy for best album each, all these singers and players of instruments really deserve the prize and the fact that it was an Argentinean producer who had this brilliant idea makes this nomination really stand out from the rest.
The 62nd Annual Reggae Grammy Awards will take place on January 26, 2020, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.