| Jammin' with the help of the Lord | ||
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By Tamar Sukenik Haaretz 18 October 2006 | ||
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Elan Atias is not your typical reggae artist. A former Wailer who sang in Bob Marley's band for four years, Atias recently launched his first solo album. | ||
"I used to come to Israel for three months out of every year, ever since I was a little kid. I remember myself, age 12 or 13, taking a bus from Kiryat Malakhi, where I stayed with relatives, to Tel Aviv, to hear some reggae at the Soweto club, which back then used to be on Yarkon Street. The DJ, an Arab who didn't know the songs' names or lyrics, would hand me the microphone, and I would make the presentations in a Jamaican accent, sound-system style," recounts Atias.
Atias is here on his first visit to Israel in eight years. He wears a hamsa talisman and a Star of David on a chain around his neck, prays with phylacteries every morning, and is doing his best to recover the Hebrew he learned in American yeshivas.
He found himself in the most famous reggae band in the world, he says, completely by coincidence.
"In 1996 two friends introduced me to the Virgin Records repertoire manager. They told him I was a good singer, even though I never had written a song in my life, and he said 'Great, come tomorrow and play me some stuff.' I asked him for a few days so I could write something, used my savings to rent a studio and called drummer and bass player friends for the recording."
While looking for a guitarist to help with the recordings, he went to an L.A. club and met Al Anderson, a guitarist and a member of the original Wailers band, which was still performing together after Bob Marley's death. Anderson agreed to come and give a hand, and later even offered Atias a spot as the band's lead singer, in place of veteran guitarist Junior Marvin, who was quitting the band after many years.
"My first concert with the Wailers was my first time ever on a stage," he remembers. "I started singing without a sound check, without rehearsals, knowing the words only from listening to Bob Marley records. I remember waking up one morning telling myself, 'Incredible, I'm actually replacing Bob Marley in the band I've always loved and grew up listening to.'"
Soul uprising
The inevitable question of how a white dude can take the place of the "king of reggae" is met with dismissal.
"It's strange that only in Israel they call hip-hop and reggae black music. I understand it is said out of respect for the music's roots, but it is an offensive remark. You can be black, white, brown, Jewish or Rasta - music is music and you've got to feel it."
He does not see Matisyahu, the successful Hasidic rapper, as a groundbreaker.
"I've known Matisyahu for many years, and while he may have opened a few doors to artists in the genre, others have done it before him. If he were not a Hasidic Jew, and did not look like a Chabadnik, he would not have received so much attention."
Nevertheless, he identifies very much with the messages in Matisyahu's songs.
"I believe in positive, uplifting music, not in talking dirty and insulting people. I don't preach, but I try to create uplifting music that talks about love and passion, but also about social and political conflicts, and I encourage other artists to do the same."
His debut record "Together as One," which came out in June through the international label Interscope, will be launched this month in Israel. The name refers to the medley of styles on the album. The album is produced by Tony Kanal, the bass player of No Doubt and a close friend of Atias. It has a catchy poppy reggae style, and is influenced by Middle Eastern music, jazz, blues, dancehall and new wave.
"Tony and I grow up in L.A. together and we had the same taste in music, mainly reggae and ska. When we started working in the studio we weren't planning to produce a record or trying to land a contract with a record label; we were there for the fun of it, with no expectations. Everything that happened later was just fate. It all seemed to happen by itself."
Although he was an unknown budding artist, Atias, known in the U.S. as Elan, managed to get the Jamaican producer duo Sly & Robbie into the studio, as well as No Doubt lead singer Gwen Stefani, who recorded a duet with him, "All Nighter." This was not Atias' and Stefani's first studio meeting: In 2003 they recorded a reggae cover of "Slave to Love" for the soundtrack of "50 First Dates," which Kanal also produced. Several years earlier another song by Atias, "Dreams Come True," became famous after being featured on Sex and the City.
A bit of luck
Since quitting the Wailers in 1999, Atias has played with Carlos Santana ("He heard me sing before a concert and thought someone was playing a Bob Marley record"), Buju Banton, Gregory Isaacs, Cheb Khaled and UB 40. In 2004 he started recording his debut album, and soon after finishing it he signed with Interscope.
"I can't explain what happened to me, other than that it was God sent. So far I've been lucky to always be in the right place at the right time. I know there are a million talented, ambitious people busting their ass every day for their whole life who have never been signed with a major label or got the chances I had. That is why I try to use my voice and the opportunity I got in the most positive way possible."
Atias plans to perform in Israel in the near future, possibly as an opener for a major Interscope artist (which include U2, Sting and Eminem).
In this short visit, for family purposes, Atias recorded a duet with the band Hatikva 6, and attended a concert by the local reggae artist Chulo at the Barby club in Tel Aviv.
"I feel Israel has had a positive musical change, and that people are much more receptive to musical styles such as hip hop, reggae and R&B," Atias says. He favorably mentions artists such as Chulo, Soliko and Silverdon, but agrees, "In some of the cases it doesn't sound authentic."
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