Casually, the guys from Okapi, Francis Moreau and Philippe Messier, are establishing a new holiday tradition by setting the table again this evening at the Quai des Mignes for the sixth edition of their Reggae New Year — this time with the special participation of singer Neto Yuth, DJ Sly Roots and their faithful house band, Solidground. Francis Moreau, who recently launched his own record label called Ad Mare Records, takes with us the pulse of a Quebec reggae scene in need of attention.
“See it as a premature baby,” illustrates Moreau when speaking of the reggae and dancehall scene in Quebec. “A baby who has just been told that he can come out of the incubator. He has a small heart and shortness of breath, you have to take care of him,” adds the enthusiast of this Jamaican pop that has obsessed him for around twenty years.
At the time, he says, the Montreal scene was much more dynamic. He remembers Thursday afternoons spent listening to new dancehall releases at the specialized record store Triple AAA Records, on Victoria Street, south of Jean-Talon, in the heart of Caribbean Montreal. It was the time when Jamaican dances abounded, when world stars of the scene visited us more regularly, when even French-speaking Quebec reggae was making noise thanks to the presence of the groups Kulcha Connection and Kaliroots, “really good groups” , insists Moreau.
For around fifteen years, Montreal even had its reggae festival… which disappeared in 2018. World stars visit us so rarely that the announcement of the concert of the Marley heirs, Damien “Jr. Gong” and Stephen, at the MTelus on March 26, 2024 , already promises to be the reggae feat of arms of the next year.
The two reggae solitudes
Above all, the scene appears disjointed since the pandemic, notes Moreau: the Caribbean community organizes its events on its side of the island, the French-speaking scene on its own. “We know each other well, though! » assures Francis Moreau, who wants a rapprochement between the two reggae solitudes. Just last month, the guys from Okapi made a gesture by inviting Montreal singer Juliet Nelson, former backing vocalist for Jamaican veterans Buju Banton and Wayne Wonder, who, in the 1990s, recorded some hits to the stage of the Quai des Mignes. (Show and Tell, Love Me or Leave Me) for the mythical label Penthouse Records from renowned composer and director Donovan Germain.
The union of reggae players will be its strength, thinks Francis Moreau. “The environment is not synchronous,” he admits. No one really talks to each other.” That had to change, believe the guys from Okapi, who launched Ad Mare Records last September by presenting its first two releases: the mini-album Solid of Okapi and 24/7 from singer-songwriter La Vie. “There are not a thousand solutions to make things happen: we start one label, we use it as a megaphone, for our own projects, but also for all the actors on the scene. »
We are witnessing the revival of the scene, even among the public who, I feel, are looking for something other than what we always talk about
“Our scene is still healthy because it relies on passionate actors who don’t give up,” adds Moreau, citing for example the work of veterans of Little Thunder Sound. “We are witnessing the revival of the scene, even among the public who, I feel, are looking for something other than what we always talk about. Between local hip-hop and the Montreal alternative scene, we offer something different. »
Like a reggae New Year’s Eve! DJ Sly Roots is counted on to spin Christmas songs between performances, during which “we always bring elements of the holiday season, like costumes and songs to respond to,” assures Moreau. We don’t sing Christmas songs, but it will be the most festive of our New Years” in the company of the artist Neto Yuth, originally from Quebec, who sings in English colored by Jamaican patois, as on Bidibum, his recent collaboration with KNLO from Alaclair Ensemble. Plans for 2024? A new project from La Vie, and unreleased material from Okapi: “We have plenty of songs already ready, including several collaborations,” assures Francis Moreau.
The 6e Okapi’s New Year’s Eve takes place Friday evening at Quai des Mignes, from 9 p.m., with Neto Yuth, Sly Roots and Solidground. The mini
album Solid by Okapi is available now on the AD MARE Records label.