'80s-style album complete after three years

Sadeke Brooks, Staff Reporter

To get his album, When Words Come To Life, sounding like those from the 1980s, Icientcy Mau decided to take on the lengthy process of analog recording.

"It took me three years, four months and some days to complete the album. I wanted to do a great album. I did an acoustic album, analog, down by Tuff Gong Recordings," said the artiste whose real name is Junior Desmond Williams.

"I was told that I was the first one in 13 years to do it like that. I was the only one who pressed then record my stuff on two inch, di original tape that Bob Marley recorded on."

Icientcy Mau said he did the album in that way because he wanted to get his music sounding the way he loved to hear it back in the '80s when he was part of the duo Finnigan and Junior Ranking.

Sound and feel

"I did that to get the sound and the feel and everything else that was on it. I wanted my thing to sound like how it sounded in the '80s. I pressed for that and I got it," he told The Sunday Gleaner.

But Icientcy Mau is not alone in his plight as he had help from his band Mau Mau Warriors. He said a few songs from the 11-track album were recorded at Buss Out International Studio but the majority of work done on it took place at Tuff Gong Recordings. There, the album was mixed, mastered and manufactured into vinyl and CD.

Working on the album, he said, took quite some time as he only recorded two songs each time he went to Tuff Gong. And, a lot of rehearsing is needed before going into the studio to record.

"The album took patience, it wasn't rushed. It has a little jazz mixed in the hard-core reggae. It's a very special album 'cause I wrote every single thing on the album," Icientcy Mau said.

And during his writing, he touched on many topics like religion, politics, the struggles of peoples, love and relationships.

With a wide range of songs to choose from, Icientcy Mau said he hopes people will listen to his album.

"What I want is every ear to listen to this album and I am looking forward to accomplishing that," he said.

Although he is just in the process of manufacturing the album, Icientcy Mau said he is already working on another album that has not yet been named. He said he has already recorded five songs from the album.