Debut album from I-Cient-Cy Mau

Howard Campbell, Gleaner Writer

During a period of soul-searching 13 years ago, Desmond 'Junior Ranking' Williams discovered the heroic feats of the Mau Mau, a tribe that played a pivotal role in Kenyan independence from Britain.

Their impact on the east African country's freedom movement in the 1950s so moved him that he changed his rude boy moniker to the more cultural I-Cient-Cy Mau. They were also the inspiration behind his debut album, When Words Come to Life.

After three years of recording, the set was independently released recently by I Mau Mau Productions. I-Cient-Cy Mau said the trailblazing feats of his Kenyan heroes pushed him to be original.

"The album has new rhythms and that is very important because it gives your music an identity," he told The Gleaner. "If yuh check the (reggae) music from the '70s and '80s it's mostly original, dat's why people still listening to it."

Some of the musicians I-Cient-Cy Mau hung out with while he was part of the Papa Finnigan and Junior Ranking duo, worked on When Words Come to Life which was recorded at the Tuff Gong studio in Kingston. They include bass player Christopher Meredith and drummer Wilburn 'Squiddly' Cole who were once the rhythm section for Grammy-winning group, Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers.

Saxophonists Dean Fraser and Tony Greene are among the other established musicians who contributed to the 11-track album. Yet, I-Cient-Cy Mau is most excited about collaborating with the Mau Mau Warriors, a six-piece band which appears on all of the tracks.

"From 2006, dem and I an' I been working on a new soun'. From dem time Jah show I a sign an' wi start rehearse that soun' an' it manifest pon this album," he said.

Works to Do is the lead track from When Words Come to Life which comprises mostly message songs like We Are From Trench Town, the Kingston community where he was born. Empress, a lovers-rock number featuring a smooth solo from Greene, is another strong track.

Musical influences

Like many budding entertainers who came up during the 1970s, I-Cient-Cy Mau was influenced by roots-reggae performers including Bob Marley, Burning Spear, Big Youth and U Roy.

With Finnigan, he recorded four albums, the first being Two The Hard Way which was produced by Winston Riley for his Techniques label. That album yielded Youthman Prophecy, their most popular song.

But in 1997, I-Cient-Cy Mau decided to take a change in direction when he found out about the Mau Mau tribe.

"It was a different calling, a different vibe," he explained. "They had no weapons yet dem run out the wicked back to Britain, an' dat really inspire mi."

Jamaica has a strong link to the Mau Mau uprising. During the trial of their leader Jomo Kenyatta, one of his lawyers was Jamaican Dudley Thompson.

Kenyatta's nickname, the Burning Spear, was adopted by a St Ann-born singer Winston Rodney in the 1960s. He remains one of reggae's most influential artistes.

I-Cient-Cy Mau hopes to attract bigger distribution for When Words Come to Life in 2011.