UK Dub Files: Aba Shanti I

Can you introduce yourself first?
Greetings one and all, all listeners and readers, all people that love roots rock reggae music. I'n'I here so fi school you. Jah Rastafari! I go by the name of Aba Shanti I, been running my sound system for 21 years, constantly. Aba Shanti is based on Rastafari teachings. The whole aspect of building the sound was getting the music and getting the message towards many people throughout the world who wants to come and hear and feel the vibes of Rastafari.

Can you tell us about your musical influences?
Well, the first inspiration that I had as a child was my father. He had a sound system and played various styles of music back in the early days. It was a lot of calypso, Studio One, ska,… There's many influences that has helped us get reggae and roots music to where it is today, so, yeah, a lot of the artists: Bob, Gregory, Dennis,… You know, there are so many artists. Sometimes it's not nice to even cherry picking who, because every artist have their place in time, makes the story what it is.

Can we say that for you dub is a family affair?
Yeah, it's been passed down from generation to generation, because myself, Blood Shanti and my other brother Shanti Roots, we've all passed through the sound system, but Blood Shanti is more a musician. He produces a lot of the stuff that you hear come from Aba Shanti. Shanti Roots is into production as well, and it's me that really kept the sound system for I'n'I still, you know, but it both goes hand in hand.

I see. So you have your own sound system right now, but it's not the first one. Can you tell us a bit more of your time with Jah Tubby's?
Even before Jah Tubby's times, even back in secondary school, we had a sound system. We all used to harbour our dinner money. We gave half for dinner, and half would go in to like subs, we could go and buy records, speakers,… So  it started from a very early age, getting involved with the sound thing.

Nice story. How could you describe the dub universe in those times? Is it different from today?
Yes it is different, because mainly the dances by then were a hundred percent black, you know, because back then, it was more of a black experience. Now the whole world seams to be feeling what we've been feeling for years and years, and it's a kind of a sufferer's cry which applies to all nations, creed, races. The music brings a unification amongst all nation, and a lot of people learn to speak English and stuff, just through listening to music, so it's very powerful!

Now we can really speak about some Euro-dub. Dub has been involved everywhere. Is it a good thing for you?
Yeah man! We appreciate coming to France, Italy, Spain,… Wherever we go, we just like to bring that same inspiration. People come to London, they will come to University of Dub, they will come to Notting Hill Carnival,… That's one thing that's guaranteed when Aba Shanti is in London, New York, Tokyo,… It doesn't matter where we are, we just come to deliver that presence that we know so well, which is His Majesty, you know. We come to share that with the world.

Some people play strictly their own tunes, others the ones of their brothers or the ones they want to push a little bit. What is your position about it?
My position is that music is music! If it adds way to what my quest an my goal is, as in presenting Aba Shanti, then it will be played. It doesn't matter, we don't cherry pick, because at the end of the day: good music is good music, you know. Sometimes it might even be a person you don't really link with still, but bwooy, you know, a lot of it is within the word sound and power! History has shown that we've had some artists that have sung some real powerful stuff, and then when u meet them in person, there's no balance there, you know. The father sometimes uses man to get the message across.

What's up for the future for you?
Well, as long as the work is able to be continued, we will be working. We got an album out with Shandi I, Inner sanctuary, we work with Emmanuel Joseph at the moment, you know Blood Shanti is always doing his things, we got sister Miriam that we are working with as well,… So we got a few new artists for 2012 that we gonna be putting out for the world to hear and see, as well as on record, but live as well, because we got the Shanti Ites band live which Blood Shanti fronts that up. So people see that it's not just about us, harden the way in the studio. Making music is about us as an entity, coming and showing the world that. U see anything we make, we can go out and play it because accomplished musicians are behind the works.

We want to thank you for the love and consciousness you bring to us and for the music.
Thanks on behalf of myself and the rest of the Shanti Ites family, that people appreciate what we are doing, because bwooy, it's very troubled times that we live in right now, and we all like to know that at least there is somewhere we can go to hear something conscious, get uplifted and get pointed in the right direction, instead of… there is a lot of directionless music out there right now that doesn't make people think about the current situation that we are in. I wouldn't say that we dwell on it, but you have to think of it in order how to deal with it you know. If you just gonna stick your head in the sound, no good man…

This interview was done by Dim of the Reservoir Dub crew at Lille Dub Arena (France) on october 11th 2011.