Here I am turning the tables on interviewer, reviewer and all round reggae connoisseur Angus Taylor, as I interview him about how he became to be involved in writing and his thoughts on the reggae scene today.
How did you become involved in writing for reggae 'magazines'?
Is it something you've always wanted to do or did you just fall in to it?
I never really had a plan to be honest. I'd been a copywriter for a few years and had a vague idea of trying something else involving writing. I did a few modules of a correspondence course where they were quite encouraging about what I was doing in terms of style. But the teachers were suggesting that the only way to make it as a writer was to pick up any work going - writing for lifestyle magazines, writing letters to newspapers for a tenner - which I didn't really feel comfortable with. Then one day I got a newsletter from Reggae News asking for contributors, wrote a piece on Lutan Fyah, started reviewing for them for free and other work followed...
I have noticed recently that when I've been googling for research on various pieces I've written (biographies, reviews etc), your name keeps popping up all over the place. So how do you get your work? Do artists and 'magazines' come to you or do you write your piece and offer it out?
Well there's certainly a lot of knocking on (virtual) doors to get work but once you're established somewhere work comes to you as well. Early on I had to buy records and review them then send my reviews to labels to make a link. I get a steady stream of promos through now but there is the odd big label (mentioning no names) that doesn't see the point of online publicity. I'm reasonably established online, but nowhere near enough to be acting the big I am and handing out advice! I'm currently making the transition into print which involves a lot of rejection and heartache - especially in the current musical climate!
You say "current musical climate!" How do you view the current reggae scene here in the UK? It does seem to be a dirty word. I think people associate reggae with all this new 'bashment' with its homophobic, gun carrying, gang related lyrics, and have forgotten the entire 'one love' and peace message of old.
Like most of the issues around this music, it's complicated.Certainly, in the past Britain has viewed its title as "second nation of reggae" with some complacency, and it's now rivalled (if not overtaken) by Germany, Italy and especially France. The music industry and media for their own valid reasons would rather promote rock music that appeals to a broad age range (to help sell CD's) and necessitates live tours (where a lot of money is these days) than other forms of music which are (rightly or wrongly) thought to be followed by habitual illegal downloaders. Then there is the severing of ties with the British left over the homophobia issue, and of course, the large number of different music styles which can attract urban youth.But it's not all doom and gloom. These things go in cycles. When music influenced by reggae is big - reggae is big. In the 90s, the Bristol scene, conscious hip hop and drum and bass led to an increase in reggae festivals and concert attendance. Now it's happening again with dubstep. I was at a free festival in London where reggae DJ's played all day long and the people loved it. I think the general public (and some reggae fans too) have a lot of preconceptions about what Jamaican music is, and what it should be. But with open yet critical minds we can try to break these barriers down.
You mainly do reviews of CD's and gigs. Have you ever thought of branching out into books? Perhaps on reggae / Jamaican / Rasta history or biography's even?
It's definitely something I'd like to do at some point - but I think I need to get published in a newspaper or magazine first!
Thing is Gus to get published in a newspaper or magazine, do you feel you have to write about something other than reggae? For example I saw a review for The Aggrolites - Reggae Hits L.A in one of the national papers a while ago and it received ? out of 5! They just didn't know what to make of it, which I thought was very poor not to have some sort of view on it.
As mentioned before, there are a lot of misconceptions about Jamaican music and culture that need to be broken down, and the mainstream media isn't very receptive to this. There is so much romanticism to the rock n roll myth - the drugs, the groupies, the fights, the big personalities - that many editors are quite unashamed about how happy they are that it's back in vogue. Certain artists fit the archetypes of the rock n roll myth and are seen as "good" reggae. Bob Marley (the Dylan style troubadour) Lee Perry and King Tubby (the mad genius concocting weird experiments in the lab) but most reggae artists fall through the cracks. From working in advertising I read the 22 immutable laws of Marketing and the first rule was, I think, "it's hard to change a mind once it's been made up". There is a mind set about reggae - it had a heyday in the 70s then it all went wrong - that's hard to change. There are some interesting left field and underground magazines about and traditionally these serve as springboards into the national press. But right now in the US newspaper critics are being laid off or re-assigned and the media is in a frenzy about "bloggers vs. critics" and "the death of the critic" so who knows? Maybe the internet is the place to be!
Obviously working as a writer, I'd say you enjoy words and their power, so which writers do you admire?
In terms of reggae writing, I've always liked David Katz because he isn't very opinionated (unlike a lot of writers who have an agenda or let their personal tastes get in the way of objective appraisal) and just tells you about the particulars of a tune rather than raving about it/dismissing it. Some people say his work is too "trainspotterish" but I don't agree.Then there's Chris Lane, for his great technical knowledge of music and sound production, and Dr William Lez Henry who strips away a lot of the myths and misconceptions that colour an outsiders view of the music and culture. And it goes without saying that for his knowledge and the quality of his writing I admire Penny Reel - the father of UK reggae writing - although I wouldn't (and couldn't) even try to replicate that winding, Dickensian sentence style of his!In terms of writers in general there are too many to mention but my prose style has been influenced reading Saul Bellow, and more recently, Lionel Shriver.
You obviously listen to reggae in all of its genres, so what 'style' do you look forward to hearing? Also do you have a favourite tune?
The music of my heart is roots music. All Jamaican music has the elements i love - economy, brevity, equality between the instruments and technique. But I have always been fascinated by music that glorifies God, even though I am not religious myself; because it goes that little bit further to make its point. I do not discount any type of Jamaican music, though I have to look harder in some areas for what I like than others, for this is usually the fault of my ears being unfamiliar with a style more than anything else. It's very hard to think of one favourite tune to be honest. Groovy Situation by Audrey Hall is a tune that haunts my dreams because I haven't got it on vinyl yet!I'd just like to add that I am not a reggae expert - there are probably a thousand people I could name who are - just a writer who likes reggae. My knowledge is fairly patchy but I am learning as I go and trying to keep an open mind.
Many thanks Gus for your time.
You can find various reviews and interviews by Angus Taylor at
http://www.myspace.com/angu5taylor
http://www.unitedreggae.com/
http://www.reggaenews.co.uk/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/bluessoulreggae/albums/
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