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Artist Interviews
Q&A: Black Canvas
By CMU Editorial | Published on Wednesday 22 July 2009
Mr Melody and Rider Shafique, aka Black Canvas, have been regulars on the breaks and drum n bass scene in recent years. Melody appeared on CMU favourite Adam Freeland’s ‘Now & Them’ album, while Shafique has appeared on tracks by the likes of Black Grass and Chase & Status. Both have appeared on work by production duo Pressure Drop, one half of which, ChubbyJ, co-wrote and produced the debut Black Canvas album, ‘Rise’, which is released this week via Tayo and Skool Of Thought’s Cool & Deadly label. We spoke to Rider Shafique to find out more.
Q1 How did you start out making music?
I remember being in my bedroom with my brother. We both had small radio cassette players and would play a cassette of instrumentals on one of the players while freestyling our lyrics into the speaker of the other player while it was recording. It was cool to have a cassette of your own voice and the addiction started there. The time was taken writing new lyrics and developing my own personal style vocally. Later, both myself and Mr Melody were involved in local reggae soundsytems and would vibe to the latest reggae/dancehall tracks from Jamaica. It was a natural progression to want to take things further and develop our own signature sound and style.
Q2 What inspired your latest album?
‘Rise’ is just a reflection of our lives at that time so generally it was inspired by day to day life and our stance. We wanted to reflect our versatility, our rich heritage and culture. We decided to portray a positive message, an uplifting one, rather that dwelling on the negative aspects of society. We wanted to create an album that hopefully will appeal to all, regardless of age, colour and creed, and one that will stand the test of time.
Q3 What process do you go through in creating a track?
Firstly we will get some ideas together, such as samples or riffs, and create a rough beat to work with. We then write to that beat. Our rough vocals are recorded and listened to, and we then flesh out the whole thing. Improve on the vocal takes, arrange the beat, add instrumentation and backing vocals etc.
Q4 Which artists influence your work?
There are many but mainly the sounds of [legendary Jamaican record label] Studio One and other conscious reggae music labels.
Q5 What would you say to someone experiencing your music for the first time?
Listen carefully. It’s deeper than you think.
Q6 What are your ambitions for your latest album, and for the future?
Hopefully ‘Rise’ will get the attention it deserves and we can tour and take our sound all over the world. We both are working on solo projects and are collaborating with producers from many different musical genres, so we are going to continue putting in the work and pushing our musical boundaries.
MORE>> www.myspace.com/ukblackcanvas
