Interview - Alborosie @ WOMAD Festival 2024

Reggae artist Alborosie spreads message of love and unity at WOMAD festival!

When I saw that Alborosie was opening WOMAD 2024, I knew I had to be there. As a teenager, ‘Kingston Town’ and ‘Herbalist’ were the soundtracks to my sixteenth summer. It was 2011, and a few friends had just passed their driving tests. We’d drive down winding countryside lanes with the windows down, the smell of cow manure whipping through the car, and the woes of immature attempts at adolescent love dominating our lives. But in those moments, we didn’t care. Alborosie’s biggest hits became a kind of mantra for us—our young teenage angst and, of course, our discovery of marijuana. Fast forward fourteen years: I’m twenty-eight now, and although my teenage angst has been replaced by a subtle disdain for much of the modern world, standing alongside my childhood friends at this year’s WOMAD, singing the lines "Sipple it down down, sipple it down down / It's a rudeboy town, it's Kingston town" for an evening, is an experience that will carry me through the rest of my adult years.

WORDPLAY Magazine was given exclusive access to this year's WOMAD festival, and I was given the opportunity to speak face to face with an artist whose music once held so much precedence in my life. Assisted by my sister, we found a quiet space in the backstage bar area and set to discuss Alborosie’s career so far; his inspiration behind making Reggae music (despite being an Italian national) and how he views successful song making in the same light as following a carefully crafted cooking recipe.

You arrived here last night, what do you think of WOMAD so far?

A: When we go on stage, I’ll get the love from the crowd, I’ll give back the love and I’ll enjoy myself. I communicate with people through music, I spread my message and take in the vibe. I’m sure that it’s going to be an amazing performance and an amazing festival, definitely.

And are you on tour at the moment?

A: Yes, we have fifty shows this summer all over Europe. We just came from Brazil, Chile and Argentina. We did Costa Rica, South America and before that we toured the United States. Now we’re in Europe and after that we’re going to Africa. From January we start everything all over again. We travel the world, all four corners - to spread our message.

How do you sustain your energy for that amount of time to ensure you’re always performing at your best?

A: Touring is my energy, actually when I don’t tour - that’s when I don’t have energy. So when I turn on the engine and the engine running, that’s when I feel the best. I’m like a plane - and a plane needs to fly! Don’t keep a plane grounded for too long, let it fly. Let me fly - please.

And am I right in thinking that you’re originally from Italy?

A: Yes, I speak Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Jamaican patois.

“You are the song, you don’t make a song, you are the song.”

So what’s the link between the Jamaican influence and your upbringing?

A: I am the link, and the link is me. I believe that somehow we are all connected to what we used to be before. What we once were and what we are now. I believe in my ancestors and to some extent there's a connection between what I’m doing now, what I used to do, and what I will be. We cannot explain these things, we just have to go with it.

What age did you move from Italy to Jamaica?

The first time I visited I was eighteen. I was very young. I was back and forth, but then I actually moved to Jamaica when I was about twenty-one. I’ve been there ever since.

And what do you love about Jamaican culture?

A: It’s me. It feels right in my soul. It’s not even just a connection, it’s me - yano? I AM, I am there.

Do you think your sound has evolved, and if so how? Or do you think your sound has stayed pretty consistent?

A: The key is, you are the song, you don’t make a song, you are the song. So myself is myself, it’s like you. You change daily, yearly - because, that’s progress. So, you have to change yourself to some extent but you also have to keep your roots, because that’s what makes you who you are - right? So, music is the same. So you keep your roots, you keep it grounded, but you need to add some elements that bring you towards the future. The world is evolving, life is evolving, culture is evolving - so you have to move with it. You do the same with music, you keep the main ingredients but you add different seasoning. At the end, maybe you cook it more, a bit less, or even make it Vegan, but you always change bits of the recipe.

So what things have you added over the years?

A: A lot of ingredients from all over the world. Yes, spices from China, the parmesan from Italy, the Pasta from South America - so you know, it’s still Reggae, it’s still me, it’s still original - from Jamaica. But, you know, all of the ingredients that have been gathered through my experiences have shaped my music. My music is like a diary of where I have lived, the people I have met, and all of my experiences coming together.

And do you think there’s an element of creativity that's similar between cooking and making music?

A: Yes, because you need to eat before you go on stage! You always need to be creative with it!

We bid goodbye, he bid me ‘God bless’ and I told him about how much I’m looking forward to watching his set that evening. I end the interview feeling very calm and grounded, Alborosie’s languid way of talking has the ability to calm you almost within an instant. I’m taken aback by his spiritual incites and the way he views the evolution of the way his music has grown over the years. Alborosie left WOMAD festival that evening and headed for his next performance, at the Black Forest Reggae festival in Germany.

Interview: Jessica Holmes