INTERVIEW: Annicia Banks is ‘Up Front’ about her new reggae album
Photo: Annicia Banks’ new album is called Up Front. Photo courtesy of artist / Provided by Glass Onyon PR with permission.
Annicia Banks, who has made a name for herself in the reggae music world, is about to release her professional solo debut. The EP is called Up Front, and the songs gathered on the recording are both personal and heartfelt, showcasing carefully curated covers of classic tunes and new songs from artists she used to tour the world with. The debut single is Banks’ version of “Love Has Found Its Way,” a cover song of the Dennis Emmanuel Brown classic.
Banks said that the March 5 release of her album is “really a mystery of God.”
“It’s so simple and yet so serene,” the singer said in a recent phone interview. “I met this person at the car wash. I was speaking to him. We were talking about music and so forth, and he was going to do something with my son. And he said to me, ‘You a singer?’ I said, ‘Yes, I am. I’ve been singing. I guess I am the one they get the musical talent from to a point.’ And he said, ‘Yeah.’ Then I started humming some songs, something I want to do and who I used to work with — blah, blah, blah. Just like that, he said to me, ‘You know what, come and see me.’ And that was it. That was the whole thing, and everything just fell into place. It just fit. We are here today, thank God for that.”
Originally from Kingston, Jamaica, Banks has toured the world with the likes of Judy Mowatt, Bunny Wailer, Sister Carol and Brown, according to her official biography. She counts among her influences Bob Marley, Aretha Franklin, Mowatt and the Clark Sisters. Another influence is Bob Andy, who actually penned a tune for Up Front.
Here’s how that story goes: Banks had known the late, great Andy for quite some time. Right before the reggae vocalist died, Banks spoke to him because they saw each other in Jamaica. They talked about their music, and Banks complimented Andy on his songwriting. “He said, ‘OK, I will write a song,'” she remembered. “I said, ‘Yes, I would love for you to write a song for me because you can write so good, and I love your work.'”
Over the years, Banks has released several recorded songs, but Up Front represents her official solo debut on a professional label: RawVue Music. She called this recording the “icing on the cake” and the “real deal.” “I like stuff true to life,” Banks said of her music. “You have to exalt love, and the rest of the songs is just true to life. Everyday things are happening, and you just write what you feel, just the environment at the moment. I am grateful how things are working out so far. That’s basically it. I’m just a message person.”
The singer’s management selected “Love Has Found Its Way” as the first single to be released. The song, written by Brown, is a favorite of the singer’s. “I used to tour with him a lot, so it’s my dedication to him,” she said. “That song means a lot to me. It’s from the late, great, great, great Dennis Brown. I’m very happy and honored to do a rendition of one of his songs. It just represents him.”
Banks counts herself a fan of many different types of music, but reggae holds a special place in her heart. She said the “old-school” sounds of drum and bass still inspire her, and she hopes some of these older rhythms will resurface again in the music industry.
“I love jazz, I love soul, I love definitely gospel and so forth,” she said. “I love the old school because it has a lot more message. People were real, real. You could hear everything, the diction, the whole thing, just like Bob Marley. He wrote some stuff, and it is living up until today and will ever live. That is the type of music I would want to work with, to transcend throughout the world. It will last a lifetime.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Annicia Banks’ debut solo EP is called Up Front, and it will be released Friday, March 5. Click here for more information.
