(Jamaica Observer) – MUSIC icon Dolly Parton is among a cadre of artistes who are being featured on a soon-to-be released album of country music set to a reggae beat.
The project, ‘Country Goes Reggae’, is being produced by Christian and Frank Berman (The Berman Brothers) and partner Ron Oehl, and draws on the musical talents of a set of Jamaican musicians and sound engineers called Positive Vibrations, which includes Ian “Beezy” Coleman, Devon Bradshaw, Guillaume “Stepper Sax” Briard, and Henry “Matic” Tenyue.
According to the Berman Brothers, the idea for ‘Country Goes Reggae’ came on a trip to Negril, Jamaica, in 2019.
The brothers were said to be sitting at a sunset, beach bar listening to reggae classics as a car passed by blasting US country songs.
Hearing the blend of different styles and cultures, they knew the two worlds would blend perfectly together.
The project is said to embody the musical elements of reggae, such as the thumping bass and drums, blended with staccato horn arrangements.
The album’s rock and soul upbeat aesthetic flows throughout the record, making it the perfect summertime jam.
The upcoming project re-imagines well-known country classics, including Dolly Parton’s ‘Two Doors Down’, Alabama’s ‘Pass It On Down’, Rascal Flatts’ ‘I Like the Sound of That’, Toby Keith’s ‘Red Solo Cup’, Uncle Kracker’s ‘Smile’, Randy Houser’s ‘Boots On’, Jimmie Allen’s ‘Make Me Want To’, and more.
Parton’s ‘Two Doors Down’ and ‘Eyes on You’ from Chase Rice are being released as the preview singles for the album, which will drop on July 22.
Parton’s track was initially written and recorded in 1978 and was released on her album, ‘Here You Come Again’. The song is written about rebounding with a man from a party two doors down from her apartment.
This is not the first time these two genres are being merged on a project. In 2011, VP Records released ‘Reggae Gone Country’, which took some of Jamaican’s favourite classic American country songs and set them to a reggae beat.
The tracks were mixed by Errol and Shane Brown, then sent to Nashville where they were embellished with country instrumentation.
Among the reggae acts who were part of the project were Romain Virgo, Luciano, Richie Stephens, Etana, Tarrus Riley, Duane Stephenson, Beres Hammond, and Tessanne Chin.
Among the country classics on this album were ‘The Gambler’, ‘Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue’, ‘El Paso’, ‘Crazy’, and ‘He’ll Have to Go’.
