David Hillyard & The Rocksteady 7 | Interview | New Album, ‘Plague Doctor’
David Hillyard & The Rocksteady 7 are back with a 7″ and full length, their first release since 2018’s ‘The Giver.’ continuing their dub-love from LA-based label Org Music.
“The Frog” is Hillyard’s reinterpretation of João Donato’s ‘A Rã’ released on February 11th and will be followed by the full-length ‘Plague Doctor’ out May 13th.
“‘The Frog’ aka ‘A Rã’ by João Donato is a tune I first learned playing at a Brazilian Restaurant gig in Brooklyn around 7 years ago. I fell in love with this direct melody that is based around just two notes but is so subtly complex and beautiful at the same time. I knew when I first learned it that I was gonna have to figure out a way to make it work with reggae beats. At the end of the day, with a song it doesn’t matter whether you can come up with something clever with it, it matters whether you can come up with something beautiful that is true to how you feel in your heart”. David Hillyard
The single, like the album it precedes, blends The Rocksteady 7’s signature sound, which combines elements of American jazz and Jamaican influences, with classic Brazilian rhythms and themes.
The Rocksteady 7 features some of the best players in the current ska/reggae scene, including members of NYC ska staples The Slackers and percussionist Larry McDonald (Toots and the Maytals, Gil Scott-Heron, Lee Scratch Perry). Fittingly, “the frog” comes on green color vinyl, with the full track split between two sides.
“Jazz is what I aspire to”
You are back with a 7″ and full length. You have been very busy during the pandemic. Have you found the isolation creatively challenging or freeing?
David Hillyard: The pandemic has sucked. I had people around me die and others get really sick right away. Covid got real for me very quickly. There are so many things that I used to enjoy doing that I don’t do anymore. I live in a city. In a neighborhood for a reason. It’s what sustains me. I like being able to go out and interact with people around me. The internet stuff was done out of necessity. The streaming. It was done out of necessity during adversity. A way to keep the music going during tough times. Because music is important. At least to me and that’s why I do it. I recorded a lot of music in 2020 and 2021. Including ‘Plague Doctor’. It’s a way to still be alive in difficult times.
‘The Frog’ is your own reinterpretation of João Donato’s ‘A Rã’. What in particular did you enjoy in his song and how difficult it was for you to make a reinterpretation?
I love the original version. It’s groovy and has that effortless funk of a lot of late 60s/early 70s Brazilian music. I learned the song for a trio gig I had at a Brazilian restaurant around 8 years ago. I was playing with Brazilian musicians and I spent a lot of time trying to get the phrasing together. Trying to work on my accent. I know it’s never gonna be perfect but I wanted it at least to be charming. For the The Rocksteady 7 cover, we found a way to play it that is both reggae and Brazilian and jazz at the same time. Reggae is the music I grew up on. So I tend to think of music in that style. Jazz is what I aspire to.
Your new album, ‘Plague Doctor’ was recorded during lockdown. What was the original idea behind it? How happy are you with the result?
I had been working on most of the tunes for ‘Plague Doctor’ for the last couple years. Getting these Brazilian tunes into ska and reggae tunes. I then added a couple of original songs that I wrote in the last two years. I was trying to sing in a situation where it was hard to sing. I’m very happy with the result. The music comes from the heart and that is the most important thing.
It must feel strange that you were not able to get together and play like you normally do. Do you think that had an impact or was that just a tiny barrier you overcame? Can you share some further details on how it was recorded?
Well, we started recording the sax, bass, and drums first. We recorded in separate rooms of the same house in New Jersey. This was before there was the vaccine. So we wanted to be careful around each other. So we started with those three parts and then we added the other instruments one by one. Emailing tracks from one musician to the next and then each would add their parts to it. So each person improvised off the last person’s part. It’s amazing how organic it all sounds. Like if we had all 8-9 people who are on a track we could be in the room together. But we weren’t. I’m lucky to play with people who listen to the other musicians around them. That everyone is a real good listener. Everyone also has a sense of space. That they play what is needed for a track, not everything that they could play.
What are some of the most important players that influenced your own style and what in particular did they employ in their playing that you liked?
In terms of this last album. Roland and Tommy from The Skatalites are my first inspirations and remain central to my playing. Coltrane is also always there. Tunes like ‘Was I Made For These Times’ were influenced by Lester Young and Ben Webster. I love their lyrical playing. Other tunes like ‘Dedicada’ and ‘Chove Chuva’ were vocal tunes originally by Artur Verocai and Jorge Ben. I tried to capture bits of the sounds of their voices on the horn. The plaintive parts mostly.
Thank you for taking your time. Last word is yours.
Thanks so much for all the love and support we have gotten in Slovenia over the years. Hopefully, we can come back and see you again some time.
Klemen Breznikar
Headline photo: Aidan Grant
David Hillyard & The Rocksteady 7 Facebook / Instagram / Twitter
Org Music Official Website / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Bandcamp / YouTube
