:: Inspiration Information

By: Carmine Pascuzzi

The first entry in Strut’s exciting new compilation series, ‘Inspiration Information’, brings Detroit soul maverick Amp Fiddler together with reggae legends Sly Dunbar & Robbie Shakespeare. Aimed at uniting contemporary artists with their heroes, the first installation of the ‘Inspiration Information’ series threw Amp, Sly & Robbie into an intensive writing and recording session, resulting in a mouth-watering one-off collaboration.

“This is monumental for me,” says Amp. “I discovered Sly & Robbie through their Compass Point productions with Wally Badarou, all the Grace Jones records, ‘Boops’ too. I loved the way they experimented with a more ambient direction.”

“Our manager Guillaume Bougard, “The General”, told us about Amp,” says Robbie. “We heard that he used to be part of the Funkadelic set-up.” “We were always right into the Parlia-Funkadelic sound,” recalls Sly. “Their brand of funk was so different. I loved it from their first record.”

Arriving at Anchor Studios in Kingston, Jamaica, armed only with a handful of acoustic vocal ideas, Amp and the Riddim Twins recorded the album in just three days during June with overdubs laid down a week later in Detroit. “We work fast,” says Robbie. “Time is money!” The result is a confident, laid back set that brings a whole new twist to Amp’s trademark vocal style: Sly builds innovative digital and live rhythms, Robbie underpins the tracks with solid bass foundations and original generation guests “Sticky” Thompson (percussion) and Dalton Browne (guitar) add plenty of colour. Back in Detroit, Amp knitted together the finishing touches, adding extra keys and backing vocals.

Packaged in a deluxe digipak with a CD booklet documenting the sessions, Amp Fiddler and Sly & Robbie’s ‘Inspiration Information’ is an absolutely essential collection that will appeal to all generations of music lovers.