Client Project Research - Relevant Music Videos

Today, I began watching relevant music videos to get some inspiration for designing the music video for Lenroy Guiste. Whilst doing this I encountered two setbacks. Firstly, we are not sure yet as to which song from Lenny's new album he wants us to make the video for, and also I was not able to find a single Dub video. It seems as though the low-budget and underground nature of the genre means that not much money goes into making music videos. Therefore, I looked at reggae music videos and dubstep music videos. Although these are not the exact same as dub, they are about as close as you can get to the genre. Below are some videos that I liked and found may be able to contribute to the format of the music video we create for Lenny:

Alborosie - Kingston Town



Capleton - Jah Jah City



Damian Marley ft. Nas - Road to Zion



In these videos, I like the urban feel and how the people of the city are displayed. This theme is a constant theme of reggae and dub music because of the roots of the music. The music is based on the struggle of the community and the self against the larger powers of life. I feel as though this theme would lend itself well to one of Lenny's tracks, since they all have an urban, gritty mood.

"Bassie" - Preliminary Interview

Today we held the first interview with Lenny to gather more personal information about him and his experiences with the Natural Ites. Below are the key pieces of info that we found to be significant:

• First started playing bass around 1975
• Positive Vibes, the first band he played in with his friend from school was a progressive style reggae band with rock influences and was based on the pretense that everyone had to be able to play a solo.
  
• Natural Ites were the first reggae band on Channel 4's "The Tube"
• Was featured in a documentary on Rastafari
• Other bands that were around at the time of the Natural Ites were Aswad, Steel Pulse, Maxi Priest, etc.
• Nottingham has never had the exposure like other cities - Lenny wants to "put Nottingham out there"
• John Peel gave a lot of airplay to the Natural Ites, which can be attributed to much of their success
• The song "Lately," released during the second album, Marvelous, went straight to number 1
• Lenny has a love for rock and even has a Van Halen collection. He is also a fan of Kings of Leon
  
• Some of his inspiration has come from artists such as Aston Berrett, Slye and Robbie, Stanley Clarke, among others

Lenroy Guiste Bio

After conducting the research on the Natural Ites, we gathered all of the information we could find on Lenny specifically. Below are some of the key points that will contribute to the project:

• Born in Middlesex, London
• Moved to Nottingham at a very early age
• Started playing bass while at school
• Formed the progressive reggae band Positive Vibes with a friend from school
• Became the bass player for The Realistics, backing the Natural Ites throughout their success
• Continued to play with The Realistics after the band went their separate ways which led to backing numerous Jamaican artists
• Toured the world with Macka B and The Royal Roots Band
• Has co-produced several albums including By Royal Command with Macka B and Upside Downside with Percy Dread
• Produced his own album Roots, Rock, Dub which was released in the Summer of 2009
• Has been collaborating on a new company called Leva Works, which is dedicated to promoting emerging talent in Nottingham

For more information please visit: www.lenroyguiste.co.uk

Research - The Natural Ites

In order to find out more about Lenny's background we conducted some research into the Natural Ites. Below are some of the main events and points for the band:

* Formed in the city of Nottingham during the early 80's
* Lead singers Ossie Gad and Percy Dread and backed by The Realistics
* First break was appearing on Rockers Roadshow hosted by Mikey Dread, a Jamaican DJ
* 3 studio album releases: Picture on the Wall, Marvelous, and Naturalites in Ites
* Appeared on John Peel's Radio One show in the summer of 1983
* Appeared on Channel 4's "The Tube"
* Went separate ways in 1990

To find out more please visit:

lenroyguiste.co.uk

http://andybrouwer.co.uk/nites.html