woensdag 1 september 2021

Reggae music lovers (in the Netherlands): Hobbol Backawall

How people got to be reggae music lovers or fans has always fascinated me. Maybe partly because reggae still is off/outside the mainstream, also in the Netherlands. It is not found that easily, let’s just say. It requires (to a degree) an extraordinary life path: that is, different from copying the masses, or simply following what’s commonly on television or the radio.

Reggae has of course since decades gone international and widened its fan base, but I have known individually quite different reggae fans within the Netherlands. Black and white (and Asian, or mixed etc.). Males and females. Old and young. Some with little education, some highly educated. Of different class backgrounds. Some combine liking reggae quite equally with other genres (e.g.: some with African, funk, soul, some with hip-hop, some even with non-black music genres), while others on the other hand adhere almost “strictly” to reggae music, and do not get into much else. Some like roots reggae more than dancehall or vice versa. There are even reggae fans – believe it or not - who do not smoke the “ganja herb”.

Furthermore, some have an interest or sympathy for the related subject of Rastafari, some do not, or even despise it. The latter, despise, I find somewhat odd since Rastafari is not the same as reggae, but is nonetheless connected to it.

These differences (and similarities) between and among reggae fans/lovers intrigue me, also in relation to personal backgrounds. That’s the reason why I would like to interview specific individuals who love reggae.

Before this I have interviewed 10 persons – reggae lovers I know, “breddas” (meaning “brothers”, or "friends" in Jamaican parlance) of mine – here in the Netherlands.

I started the series on this blog with a post of June 2012, when I interviewed Abenet. In April of 2013 I interviewed Bill. After this I interviewed Manjah Fyah, in May 2014. For my blog post of August 2015, I interviewed, somewhat more extensively, (DJ) Rowstone (Rowald). In August 2016, then, I interviewed Vega Selecta. In October 2017, I interviewed DJ Ewa. Then, for my post of September 2018, I interviewed for the first time a woman, namely Empress Messenjah or Empress Donna Lee. In August 2019 I interviewed another woman, namely Sound Cista. For my blog post of September 2020 I interviewed another Reggae-loving woman, French but living in the Netherlands, Selectress Aur'El.

HOBBOL BACKAWALL

This time, I interview a “bloke” again (I mean, a man: just wanted to use the word bloke), whom I encountered in the Reggae scene in Amsterdam. I saw him in several places in (roughly) the decade 2010-2020, but mainly at events of the (Michelle van Boekhout Solinge-led) Black Star Foundation, organizing Reggae festivals/concerts and selecta/dj sets in and around Amsterdam. People like Johnny Osbourne, Lone Ranger, as well as "new school" artists like Exile Di Brave, performed then in the Netherlands.

At some events Hobbol Backawall was “selecta” or deejay, playing mostly Roots Reggae – strictly from vinyl. He even “doubled” at times as Dee-jay (vocalist) in the Jamaican sense, “toasting” vocally over Riddims, to nice effect. I liked the flow and overall style, but also his selection of Reggae songs, not dissimilar to my tastes.. some “overlap” let’s say, alongside – interesting – differences.

I soon found out his real name was Remi, but that he was known also under the nickname “Hobbol”. The name of his "sound" was/is "Back-a-wall movement”. That name seems to refer to a former part of the downtown ghettoes in Kingston, Jamaica, known colloquially as “back-o-wall”. It was since the 1950s known as a poor, neglected slum in downtown Kingston, inhabited by Rastafari adherents, at the place of where is now Tivoli Gardens, which in turn was built after 1963 (I have visited it: now with - decaying - apartment buildings, but still a poor ghetto). Interesting reference, anyway.

Over time I got to speak more with Hobbol, about where he lived, what he did, etcetera. He told me he lived in Medemblik, a small town, about 60 km north of Amsterdam in the North Holland province (a part known as “West Frisia”).

Rurally, and outside the urban hustle and bustle, but Hobbol seems to travel around, also as selecta.

Also because I usually enjoyed his selecta sets, I find it interesting to get to know more about Hobbol Backawall as a person, and his Reggae tastes and journey.

QUESTIONS

Where were you born and did you grow up?

I was born in Utrecht, and after many wanderings ended up living in Medemblik.

Since when (age) do you listen Reggae music?

More or less since my 13th year, Bob Marley died, and was played a lot on the radio. I immediately got pleasantly addicted. Doe Maar played a part as well, but also UB40 and Revelation Time.

What attracted you to it, then?

That music.. lovely!. Felt as if I was coming home. Until that time, I only listened to the radio, and to records that my parents or older brother had.

What other music genres did you listen to?

On the radio you mostly heard Pop music, and my parents mainly conveyed to me Protest singers, and 1960s music. Through my brother, I got to know Queen, as well as the Stones and the Beatles.

Has there been a change in your musical preferences since then?

I almost entirely listen to Reggae and related, and in the time that I deejayed/selected I interchanged New Roots with classics, nowadays I listen more to Roots Reggae and older.

Do you have any preferences within the broad Reggae genre? Does, e.g., Digital Dancehall appeal to you as much as Roots Reggae?

There is undoubtedly good Digital Dancehall out there, but it is not “my thing”. I love Roots Reggae very much, not just its Rockers sound, but love also tunes that are about something, and have a positive message. I further also like Rocksteady and Ska from the 1960s-Early 1970s.

Since when are you a Reggae selecta/dee-jay?

Since I went for the very first time with a crate of albums/LPs to a camping site, to spin Reggae songs that evening. I liked that so much, that I immediately went to the nearby community centre with a mixtape (on cassette tape). This was after all more than 30 years ago..

Why the selecta name Hobbol Backawall?

I always played/spinned as Back-a-wall movement, and Hobbol is my nickname. The name Hobbol Backawall came to be, because Facebook required a surname or Last Name. That thus became Backawall.

Any special experiences or encounters over the years (e.g. with producers or artists?)

Too many to mention. I still enjoy meeting artists whose records I have in my collection. If I have to mention one thing, I can recall a car ride with Johnny Osbourne. That day we came terribly close to a car crash, only because I hung on Johnny’s lips so much, that I forgot to pay attention to Amsterdam’s busy traffic .

Are you active in other ways within the Reggae scene as well? E.g. radio, organizing events, design, or otherwise?

At the moment I am not doing much. I am still partly involved with Shamba Lion sound system, and gladly help out at events of the Black Star Foundation.

Do you play any musical instruments?

Unfortunately, no. I tried to master the guitar for a period, but unsuccessfully.

Do you have a preference for Vinyl or Digital/CD? As listener, and as selecta?

I myself only play Vinyl, and have never done otherwise. I never even connected my CD player.

Does the Rastafari message in much of Reggae appeal to you? How does this relate to your own background, or beliefs?

The message I get out of it, is “love”, and that appeals to me a lot. Thanks to the lyrics of Bob Marley, but also especially Brigadier Jerry and many others, I delved into and studied history, religion, spirituality, and Rastafari. I call myself a convinced Rasta, but if others call me that I still feel a bit “labelled”.

What kind of music (reggae) do you prefer to listen to now – at this moment -, what specific artists? Any new “discoveries” you would like to mention?

At home I mainly listen to Early Reggae, Rocksteady and Ska. If I’d had to mention one name now, it will be Slim Smith, but that might be because I just acquired a wonderful gem of his. He is known longer, besides that.

Inside of the Netherlands, I am a fan of Rapha Pico and of Lyrical Benjie, both great singers. I also appreciate the band Bagjuice, because they know how to “swing” and “rock’n groove”. I could mention many more, since there is quite some talent in the Netherlands, both singers as bands, and don’t forget the Sound Systems: more and more groups of friends build speakers together, and that’s great.

What is, you think, the effect of the long-lasting “corona crisis” on culture in general, and Reggae in particular?

The Netherlands are right now being ruined and run to a wreck, so also culture suffers. Even: especially culture. What surprises me most is that most people seem to accept all those “covid” measures, and still listen to those (proven) liars at the top. I specifically refer to the Reggae scene, with the same people singing along with Alpha Blondy’s song Apartheid is Nazism in a dancehall, not seeming bothered by the fact that others are not allowed entry into that same dancehall.

I am still optimistic, though, and think that in time things will improve. At one point, the people won’t take it anymore, and will rebel, or organize things for themselves.

Last summer, I could spin/select almost every weekend, in various places. No big festivals, but enjoyable, nonetheless.

Anything else you want to mention?

Cool that you invited me to appear in your blog. One love.

REFLECTION AND COMPARISON

I got to know more about Hobbol Backawall, and notice there are some similarities with my tastes in Reggae, but of course also own accents and differences. He seems to focus - qua tastes - more on the 1960s and (Early) 1970s - including Ska and Rocksteady -, I myself a bit more on the period 1974-1983, though I appreciate some older Rocksteady as well.

Hobbol, as selecta, played/spinned however from various periods, old and new. Indeed, I remember him playing New Roots (Capleton, Sizzla, Tarrus Riley, etcetera), even some (Reggae) “club hits”, alongside older tunes (like Roots). More importantly, the songs he selected were mostly good and groovy. I rocked my body line!

Also similarities with me, in Hobbol’s route toward Rastafari, through Reggae lyrics, along with self-study, seeming gradual and organic, like in my case.

Hobbol got into Reggae around his 13th year (early 1980s), I around my 11th year (since 1985). The Dutch Reggae- and Ska-influenced band Doe Maar – not the “realest”, but nice and adequate - I only got to know years later, but UB40 I knew then. I guess that after Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, I soon got further into the Jamaican “real thing” (Wailing Souls, Gregory Isaacs, Don Carlos, Ijahman, etc.). Only after that I encountered bands like Revelation Time, but I always listened to it openly, not as an uber-critical "Reggae snob".

Apparently, Hobbol made a similar musical journey, with different accents: I did and do not listen very much of Brigadier Jerry or Slim Smith, only a few songs, but mainly because of time constraints.

We also have in common – as selecta’s – that we focus on vinyl, and that we vocalize (toast or sing) over instrumental/dubs. I also use percussion intruments. So, well versatile, haha..

Corona

The “corona policies” have become to me what the jailhouse is in Gregory Isaacs’s song Out Deh, wherein Isaacs sings: “I was tired of the jailhouse, but the jailhouse wasn’t tired of me”. I am tired of them, - it's probably all deceptive nonsense -, but the policies won’t go away, with all those powerful "Babylon" forces behind them. Not easily, anyway.

Hobbol neither agrees with the lockdowns and other corona policies, as he stated openly elsewhere too, doubting like other skeptics - like myself - whether these really have to do with health, or rather with elite “control” or economic gain. He also fears a "medical apartheid" related to the promoted/marketed "vaccines"/gentech injections, to which he referred in one of his answers.

Besides the probably realistic - but depressing - question of who benefits from such a “hyped-up virus” under false pretenses – my educated guess: the 2% wealthiest people of the world – and in what way, these international lockdown-based corona policies since March 2020 were especially negative and detrimental for “culturally active” people. Especially those in "culture" for culture itself, and not for the money.

Those culturally active, after all, love live music, actual parties and gatherings with human company, and “creating/making culture” (music, events, dances etc.). Under the lockdown regimes (with NO proven efficacy against the virus, by the way), live concerts were mostly impossible, or made unpleasant (having to stay seated at Reggae concerts?), for reasons that were a lot, but definitely not based on science or even health/infection risk

Anyway, both Hobbol and I were indeed “culturally active” in the Reggae scene years ago, organizing, or as selecta, and I also as musician performing at times. That all was largely disrupted due to the lockdown policies.

Many of us, though, have found - out of necessity - creative ways to continue - and share! - our passions or express our talents: live shows forbidden or molested by “Babylon”?, then musicians redirect energies toward more studio work - and some to "spectacular", party-like video clips, haha -, sometimes with others, continuing to create and compose. Of course, online deejay/selecta sets “exploded” on the Internet since those lockdowns, also in the Reggae scene, thus continuing selecting/mixing, and somehow interacting with an audience.

Rent-A-Selectah

Hobbol also came with the good idea to operate as a type of mobile selecta, calling it "rent-a-selectah", travelling toward people with turntables and records, for small-scale or private parties, as selecta and “sound”.. a bit closer to the “real thing” – one can say – than another online/Internet set. He also "toasts" on such occasions, sometimes together with others, such as Black Star Foundation associate (and good toaster/chatter) Jahforth.

A good substitution, such "pop-up", mobile sound systems, and perhaps even an added remaining possibility.

Yet, above all, I personally hope that all those nonsensical, non-scientific government restrictions on free culture and human gathering will end as soon as possible, to enjoy “sound systems” - or “live music” by musicians - as they are meant to be enjoyed and lived: totally free, and with your whole body and essence: whether private, small parties or public, big ones with many people, and if desired deep into the night..

In other words: as Reggae parties have always been, up to those lockdowns/curfews. Parties/shows at which I could easily meet people like Hobbol Backawall, and many more bredren and sistren over the years.