Rasta Vibes
With a family name that carries as much weight as almost any in the industry, Julian 'Juju' Marley needs little introduction. Six years since his previous offering, the fifth of Bob Marley's seven sons released his third LP, 'Awake', earlier this year.
Juju took a moment from the tail end of a seven-week US tour last month to tell us a little bit about it. "Everyone on the album is family ... I have my two brothers, have Raggamuffin (Stephen) Marley and Junior Gong (Damian) — For me, this album is geared for uplifting vibes, you know? It's really upbeat."
His Jamaican accent is thick despite an early childhood in the UK. It's hard to tell where one word stops and the next begins, but Julian speaks slowly and deliberately. As the countdown to his first trip to Australia begins, he says he doesn't know where to start on his down under 'must-see' list.
"I've gotta get there first," he laughs. "I'm hoping someone will show us around or something, you know? That'd be nice."
And when he fronts at the third annual Raggamuffin festival next month, Juju is promising just exactly what any reggae fan expects.
"I'm bringing the inspiration of music, of reggae music, to the people, if you know what I mean," he says with emphasis on all the 'ah' sounds. "Which is the power of love and unity. That is what we have. There's a lot of pressure in the world at the moment, but what people don't realise is that it's themselves putting the pressure on, you know?
"So this album is geared for uplifting the spirit, it's the music you know? Songs like 'Trying', which is to keep motivated every day - keep trying no matter what. You know?"
"It's hard to believe this will be Juju's first trip to Oz, but when Julian shares the line-up with the likes of Wyclef Jean and the legendary reggae, dub production team Sly and Robbie, he says it'll be a reunion of sorts.
"I've been on other bills together around Europe and you know, Sly and Robbie are also our teachers, they're like our teachers, you know? It's always great to be on a bill with them, they're so experienced."
Julian Marley is one of Raggamuffin's headline acts when it comes to the Brisbane Riverstage January 30.
