Living Legends

For 34 years, this production duo has been the last word on all things reggae, globally. Artists travel from all over the world to have this Jamaican team amp up their sounds. From the Fugees, Bob Dylan, and Jimmy Cliff to Matisyahu, No Doubt, Madonna … their list is long.

If the names Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespear don’t ring a bell, their work will. Most recently they’ve been working with Michael Franti (again) on his next album and they’ve just returned from Brazil where they left artist Vanessa with a number one hit.

There’s not many other backing musicians in the world with such an amazing reputation, discography or ability to produce hit after hit after hit.

Sly and Robbie have been in the industry since the 1970s. They started off in different bands, had their fingers in all sorts of pies before launching their own label that achieved mild success.

But what got them working together and working for so many other talented people on number one hits all over the shop was their dubbed out beats.

Right now their label, Taxi, is still going strong in Jamaica, they’re constantly touring or working with some big name or emerging Jamaican talent on something, somewhere.

As Sly and Robbie get ready to return down under for next month’s third annual Raggamuffin festival, drummer Sly humbly puts their long and illustrious career down to luck. “Well, I don’t know, maybe we are lucky our God just did it for us, I don’t know, maybe? What keeps us busy, I think, is trying to please the people at all times.”

Their tunes are all about that. “Trying to make the people forget their troubles and just dance to the music. And we always try and keep that groove within the music and keep it simple so everybody can understand it and get involved in it, and not make it complicated for them.

“We always try to get that feel into it, that groove into it so they can feel everything we’re doing, you know?”

Modern reggae, that funky-arse beat that makes you think of Jamaica regardless of where in the world you are.

Think No Doubt’s offering way back in 2001, ‘Rock Steady’ (apparently another LP is due next year). It was all cruisy bass and drop beats. Singles ‘Hey Baby’ and ‘Underneath It All’ were hits as was Matisyahu’s 2006 offering, ‘Jerusalem’.

Sly says his home country is inspiration to Robbie and himself for loads of reasons.

Given the size of Jamaica, it makes you wonder why such a small place has such a massive reputation for killer tunes and lifestyle, across the world. “When we stand up and see a nice sexy girl walking down the road we start looking and say ‘wow, she’s great!’,” the 50-odd year old says.

“Then I’ll make a bass line out of it and make a rhythm to look how she’s walking, you know?

“I think it’s the rhythm of the people. Music is like 24 hours in Jamaica, it never stops.”

So when the duo return to Australia for the first time in a few years to play Raggamuffin in January, Sly says he’ll be making it real easy for the punters. “We’ll be playing hard dub,” he says. “Like you’ve never heard before. The main sound of everything is gonna be tough.”

Are you gonna make everyone work for it then? “No,” Sly laughs. “We’re gonna give it to them so simple, we’re gonna give it to them on a platter.”

And he laughs again because that simplicity, he knows, is what’s gotten his partnership its lofty view from atop of the world’s reggae ladder.

Sly and Robbie headline Raggamuffin, Riverstage January 30, alongside Wyclef Jean, Julian Marley, Shaggy and Blue King Brown among others.