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Pablo Moses, born in Jamaica as
Pableto Henry, released his
first album in 1975,
Revolutionary Dream, issued in
the United States by UA Records
as, I love I Bring. “A
university trained poet,"
according to the Village Voiced
Carol Cooper, Moses articulated
his Rastafarian ideology with
unprecedented political
frankness in a high pitched,
horn-like voice over rhythms and
harmonies laid down by
keyboardist/ producer Geoffrey
Chung. Signing with Mango
Records, Moses collaborated with
Chung five years later to
produce his follow up, 1980's A
Song, a subtle answer to the
fire of his debut release. In
1981, Pablo Moses issued his
third album, entitled Pave The
Way.
By then, Moses had amassed a
strong following in Jamaica,
Europe, North America and Japan.
Moses' Rastafarian themes, the
crusade against injustice,
inequality, greed, racism, war,
and the pillage of nature were
and are universal in their
scope.
In 1983, Moses signed with
Alligator Records to release In
The Future. amplifying his
political and social message
with rock stylistics and the use
of electronic instrumentation
like the synthesizer and vocader.
Moses expanded and deepened his
sound and rhetoric with 1985's
Tension and 1987's Live to Love.
We Refuse, released in 1990, was
a lyrical response to the
political climate of the
eighties seen as "good times":
by those who've closed their
eyes to the underlying realities
of poverty and racism, that
unraveled in the '90s. "In this
album" says Moses,'' I say what
I've said all along, only in a
modified mood, more
straightforward. I refuse the
Babylonian ways of society, the
bully-istic attitudes. Jah made
everyone with different cultures
and colors just as he made
different types of birds and
plants for beautification."
Musically, this album represents
Pablo Moses' attempt to reach
out to the "now generation" of
younger reggae fans who've grown
up listening to the dancehall
style.
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Says Moses, “I try to adapt to
changing styles of music. I'm
trying to reach the dancehall
crowd, not just with the beat,
but with a message that is
cultural and sociologically
connected, with songs like Bad
Boy and Charlie. We Refuse also
features Love is a Thing, which
features a duet between Moses
and his young daughter Tashe. There are also
the hit songs, Under Your Spell
and In South Africa. We Refuse
was produced by Pablo Moses and
premier reggae keyboardist
Robbie Lyn, and mixed by Steven
Stanley and Geoffrey Chung.
In
1993, Pablo signed with
Musicdisc of France to produce
The Confession of a Rastaman,
which was in the same vein as
Revolutionary Dream, A Song and
Pave The Way. After that,
emerged the album Mission, one
of Pablo’s best works since
Revolutionary Dream. These
albums were produced by Pablo
Moses and Clive Hunt.
During Pablo’s association with
Musicdisc, Pablo also released a
compilation by the name of The
Best of Pablo Moses with songs
from Live to Love, Tension, In
the Future and We Refuse. There
was also a re- release of
Revolutionary Dream in Europe,
and simultaneously in North
America by Shanachie Records. In
1997 Pablo re- released In the
Future plus Dubs, through Tabou and Nite an Day, in Europe. In
1998 Pablo released a live album
recorded in Paris, while on
tour. Media 7 in France, and
Heart Beat in Holland and
Germany distribute this album.
In
2010, Pablo Moses released his
latest album The Rebirth on
his own House of Moses label.
To this date, Pablo Moses
remains one of the most
original, out- spoken roots
reggae artists to be found.
After more than 30 years, he is
still throwing out lyrics that
are sociologically, political
and culturally connected. Pablo
Moses has toured extensively in
Canada, U.S.A., South America,
Central America, Europe,
Scandinavia and the Caribbean.
Pablo is currently almost
finished with a brand new,
highly anticipated upcoming
album. Pablo Moses is a teacher,
father and a revolutionary who
never, and will never, deter
from his path as a spokesman for
the poor, oppressed and
underprivileged people in the
world.
Listen to the
music of Pablo Moses
Pablo Moses Links:
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