by Howard Campbell
ORLANDO – Up to date gospel music owes lots to artists like Kirk Franklin and CeCe Winans whose embrace of secular sounds made them large stars. An analogous motion emerged in Jamaica by acts corresponding to Lester Lewis and Marvia Windfall.
Artist/producer Canute Neil Ellis sampled their hit songs for Slingshot, a six-song EP launched in August.
Ellis, who is predicated in Orlando, collaborated with a number of Jamaican acts on the challenge. He samples Lewis’ Winner Man and Windfall’s Hear my Cry Oh Lord for Undefeated (that includes Zabbai, DJ Nicholas and Cario Younger) and My Cry (performed with Golda McFarlane and Tiffany Corridor), respectively.
“They’re songs which have taken 1000’s (of individuals) by powerful occasions, reminded us of what’s vital, reminded us even in occasions after we can’t pray, who it’s we will discuss to, even when it’s not in massive, flowery phrases,” mentioned Ellis. “Revisiting these songs was probably the most fulfilling issues that I’ve ever performed. And I’ve performed many initiatives.”
Ryan Chew and Samantha Gooden (Ellis’ spouse) are featured on Rescue Me, which samples He Noticed My Want, initially performed by The Grace Thrillers.
Nah Miss It — with Ellis, Jason Mighty, J.DAT and Orville Sutherland — borrows from If I Miss Heaven, by Reverend Glen Graham.
Canute Neil Ellis’ Early Years
Ellis discovered the ropes as an audio engineer on the Kingston studios of Noel Willis, founding father of The Grace Thrillers. That group’s reggae-based gospel songs earned them a big secular following in the course of the Eighties and Nineteen Nineties.
At Willis’ studio, he grew to understand the neo-gospel motion. He additionally favored progressive acts, together with Lewis. Lewis’ tune, Winner Man, was coated by American singer Ron Kenoly.
“I believe one of many causes I discovered it (engaged on Slingshot) so fulfilling is that I received to attach with these musical stalwarts and discuss with them and recapture a few of the early imaginative and prescient that they’d for his or her initiatives, however then I received to attach with a few of the newer, upcoming gospel expertise and produce them in. So, we had this like artistic melting pot that grew to become a part of this challenge,” mentioned Ellis.
