A Novel And Album In One?
Drum and Bass, Rock and Roll, Rhythm and Blues – it’s like some things just go together, we’re used to them being connected. But novel and album? That’s a new one and a bit of a mouthful. What’s it all about? And what should we call it?
It’s all about ‘The Songtree: A Windrush Tale’, my debut novel and a testament to the jazz family of music: jazz, reggae, blues, RnB, etc. It’s full of musicians’ tales and the vibe of the scene, Soho in the 60s, but that wasn’t enough.
It traces the genesis of the music all back through our three thousand year old Bible all the way to seventy thousand years ago, and forward to the change of the world. Still not enough. Gods and spirits of Ancient Khemet and Kush, mysterious ancient conspiracies, yet it needed more. Musical language, lyrical evocation, vivid description and imagery, nothing filled the void. Another layer of experience was needed to convey the meaning of the novel.
‘The Songtree: A Windrush Tale’ is a ‘novel’, which means it does something new! (Many ‘novels’ are just formulae, hardly new, barely ‘novel’ at all). It comes from the community that innovates the most culturally in the UK: the Mixed Urban culture of (North) London. You know, the place that brought you Stormzy, Skinnyman, Aswad, Sade and Akala. We breed ’em fired up and feisty.
I wanted to put actual music in the novel to give the full experience of the atmosphere, so I linked QR codes printed at the top of each chapter to some tunes and the album was born.
The music became as important to the book as the words. It’s the other leg, helping carry the vibe forward.
How would I place the novel and album?
The novel is meant to be an answer to James Baldwin and Ishmael Reed across the pond. As if the Yanks rule anything English, haha. If you dig serious ‘Black literary fiction’ this one’s for you.
The album? If you like Jackie Mittoo, Ernest Ranglin, Keith Hudson, Augustus Pablo or Lennie Hibbert, or if you ever wondered how Monk might sound in reggae, I’d say you should check it out.
For samples of the novel and the album check the website.
Novel and Album. Yes, they go together fine now. But I’m still trying to find a name for it. Novum?
For more on all topics to do with Abracadia and its work, don’t forget to check Abracadia’s weekly spoken word offering at the ‘Bit Of Soul Podcast’. Come and say hi, pass by for a try. Be great to see you there. Just roll up anytime to listen, chill and reason at the lush and refreshing oasis that is Abracadia.
Until such time - In Ubuntu
Remi