Andru Branch | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Andru Reginald Arnold Branch |
| Born | June 27, 1968 Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada |
| Origin | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Genres | reggae, world |
| Instrument(s) | keyboard, percussion |
| Years active | 1985 –present |
| Labels | Kingston Muzik |
| Website | halfwaytree |
Andru Branch (born June 27, 1968) is a Canadian reggae musician. He is the lead singer-songwriter of the reggae band Andru Branch & Halfway Tree. He was nominated for a Juno Award for his debut 1998 album What If I Told You.
Branch was born Andru Reginald Arnold Branch on June 27, 1968, in Sackville, New Brunswick.
Branch was signed to independent Jamaican record label Kingston Muzik in 1996. [1] Branch recorded and mixed his 1998 debut album What If I Told You at Kingston Muzik Studio in Kingston, Jamaica. [2] Its title was taken from a popular saying ("the only constant in life is change") favoured by Andru's late mother. [3] The album was distributed with modified artwork in Europe and the United States by Tabou 1 Records and features Earl "Chinna" Smith and members of Bob Marley's backing band "The Wailers"; Aston "Family Man" Barrett, Tyrone Downie, and Alvin "Seeco" Patterson. Branch was nominated for a Juno Award at the Juno Awards of 2000 for this release in the category Best Reggae Recording. [4]
His second album The Only Constant was released in January 2008 and features Squidly Cole and Chris Meredith of Ziggy Marley's band along with Alvin "Seeco" Patterson from The Wailers. The Only Constant is straight-up roots-reggae, brimming with lush horns, placid backbeats and spiritual proclamations". [5]
Andru's traditional roots-reggae style is wide-ranging, varying from African high-life to suggestions of country influence and has been described by Exclaim! Magazine as "some of the rootsiest bottom-heavy music ever to come out of the Great White North". [6] He performed at Jamaica's 1998 Reggae Sunsplash Festival [3] [7] and as a percussionist, has backed musicians Brinsley Forde, Gregory Isaacs, Glen Washington, Vybz Kartel and Sean Paul.
Studio One's original Soul Vendors bassist Brian "Bassie" Atkinson joined Andru Branch & Halfway Tree in 2002 and the band is currently making new reggae music. [8]
Andru developed a profound love for reggae music while growing up in multicultural Toronto, Ontario, where he was mentored by Tony "Raffa" White and Bernie Pitters before moving to Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 2000. [5] Andru Branch graduated from Lawrence Park Collegiate and received a "Sound & Music Recording Diploma" from Recording Arts Canada.
Catch a Fire is the fifth studio album by the reggae band The Wailers, released in April 1973. It was their first album released by Island Records. After finishing a UK tour with Johnny Nash, they had started laying down tracks for JAD Records when a disputed CBS contract with Danny Sims created tensions. The band did not have enough money to return to Jamaica, so their road manager Brent Clarke approached producer Chris Blackwell, who agreed to advance The Wailers money for an album. They instead used this money to pay their fares back home, where they completed the recordings that constitute Catch a Fire. The album has nine songs, two of which were written and composed by Peter Tosh; the remaining seven were by Bob Marley. While Bunny Wailer is not credited as a writer, the group's writing style was a collective process. For the immediate follow-up album, Burnin', also released in 1973, he contributed four songs. After Marley returned with the tapes to London, Blackwell reworked the tracks at Island Studios, with contributions by Muscle Shoals session musician Wayne Perkins, who played guitar on three overdubbed tracks. The album had a limited original release under the name The Wailers in a sleeve depicting a Zippo lighter, designed by graphic artists Rod Dyer and Bob Weiner; subsequent releases had an alternative cover designed by John Bonis, featuring an Esther Anderson portrait of Marley smoking a "spliff", and crediting the band as Bob Marley and the Wailers.
Miguel Orlando Collins, known by his stage name Sizzla Kalonji or Sizzla, is a Jamaican reggae musician. He is one of the most commercially and critically successful contemporary reggae artists and is noted for his high number of releases. As of 2018 he has released 56 solo albums.
Bob Marley and the Wailers were a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae band. The founding members, in 1963, were Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Bunny Wailer.
Alfarita Constantia "Rita" Marley is a Cuban-born Jamaican singer-songwriter and entrepreneur. She is the widow of reggae legend Bob Marley. Along with Marcia Griffiths and Judy Mowatt, Rita was a member of the reggae vocal group the I Threes, the backing vocalists for Bob Marley and the Wailers.
Aston Francis Barrett, CD, often called "Family Man" or "Fams" for short, was a Jamaican musician and Rastafarian. He was best known as the bandleader of Bob Marley's backing band, as well as co-producer of the albums, and the man in charge of the overall song arrangements.
The Wailers Band is a reggae band formed by former members of Bob Marley and the Wailers after his death in 1981, one of several spinoffs from Marley's original group.
Alvin "Seeco" Patterson was a Cuban-born Jamaican percussionist. He was a member of The Wailers Band.
Most of Bob Marley's early music was recorded with Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer, who together with Marley were the most prominent members of the Wailers. In 1972, the Wailers had their first hit outside Jamaica when Johnny Nash covered their song "Stir It Up", which became a UK hit. The 1973 album Catch a Fire was released worldwide, and sold well. It was followed by Burnin', which included the song "I Shot the Sheriff". Eric Clapton's cover of the song became a hit in 1974.
Leval Alphonso Thompson, also known as Linval Thompson, is a Jamaican reggae and dub musician and record producer.
Robert Nesta Marley was a Jamaican reggae singer, guitarist, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of the genre, Marley fused elements of reggae, ska, and rocksteady in his music and was renowned for his distinctive vocal and songwriting style. Marley's contribution to music increased the visibility of Jamaican music worldwide and made him a global figure in popular culture. Over the course of his career, Marley became known as a Rastafarian icon, and he infused his music with a sense of spirituality. He is also considered a global symbol of Jamaican music and culture and identity, and was controversial in his outspoken support for democratic social reforms. He also supported legalisation of cannabis, and advocated for Pan-Africanism. In 1976, Marley survived an assassination attempt in his home, which was believed to be politically motivated.
Errol Brown is a Jamaican audio engineer and record producer.
Rolando Ephraim McLean, better known as Yami Bolo, is a Jamaican reggae singer.
Messenjah is a Canadian-based reggae group that flourished to become one of the most successful and popular reggae groups in the history of Canadian music.
"Waiting in Vain" is a song written by reggae musician Bob Marley and recorded by Bob Marley and the Wailers, for their 1977 album Exodus. Released as a single, it reached number 27 on the UK Singles Chart.
Eric Lamont, better known as Bingy Bunny, was a Jamaican guitarist and singer who recorded with the Roots Radics and The Morwells as well as recording solo material. He is regarded as one of Jamaica's most important and innovative guitarists.
Dwight Pinkney OD, also known as Brother Dee, is a Jamaican guitarist best known for his work as a session musician and as a member of Zap Pow and the Roots Radics, who since 1999 has recorded as a solo artist.
Donald Kinsey was an American guitarist and singer, best known as a member of the Word Sound and Power Band, the reggae backing group for Peter Tosh.
Bruno Blum is a French singer songwriter, guitar player, music producer and musicologist sometimes nicknamed "Doc Reggae". He is mostly known for his work in the reggae, Caribbean music, rock music and African musics fields, and also works as a cartoon and comic book artist, illustrator, painter, photographer, video director, writer, journalist, music historian, interpreter and speaker.
Winston Hubert McIntosh, OM, professionally known as Peter Tosh, was a Jamaican reggae musician. Along with Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer, he was one of the core members of the band the Wailers (1963–1976), after which he established himself as a successful solo artist and a promoter of Rastafari. He was murdered in 1987 during a home invasion.
Jhamiela Smith Dunn is a Jamaican-born Canadian reggae musician, better known by her stage name, Jah'Mila.
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