Super Heavy: Superstar With A Miracle Worker
During recent few years, there were many emerging collaborations among famed musicians, which many of them had produced remarkable and easy listening music, although also many of them made covered versions of particular musician’s song. However, there were many of them had composed their own song, which was different than those of they did earlier. This kind of collaboration, widely known as Super-group, combines various music background of each personnel.
One of the super-groups had just been founded in last 2011. The names inside this collaboration shall be familiar for you. They are; Mick Jagger, Joss Stone, Dave Stewart, Damian Marley and A.R Rahman. Alike those common band does, Super Heavy, the name they had chosen, contains a strong concept and adhered to as their musical distinctive characteristic. You may find the music of rock, reggae, Indian pop, electronic, and soul through the works of the group, which is managed by label Universal Music. There shall be no classification of music found, since Super Heavy combines a variety of music to produce a new nuance, such as Dave Stewart uttered; “Super Heavy is a scientist’s very crazy experiment.” No wonder, as you listen to their works, you will find something different.
How did those five most talented persons in music coming from different countries (even continent) able to be assembled and create a music work? “A year ago I was at home in Jamaica, and one night I listened to all music that are originated from different regions, from a sound system which was extremely reggae, rock, and blues. I thought, this is something that I really want to do, bringing the differences of sounds altogether into a single band,” Stewart said. Later, he phoned Jagger from his house in Jamaica and told the idea. Fortunately, the offer got positive response by Jagger. Being fans of Jamaica and especially Jamaican music, they both were encouraged to recruit a musician for the country. The one whom had been chosen was son of reggae music legend, Bob Marley, Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley. To Jagger, Marley is a writer of strong lyric, completed by his bent of carrying on experiment and collaboration in music. ‘Jr.Gong’ was not alone, as he took along a bassist and composer Shiah Coore as well as drummer Courtney Diedrick. Similar with Stewart, who took his long-time partner-in-crime, Ann Marie Calhoun, a rock violist, whom previously made collaboration with Foo Fighters.
Not only Marley, Stone also did not reject to join with these musicians, and when he conducted a recording session in Los Angeles, later they met A.R. Rahman, who at the moment had just acknowledged an Academy Awards for his work in movie directed by Danny Boyle, Slum Dog Millionaire. When he was asked about the Indian musician, Stewart thought that he is a figure that has an extraordinary music sense. He has extensive music knowledge, an extraordinary musical character, as well as melody and singing strength from a different culture.
Then finally, Stewart, the founder of Eurythmics, Joss Stone, a famed soul female singer, Marley, who had partaken his father path in reggae, Rahman, the Indian sound composer and Mick Jagger, surely everybody in this planet knew him already, are officially united and working in the project. “I am living for today, but I have never been thinking about it. This is incredible, and I believe I can do this. I just do this, and thought this will be lasted in a fast track, since to me this would be still something new. Once I started this, I thought this is a centuries’ difference, but I like it. I will be keeping it goes on. The band, the project, everything is awesome,” Jagger uttered when he was interviewed by dailymail.com.
Within 18 months, Super Heavy carried out recording sessions privately. In particular news, it was mentioned that it was not a kind of secret mission. The album production process even involved a number of places; Los Angeles, Turkey, Italy, Greece, India and Miami. “We met many people from different times and places,” Jagger said. Seemingly, this had contributed to a different nuance for music of Super Heavy. Additionally, surely the differences of backgrounds among the personnel, in which Jagger, Stone and Dave came from England, Rahman from India and Marley from Kingston, Jamaica.
The first album, Super Heavy was officially launched in September containing eleven tracks, with the single debut “Miracle Worker”, which got positive reviews. “This is the Superstar with a Miracle Worker”. The clip video of the single presents their activities in studio during the recording sessions. Another track entitled “Satyameva Jayate” which means ‘the truth itself is a victory’ was sung by Jagger in Urdu tongue.
Examining the unique songs and all creativities of those musicians, it would be not exaggerated if Stewart assumes that it was a kind of experiment, which is similar to a crazy scientist’ experiment. Fusing those talents of the best front-men of all times, the Indian composer as beneficiary of two Academy Awards, the wonder child of soul world, the reggae star who won three Grammy Awards and one of the most wanted producers in the world, Super Heavy successfully creates a new music and they are deserved to be praised as a Supergrup.
Listening to the result of combination of various music which is prepared by various musicians from different background, is now might be a choice to those who wants to be involved in a new experience. Furthermore, their music charisma is as if able to hypnotize the listeners. So, it would be not exaggerated that in one occasion Jagger had said, “I wish people would like it”.
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