Adriano Mazzeo
08/17/2021 6:02 AM
Clarín.com
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Updated 08/17/2021 6:02 AM
When in 2008 the general public flooded their ears with
I'm Yours
,
the name of Jason Mraz began to sound in all latitudes
and the young singer-songwriter embodied the definitely successful figure of the coolest-impossible folk surfer scene, related to people like Jack Johnson or Ben Harper.
But Mraz's worldwide success was not an overnight phenomenon.
This American from Virginia, a California resident and descendant of Czechs and Slovaks, met the massive transcendence in his country with his debut album in a multinational,
Waiting For My Rocket To Come
from 2002.
The album contained the hit
The Remedy (I Won't Worry)
, a sympathetic pop song with arrangements that winked at G Love and Dave Matthews.
Maybe that's why the guy is someone who
anticipates events
that randomly happen in his career.
Jason Mraz seems to anticipate the events that occur in his life in a random way.
Photo Press / Shervin Lainez
His parsimony and security when facing an interview or the solidity of the communication that he faces from his social networks or even
his planted political stance
make him look like someone who knows well what he needs and wants, and who knows how to use his resources to make the best of it.
In the body of this interview that he had with
Clarín
for the luxury edition of his latest album,
Look For The Good
-in which he completely surrenders to the sweet and combative cadence of reggae-, you will see how this singer-songwriter, farmer and activist analyzes aspects of his past and plans his future very well, showing off that special relationship he seems to have with the times to come.
The Bob Marley Factor
-In
Look For The Good you
can see how important reggae is for your sound.
How did you discover the genre and what attracted you to it?
-I was aware of this genre since I was a child, my stepfather collected music and
I listened to Bob Marley a lot
during high school.
In 2004 I took a trip with Sly & Robbie to Kingston, Jamaica and was on the tour of Marley's house, which is a museum, in fact.
Little by little, Jason Mraz sought to do justice to Bob Marley's music.
Photo Press / Shervin Lainez
It was the first time that I was in the house of a composer, in which I not only saw how he lived and cared for his family, but I also experienced it with reggae in the background, of course.
That planted a seed in me in the sense of how I want to live and progress as a composer.
And I felt that maybe one day I could play that music.
Shortly after
I
wrote
I'm Yours
-which is very influenced by my trip to Jamaica- and
I started adding some reggae sparks to my live music
, this I did for many years.
At the same time, I felt like I wasn't really doing the style justice, that I wasn't playing it as authentically as it would be if I had the right producer and band.
-But did you have the idea for the album already at that time?
-I thought that maybe one day I would release a reggae album as a side project, that it would be on the rarities table in case someone wants to go looking for it.
But it became something important to me, so I found the producer and the band that I needed.
But most of all, I found the right songs for that idea.
They were written in 2019,
knowing that 2020 would be a transformative year
.
Songs and dollars to heal the world
-What do you mean?
-In reggae, the lyrics are generally about changes, about transformations, citing the presence of love or recognizing the divine;
and I thought those were very important things for the transition from 2019 to 2020.
It was time to attend to the division in the world, inequality
, climate change and all the madness, and try to bring love and positivism again to live in harmony with each other and with nature.
That fueled the fire and sonic power of reggae, which provides a perfect framework for those ideas.
So it
started as an experiment
but ended up having a lot of force by the end of 2019. Then, unfortunately, in 2020 everything went dead.
But, although this started as an experiment without much importance, I realized that I am privileged and that
I can do whatever I want with my art
, which makes me consider myself someone super lucky.
Jason Mraz assures that his last work was not done under the idea of capitalism.
Photo Press / Shervin Lainez
-How is this idea complemented by the need for commercial success?
-
This album was not made under an idea based on capitalism
, but by the nature of the business, it would generate profits.
So since I was in quarantine and couldn't share my music in the way that I would like, I decided that with those profits I could put gasoline in the cars of the people who are at the bottom of the cannon, fighting for the change that I am about. singing.
I donated $ 250,000 last year
to justice, childcare, and other organizations that are at the forefront of the fight for equality.
This gave me a lot of pride and this album was useful in that way and could even reshape my way of working in the future.
From now on I will make art with a purpose.
Back to the classics
-Regarding the deluxe version of the album, how did the idea of reshaping some of your old songs come about?
-I love the sound of reggae and take my old songs to that wave, and I knew that as soon as I hit the road, we will play
Look For The Good
, which is all reggae.
So the question was what will happen to
Lucky
, or
Make it Mine,
or
93 Million Miles
, in the middle of this repertoire.
That's why I wanted to bring all those songs to the reggae format.
So we got down to business and thought it would be great to give the audience a sneak peek at what these songs will sound like through this new filter.
-How did the idea of doing
Lucky
in that ska style of the '60s come about and why did you think of Emily King as a guest?
-It came from improvising with the band in the studio, from looking for the best
feel
for this song.
And I am fortunate to have known Emily King well for about five years.
First as a fan of his music and then through mutual friends.
That is how I realized how deep and beautiful she is as an artist.
He was the first person I thought of for this and she accepted the idea immediately.
It was so easy.
-You rerecorded
I'm Yours
.
What do you think of musicians who say they hate the hits that made them well known?
-I think it depends on who they were and where they came from when they wrote this song.
I think if you write a song just to make it a hit, you will screw yourself when it is a hit.
You gon 'have to play that shit every night
.
I was blessed with the fact that my songs that ended up being hits are songs that I loved and still love.
With
I'm Yours
, I wanted to do her the honors, but at the same time listen to her in a totally different way.
I always felt that it was a tribute to reggae, but now I'm very into reggae;
so what would you do?
I decided to take all the reggae out of it and
treat it as a contemporary R&B song
and give importance to the lyrics.
I loved the result, I hope the same thing happens to people.
I was able to dive into the song in a new way, now it has a new life.
A mainstream with under influences
-You reached the mainstream charts with your first album, but I would like to know what your more “underground” influences are.
-I like things like Aswad's New Chapter of Dub, the great British reggae band, Steel Pulse, obviously Bob Marley ...
Who doesn't love Bob Marley?
Our latest album has a Sister Carol collaboration.
She has so many great records, and one that is very special to me is
The Healing Cure
, an album that talks about herbal medicine in its entirety.
Wow!
If you can make a whole album on this topic…
That's wisdom
.
I'm very happy to have her on the album and that she brings some of her herbal knowledge to one of our tracks.
Also, Michael Goldwasser produced the record with his classic Easy Star All Stars and Jesse Royal grooves, which I love.
And Scientist is another genius, he's a producer, but his approach to reggae is like he's a modern day Lee Perry.
Besides Bob Marley, Mraz mentions Steel Pulse and Aswad as some of his influences.
Photo Press / Shervin Lainez
-Is there something that attracts you especially about reggae?
-
I like its hypnotic and flasher look, more than the lyrics
, maybe.
The sonic environment is important.
This cosmic landscape that at the same time sounds like humans investigating, taking their creativity outside, makes me meditate and allows me to write my own stories and dream my dreams, which will eventually become my lyrics and songs.
- And the Californian reggae?
-I'm a fan of Sublime, I love them.
The reggae of southern California -cali-roots or cali-reggae-, exists with Sublime or Long Beach Dub All Stars;
But I haven't gotten too deep into it yet.
The instrumental aspect of reggae appeals to me more than cali-roots, for now.
-You have two well-defined faces: you are both an artist and an activist. Maybe there are people who like you for your music but not for your opinions or actions or vice versa. Is there an artist that you like when he plays but not when he opens his mouth?
- (He thinks) Mmm ... I think it depends on what they are talking about.
By the way, last year there were elections here and many artists spoke in favor of "the other side", of the previous president we had.
And it was like,
"No, I don't want to hear this!"
There is a time and a place for art and activism, I think, for them to be separate.
One of my favorite artists is Willie Nelson, who, by the way, also made a reggae record.
From time to time he sings a political lyric, but he does it in a love or comedy environment ... Drinking, playing cards, smoking marijuana, those things ...
For Jason Mraz, there is a place for activism and a place for art.
Photo Press / Shervin Lainez
But his activism is very consistent.
He cares about family farms, he is against the massive ones, the gigantic capitalist consumerism and the injustice that it brings.
Speak softly because it is natural to him.
So it doesn't bother me when those two features overlap.
He is authentic.
-And if it's not that way?
-Let's not forget that in any case, the audience has the right to change the channel.
It is very important to remain human, and if you are someone who has a platform, who is lucky enough to shake hands with politicians, as happens to many artists, it is essential to talk about what concerns us, because this will generate a positive impact on the community.
IT IS
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