Formula Indie Sessions : Interview with Ras Dave
Ras Dave’s Roots Reggae Vibration! 🦁 A ‘90s reggae lion turned artist, I’m reviving the sound with my first album “What A Gwan”. Dropping my songs: “Bright Day” on 3/24 🌞, “Root of Evil” on 4/2 💸, “What A Gwan” on 4/9 🔥, and the full album on APRIL 14th 🎶 Conscious riddims for reggae lovers & Jah people
What is your earliest memory connected to music?
Memory is a river, seen? And my first memory of music wasnt a single drop but like the whole current. It was the feeling of the bass from my fathers turntable and a heavy vibration that would rise up through the floorboards and shake the dust from your soul. It wasnt just a sound you hear with your ears but was a frequency you feel in your bones. I didnt know the words were about suffering or about Jah almighty but I knew the feeling was one of truth. It was the sound of a heartbeat, a universal beat that connected our small living room to the whole of creation. That was the beginning of knowing.
How did your passion for creating music begin?
The passion wasnt a choice it was a calling that grew out of a silence. I would walk and see the tribulations of the world, the suffering of people, the invisible walls we build around ourselves. There were so many questions, so much to say, but the words would catch in my throat. This music give those feelings a vessel. It was the discovery that a simple melody could carry the weight of a heavy truth, that a bassline could speak of a foundation the world had forgotten. The passion is not for the music itself, but for the work the music can do. It is a tool. Its a key to unlock a certain door in the heart of man.
What’s the story behind your current music project?
Manifesto… the word itself is heavy. In these times the air is thick with noise an with static and with the voices that seek to confuse and divide. A man can lose his footing and forget his true north. This album is my attempt to plant a flag in the ground making a declaration of what is real and what is eternal. It is my personal testament. Each song is a chapter in that declaration. A reasoning for our lost brotherhood in “Brothers”, a righteous fire against the falsehoods of “Babylon News” and a deep meditation on the “One Law” that governs all things. It is a journey from acknowledging the “Red Ink” of history to finding the strength to “Smile in the Storm”. It is not just an album to be heard, but a vibration to be felt and a reminder of the foundation when the ground is shaking.
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music before?
You could say the sound is roots reggae and that would be true. The one drop sound is the heartbeat, the bass is the foundation. But it is more than that. It is the sound of a conversation. It is the sound of Kingston meeting India in “Manifest”, the sound of the souls cry in a New York City blues tune. I would tell them it is music that seeks to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. It is a vibration I create to stir the soul… not just move the feet. It is heavy because the truth is heavy. But it is also hopeful because Jah light is within us all.
What is one thing you’ve learned that completely changed the way you make music?
The realization that silence is the most important instrument of all. For a long time I thought music was about filling a space with sound and notes and words. But the real power is in the space between the notes. The moment the snare hits and the echo fades & the moment the bassline breathes… in that silence that is where the meditation happens. That is where the listener finds themselves. Learning to serve this silence is to respect the space. That changed everything for me. It turned the music from a statement into a conversation with the soul.
What tools, instruments, or software are essential in your creative process?
The true instrument is the vessel. The body, the heart, the mind… they must be tuned to receive the frequency. Without that the finest guitar or the most expensive microphone is just wood and wire. But once the channel is clear then the tools become a joy. The warmth of a drum and bass, the way they lock together like old friends… that is essential. The human breath passing through a horn carrying all the joy and sorrow of our ancestors. The rest is just color for the painting.
Which indie artist or song are you loving right now?
In this time the air is full of so much noise. So many sounds. So for I, listening is a meditation. It is a search for the true vibration, the sound that carries a weight, a message that feeds the soul.
Firstly, I must speak on the works of a sister named Angelica Mava. Her sound is a healing. For a long time the sound of reggae has been the lions roar, a necessary fire against Babylon. But creation is a balance. We need the cool water as much as we need the fire. Her voice is that water. It carries a certain grace and wisdom that brings a calm to the spirit. It is a reminder that we need lullabies as much as we need anthems. The strength of the empress is a quiet strength and her vibration is essential for the music to be whole. Nuff respect to her works.
Then my heart is moved by the vibration coming from some of dem youths in Italy, a group called Mellow Mood. It is a beautiful reasoning, seen? It is the proof that reggae is not a location but a frequency. It is a message that knows no borders or no oceans. This seed that was planted in Jamaica has grown into a mighty tree with branches that reach all over the world and this band is a fruit of that tree. They have received the message in their own hearts and are now sending it back out with their own spirit. Their riddims are heavy and basslines are true, and their lyrics are conscious. When I hear their music, it gives I great hope. It shows that the truth in this vibration is universal and it can find a home in any soul that is open to it.
How have your personal experiences influenced your music and artistic vision?
A man cannot sing about a storm if he has never felt the rain. My music is a testimony. It is the diary of my souls journey through this modern Babylon. The songs of struggle come from my own struggles. The songs of hope come from the glimmers of light I have been blessed to witness. “Brothers” is born from the pain of seeing division among my own family as well as the nations in the world. “Smile in the Storm” is a prayer I have had to sing to myself in my darkest hours. The vision is not to tell my story, but to tell a universal story through my experience. That when someone listening can see their own reflection in the words and know they are not walking this path alone.
What emotions or messages do you hope listeners take from your work?
I dont hope they take a message from it. I hope they find a message in it. I hope the riddims stir a memory of their own strength. I hope the words give voice to a feeling they couldnt name. I hope a song like “Red Ink” makes them question, and a song like “Smile in the Storm” gives them comfort. The ultimate message is one of connection. To Jah, to each other, and to the truth that resides within their own heart. If the music can be a key to unlock that inner knowing then the work is done.
What’s the most important lesson music has taught you so far?
That a single vibration can change the world. Not always in a grand revolutionary way, but in a small internal way that is just as powerful. It has taught me that a song can travel across oceans and walls, and enter the heart of someone you will never meet, and give them a moment of peace, or strength, or understanding. I have received hundreds of messages from around the world regarding my song “Paradise” and how it has comforted people. But yeah music has taught me that it is a form of prayer. And in this time of great noise I say conscious vibration is a revolutionary act.
What is a dream venue or festival you would love to perform at?
To bring this music to a stage like Rototom Sunsplash or Summerjam would be massive!! Those festivals are more than just concerts. They are global gatherings of the reggae family. To feel the energy of that many people, all connected by the same vibration of peace and love, and to share the message of Manifesto in that setting… that would be a powerful moment of communion.
If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be and why?
To reason with an elder like Bob Marley would be a gift beyond measure. To understand the spiritual discipline it took to carry such a heavy message with such grace. His burden was immense yet his music was a light. To understand that type of chemistry… that would be a true lesson.
Where can our listeners follow and support your music?
Bless up for asking! The best way to support is to listen and connect to the message. All my links can be found here:
Looking toward the future, what’s your dream for the next chapter of your musical journey?
The dream is a simple one, but a deep one. An album is a seed planted in the earth. The dream for the next chapter is to see that seed grow into a tree that can give shelter. The journey so far has been about crafting the message and about tuning the frequency in the quiet of the studio. The next chapter must be about carrying that vibration to the people, in person.
My dream is to stand on a stage, under the moon or the sun, and feel the bassline connect not just with my own bones, but with the bones of a thousand souls standing together. Its to see the faces of people from all walks of life and all nations, singing the words to “Brothers” or “Rise Up” and right in that moment making those words a reality. The dream is to transform the music from a recording into a living and breathing ceremony of unity. The journey is from the studio to the sanctuary and the sanctuary is wherever the people gather in the name of truth and sound.
What do you hope listeners will discover about you along the way?
Truly I say to you I hope what they discover about “Ras Dave” is not as important as what they discover about themselves. I am not the destination. I am just a vessel, really. Just a servant of the vibration.
If they must discover something about me I hope it is this… that I am a man who is also walking this journey, wrestling with these same questions and searching for this same light. I hope they discover that my voice is not coming from a mountaintop but from right beside them on the path. I hope they see the cracks in my voice and know that I too have felt the storm. I hope they hear the fire in my belly and know that my anger at injustice is their anger.
Ultimately? I hope they discover that I am just a reflection. The real strength, the real manifesto, the real power to smile in the storm… that is, and always has been, inside of them. My work is only to provide a riddim for that discovery.
If you want here you can add a representative Youtube video to insert below the interview 🙂
