Someday in 2015, a collective of seasoned musicians pooled their enormous skills to sort the ATF Band, with the mentioned reason of respiration new existence into the regional and worldwide scene, soon after citing “a void of authenticity and genuine appreciate and respect for the music”. 5 several years later, they are excitedly dropping their really initially EP.
ATF, which, believe that it or not, implies After the Truth, includes Herbie Harris (founder) on keys and vocals Stephen ‘Leeven’ Lee on drums and vocals Courtland ‘Gizmo’ White on guitar and vocals and Lyndon ‘Ace’ Webb on bass and vocals. “We introduced the title track, Yardie, very last calendar year, and it is performing nicely,” Lee shared. “The Jamaican diaspora in the United states of america and the United kingdom received it nicely, and Yardie even made it to the major spot on the reggae charts of The Foundation Radio Media Community.”
The 7-track EP, which will have its formal start online this afternoon, marks a new commencing of sorts for these knowledgeable, highway-considerably-travelled musicians, who, Lee acknowledges, may perhaps be “up in age a little”. But Lee, who in the early times did a good deal of do the job for artistes like Yellowman, U-Roy, Lt Stitchie, Gregory Isaacs and Chakademus, emphasises that new music, and the appreciate thereof, have no age limit. “We’ve been all around a very long time, we appreciate the new music, and we have all been good friends above the several years. ATF obtained its commence by actively playing at a friend’s restaurant just about every Friday. We would engage in tracks that have been hits in the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s. And since we have been actively playing them soon after they have been hits (soon after the actuality), we arrived up with the title ATF for our band,” Lee, who shaped the band Kotch in the ‘80s, along with his uncle, Pablo Stewart, claimed with a chortle.
They subsequently made the decision to concentrate full-time on building their own unit and soon soon after commenced producing original content. Even with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, ATF has solid ahead with their plans. “We have no idea how very long this point [COVID-19] will very last. What we likely to do, sit down and do nothing at all? No! We have to do what we do best and that’s new music. We have also been using this time to rehearse and even commenced a tiny collection on YouTube, ‘ATF Are living in the Rehearsal Room’, which has a really pleasant vibe,” Lee described. Yardie will be dispersed by VPAL New music and is also available on all digital platforms.
Lee, who loved achievements with Kotch with the 1986 hits Jean and Head About Heels, returned to Miami in the late ‘90s, and did do the job with different artistes out of Sonic Sounds. When ex-Kotch member, Harris, informed him that an opening existed for a drummer in ATF, he seized the prospect.
According to his biography on the band’s web page, Herbie Harris’s musical occupation commenced in the early ‘70s, actively playing with the seventh Extension band. He joined Kotch as their keyboard participant in the early ‘90s and also did do the job with Sly & Robbie, actively playing on the strike song, Murder She Wrote. He toured the globe backing Maxi Priest and Freddie McGregor and early in 2000, joined 3rd Globe Band as keyboardist. After a decade, Harris took a split from touring to invest a lot more time in the studio. In 2015, he launched the ATF Band.
White commenced his musical occupation actively playing bass guitar, but later switched to direct guitar. He toured with legendary artistes this sort of as Ini Kamoze, Black Uhuru, The Abyssinians, The seventh Extension Band, and was the direct guitarist for Raging Fyah.
Webb played for some of Jamaica’s early dancehall artistes this sort of as Sean Paul and Tiger before using off for further more education at the College of Audio Engineering (London). On returning to Jamaica, he joined the band GiBby, recognised as the major affect for the option scene on the island. He played bass for prosperous California reggae band, Big Mountain, till asked to guide Leon and The Peoples (New York), with engineering and arrangements.
Considering that its inception in 2015, ATF Band has been executing at clubs, venues, and private features performing a blend of reggae, dancehall, ska, rocksteady, and R&B.