“We cycled this years Rototom Sunsplash’s Love edition for you!”
Ooooh no, don’t be sad it’s over, rather take the love spread during this years special edition of the Rototom Sunsplash European Reggae Festival to your day-to-day life. Love will help you achieve things, go through bad times and truly enjoy good ones. Don’t believe me?
Well, if anything, then it was love that brought this Reggae Festival on at all. Twenty years ago. In his own words, the President of the Rototom Sunsplash, Filippo Giunta, describes the realisation of the idea of having a reggae festival by applying the principle of “having acted contrary to and disobeyed the fundamental rule of business: to separate work and affection”.
This testimony comes on the closing night of the 20th edition of the biggest European Reggae Festival and just before Damian Marley’s exclusive European stint and, simultaneously, his first ever performance in Spain.
Love of Reggae music united the 240.000 visitors -breaking last years record- of all kinds of countries and nationalities from August 17th till 24th and took important Jamaican living legends of the general umbrella of this genre and great influencers thereof, right into Benicàssim, Spain.
Could there possibly be better proof to this than having the Originator U-Roy himself on Rototom’s mainstage?Immediately the revolutionising deejay 1971 version of “The Tide is High” comes to one’s mind but it is not until five nights later that we hear that tune live. Why?
Respect. The man himself who’s put the words to the song and who first recorded it with his band The Paragons back in 1967, John Holt, performs the song live on the following Friday night. And, honestly, the classic “♫ I’m not the kind of man who gives up just like that, ooh no! ♫” lets any ladies’ heart melt.
Affection and special moments are shared at Rototom. Third World celebrated their 40th anniversary with a concert on the festival’s opening night of August 17th neither forgetting to salute Marcus Garvey for his birthday.
Childhood friends Cecil “Skelly” Spence and Lascelle “Wiss” Bulgin of Israel Vibrations spread magic during an unforgetable evening, filling our hearts with more love.
Protoje energised the stage with his band the Indiggnation and, in addition, a good week after his incredible performance at Rototom we truly feel that he makes “Music from [his] Heart (original: “Music from My Heart”)” indeed as he shares his latest album “The 8 Year Affair” as a free download.
Preceeding the vibrant performance of the Skatalites on stage, no one else but the founding member of the Skatalites himself, Lester Sterling, intimately shares -after the world premiere of Brad Klein’s documentary “Legends of Ska” screened at the Reggae University- an anecdote about the formation of the Skatalites back in 1964 with us: Amused, the legendary ska pioneer recalls that “rehearsal at this hotel” (in 1964) when the band suddenly learned about “listen, over 500 people out there”. But it was Lester Sterling himself answering positively to the question at that time, that him and everybody, of course, “remembers their chords”, and which got him the feedback “then put someone at the gate to collect the money”. He smiles and remembers “right there, here come the Skatalites”.
That evening in August of 2013, the Skatalites would come again, this time knowing they would perform before a huge crowd rather than being under the impression they’re there just for another rehearsal.
And remember our last years special discovery of Ras Araya and his association Abisinios helping children with physical or mental disability in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia? Well, we were utterly pleased finding that our colleagues from the Spanish national television TVE spotted him at the festival this year and the story about his association has been featured on the newsnight edition of August 20, 2013 and, additionally, on the TVE 24 hours news channel, reaching a far wider international audience. Of course, we’ve covered the Rasta Seminar held on “The Development of the Centre in Bahar Dar, Ethopia” for you and you’ll soon be able to find out more about its developments right here.
So, give thanks to all of the above, fill your heart & stay tuned!
More love,
ilo, xx
Written by: Ilona (iK, x)
