RM: Living In The Positive is the first new album released under the Higher Love label. Why did you make the switch to Higher Love?

Nasio: Well, I mean, life is all about growing, you know? See the trees out there, they grow. Everybody grow. So when you’re in a position where you not gonna grow, you have to stop and restart, y’know? If you’re walking on a trail and you don’t know where you are – you getting lost, you don’t know where you’re at – you have to walk back to the trail, reroute! So we realize, to represent the music, since we write it and produce it, we would have to find a machine to represent the music. People to work and represent the music. And we want to – because this had been detrimental to many artists – we make the music, but we don’t control it to the point where we should do the business part of it. So Higher Love is something we put together to represent the music. So Nasio build something to represent the music. And that is a great achievement too. Because in the future, we can look at youths and say, dem can knock on the door when dem ready and say “well, well boy, there is a door we can knock on.” Like Marcus Garvey say, we build a foundation for the future.

RM: How is Living In The Positive different from your previous albums?

Nasio: Living In The Positive is an album where. . . I’ve always wanted to get the music to a state where mi could use live drums and live horn sections. ‘Cause when mi listen to my elders – some who are here with us and some who are gone to the ancestors – these are the techniques they used. Dem use live drums and live horns and live percussion. But right now we living in the machine world, y’know? And it’s all good, but we have to balance things, y’know? So I think Living In The Positive is a great album to the sense where you can hear live horns and everybody saw “yow, mi love the live horns pon di album.” And live drums. And I did the percussion myself, most of it. And we bring the music to a point where it can be pleasant to the ears when the human listen to it. Because instrument must be played by man, and if the instrument can be played by man, more feeling can be related through it. So, I think in that way, that’s what makes Living In The Positive different as an album.

RM: OK, know this is a difficult question to ask an artist with a new album, but do you personally have any tunes on Living In The Positive where you would either call your favourite or say has a special meaning to you?

Nasio: [laughs]. Milo, I’ll be honest with you: Every time I do recording, mi brethren, I never have a favourite song. Because, if I listen to, you know, “Black and Comely,” “Blacka Man” [Where We Belong]" – Mi listen to them a little deeper, y’know? But for me, me just do the album and let the people have dem favourites. But for me, from an honest point of view, I’ve never looked at it from that point, myself. If I put on Living In The Positive right now to listen to it, there is not one song that I would jump to, and say “boy, this is my favourite.” I don’t really have it like that.

RM: Earlier this year you performed at Rebel Salute. As far as I know, that was your first major performance in Jamaica. How was the response, and how did it feel to be doing a major performance in the birthplace of Reggae?

Nasio: Oh my brethren! This for me – I will describe it, but I will tell you before I describe it that there are no words to describe it. Y’know, growing up, and doing my best to achieve what I have achieved so far, I’ve always said to myself that I’m looking forward one of these days to going to Jamaica. Then I went there to record, and I said the next step would be to perform in Jamaica, y’know? In the hardcore Reggae market, y’know? Where the music was born. Performing at Rebel Salute and even earlier, in Trenchtown, was a mighty, mighty experience. I felt at home, number one, and I felt like it was an honour to be among all these great and mighty artists that I’ve read about and listened to their music, and really loved. To stand up backstage next to Culture and Ken Boothe and Dwight Pinkney and all dem brothers. . . It was a mighty honor to be there and perform for the people and hear the people say “g’waan Nasio!” and raise flags and banners and stuff. It was a mighty honour. It was. . . mi can’t even express it in words! I will always remember that for as long as I live, you know?

RM: Do you have any future plans to perform in Jamaica?

Nasio: Yeah. Parts of our crew is down there, and we talking about some shows in the future. Because the feedback has been good on radio and television and from the people themselves. So really, Jamaica is a place I’m looking forward to really doing some good work, to going back and forth year after year, y’know? Because this is the Reggae world, this is the Reggae market. This is where Reggae born. So it’s important that you not only perform, but stay in touch with the reality, y’know?

RM: OK, you mentioned that Jamaica is the birthplace of Reggae. Now you’ve been performing for a number of years now. From a strictly business perspective, do you think that you’ve been hampered by the fact that you’re not originally from Jamaica? You think some people look at you and say “ah who a dis Dominican ya so?”

Nasio: Well, people have their suggestions and people have their ideas. I don’t think that no man can be hampered by anything they don’t want to be hampered by. Seen? I just see that if there are certain things that must be done or should be done for an artist – be it by his people representing him or himself – to market him in a certain market, and they don’t do it, then you don’t call that being hampered by or not being loved by such and such a people, y’know? I think that people should just market themselves towards certain places that they want to be established in. So, I don’t see it! Because I have a whole heap of Jamaican people who just love me and just love the music. So I wouldn’t really divide things that way. I would more want to bring it together and say “this is reggae music.” So even if you from here or from there you can love it and accept it, y’know? And it can benefit you same way.

RM: Your very first song – the first one that I’m aware of – was “Born To Be Free. . .”

Nasio: [laughs] You goin way back!

RM: Yeah. “Born To Be Free” was about Apartheid. A lot of the older artists from that golden era of Reggae used to sing about those sorts of global issues. And I find that a lot of the newer artists don’t tackle those sorts of issues. . .

Nasio: Many are called, few are chosen man. Milo, this is the situation: When I first start do music, when I first start to get inspired. Sitting on the beach late at night and smokin’ herb. . . my two best friends is my herb and my acoustic guitar. And Jah is my greatest friend. The inspiration was always the feeling that this is not music. This is more than music. This is a liberation process! This is a revolution. Some people can sing about blue skies and butterflies and greed meadows. Well, we don’t have that where we come from. What we have is issues. We have social and political issues. We have oppression issues. We have suppression and downpression and all other kinda ‘pression. Our people being indoctrinated and suppressed for so many years. Slavery, and all of that. Tru some people don’t wanna talk about it. So when the music come about, and we write it, it must represent that. Seen?

Some people choose to, um, deal with the market. But I say: The market is the people! Because when I go to the market to buy stuff, who I see? The people! So the music must represent these issues and bring it out to the people. Like, for instance: It’s through music I learned that there is a problem in Zimbabwe. And that we need to take down these intruders and that I an I people must control I an I turf! And that don’t call for racism or segregation or anything like that. It jut calls for equal rights and justice. So, I mean, more artists need to think about these issues, because that is what Jah give I an I strength for as Rastafari. To bring forth the issues out in the open. And let the people have it – through music! Not through political wars and strife, through music. And you can recognize it in your bedroom, and recognize it in your car, and you can say “wow. That is really an issue.” And you can even learn and say “oh! Mi never know these things happen!”

So, “Born to Be Free” was a song where we saw the Apartheid and we realized that we were the ones who were taken away from Africa for all these years. And we will be the ones, like Marcus Garvey say, we will be the ones to free Africa! So this is I an I contribution. And more Reggae musicians need to talk about more issues. We can’t shy away from issues. We mustn’t shy away from the liberation process. What’s going on, what we need to do, and what must not be done, y’know?

RM: You talk about how the people were displaced from Africa. Now, I know you mother is a Carib, and unfortunately the Caribs weren’t so much displaced as they were eradicated in large numbers by the colonizers. How is your Carib ancestry also informing your music?

Nasio: Well, here in Dominica, we’re 2,000 strong, y’know? And I man have to give thanks that these people have maintained the culture and the livity for so long, under so much oppression. Oppression from the colonizer, and oppression from those who are influenced by the colonizer. And that is the worst oppression. But the Carib people can never die, man. The Carib people are the people who defended the Caribbean. They are the ones who defended Dominica in particular. And everyone can know. Even the historian can know that they were the ones who fought against all the colonizers. We know that from I an I history. And I know that personally from my mother! And my mother got it from her mother’s mother’s great grandmother! We defeated the British regiments many times! So the Carib is a spirit. It don’t die. It’s not gonna go away. And right now, 90somethng percent of Dominicans have Carib blood inna dem. One way or another. So we looking forward to doing more things for the Kalinago people. ‘Cause we go farther than saying “Carib,” pertaining to Dominica. We say “Kalinago,” which represent the whole thing – Central America, and the Amazon and the whole thing, y’know? So, that’s a force mi brethren. That is the indigenous people, the rightful owners, y’know?

RM: Talk a little about your future plans. Beyond Living In The Positive, and moving forward. What does Nasio have planned for the future, musically?

Nasio: The future. Well, the future is now, y’know? We have a show at BB King’s, New York, with Israel Vibration. This summer, we have a number of festivals in America. Reggae on The River is one of them. And we looking forward to heading to Europe in June. We have a European tour lined up.

RM: What kind of response you getting in Europe?

Nasio: Well, it’s beautiful man! This is what really triggered the whole European tour, y’know? We worked with a little distributor early on, in France, and the music found itself in major mega stores in France. And the sales just started heading out. The people in Europe have been asking me to come to Paris, and come to Holland, and so on. The people have grown a love for the music. And they’re asking us to come forward to play. So I think Europe is gonna be a good place to really grow the vibration amongst the people. Bring some Rastafari teachings to the people. Europe is gonna be good. We definitely looking forward to doing that.

RM: Well, king, I apprecilove the time.

Nasio: Yeah man, well you know the number. So any time you wanna reach me, just call. ‘Cause it’s people like you who make people like us. And it’s people like us who try to make the whole world a better place.