About me:
THE EARLY YEARS (1983-1995)
In 1983, at the age of 13, daddy Radics fell in love with Caribbean music, listening to the few private radio stations that broadcasted Congolese soukous and reggae music. As a member of a local youth movement, there was no shortage of people to lend him records. From endless stacks of vinyl he compiled tape after tape and played them till they broke.
When in 1985 that same youth movement camped in the woods near Geel-Bel, it was the vibes from the nearby Festival (Reggae Geel!) that consecrated that first love. Daddy Radics had caught a musical virus from which he'd never recover! Acquiring his first drum kit a few years later, he started to experimented with various musical styles.
In the early nineties drummer daddy Radics and bass player Ricky teamed up to form a partnership in reggae-riddims. The same period marks the beginning of a long search for skilled and dedicated reggae musicians to join them in their search for the perfect rootsy sound. Various singers and players of instruments came and went. Meanwhile, daddy Radics developed his own unique style, unearthing the tricks of the trade in the vaults of Studio One.
In 1995 daddy Radics, Ricky and the lovely and wicked guitar player Rico backed singer,
King Flashman (Ras Feel) at the Hove Live festival and opened for the legendary
Skatalites. No more than a year later however, the band ran out of energy and decided to quit.
THE CALABASH YEARS (1996-2006)
In 1996 Radics met guitar player Pawel. His vibes and enthusiasm convinced the original rhythm section to give it another shot. A year later they were joined by keyboard player Oli and singer Erick Judah, two pioneers of the Antwerp reggae scene and called themselves
calabash. With additional keyboard player, Nordine, they succeeded in creating their own style and unique sound.
In 2002 concerts at various summer festivals won them a warm place in the hearts of reggae-minded Belgians. With the multitalented Peter (‘Double P’), replacing Nordine on the keyboards, calabash earned themselves a faithful following and an impeccable reputation as a backing band for singers like Rojah Lao and DJ Raggamuffin' Whiteman.
In 2003 calabash performed to rave reviews at the 25th Reggae Festival of Geel, when a selection of Belgian artists were selected to open the festival. At the end of this hectic year guitar player Rico put the solos and picking into calabash. His rich musical experience added to the solid sound and good reputation of calabash as a backing band.
Over the next years with calabash daddy Radics played at several Belgian reggae events, opening for international acts such as
Linton Kwesi Johnson, Cecile, Max Romeo, the Ethiopians and
Eek-a-Mouse.
He also collaborated with many Belgian and Jamaican vocalists, such as Erick Judah (Belgium’s reggae-voice n°1), Omar Perry, Rohan Lee, Raggamuffin’ Whiteman, Ragga Yves, Lion I, Rojah Lao, R.O.C., Factor X, Mika, 3T and Yosa ‘Lion’ .
In 2006 daddy Radics worked with
Omar Perry (nuff respect!) and did some fine, 100% Jamaican reggae shows, but at the end of that summer he decided to quit calabash. It was time for some fresh air and time to rekindle the flames of that old love!
CONGOLESE RUMBA (2005-...)
In 2005 daddy Radics also rediscovered his old love for Cuban and African music and teamed up with calabash bass player Ricky and guitar player Rico in
Village Folk Bayaka, a Congolese show orchestra lead by bass player extraordinaire Modeste Kasongo.
Later that year daddy Radics and Rico met singers like Niko Kifu, Cadèt and animateur 'Anonyme' in Holland and extremely gifted musicians such as Augisto Nzingi (bass player ex-Koffi Olomidé) en former Papa Wemba guitar player Miloson, showed them all the tricks of the trade of Congolese rumba. (They gave Radics a new name:
"Wim8600baguettes")
Early 2007 found Wim8600Bgttes and Rico doing some mouth-watering gigs with
Banalux and the special flavour that the two white guys bring to their Congolese sound soon became the talk of the town. Antwerp-based guitar player Nic Nkanu (ex-Echos Des As) and singer/bass player 'Seigneur' Dieudonnée (ex-Wenge El Paris) invited them over for
ZIGGYNAMPO, half Dutch-based, half Antwerp-based and 100% pure Congolese vibes!
FREELANCE DRUMMER (2007-...)
Meanwhile daddy Radics also helped out the Antwerp reggae outfit
RootsTrainRockers (with Yosa ‘Lion’ on vocals – big respect!) for a few concerts and daddy was behind the drums when they performed at both Sfinks Mundial and Sfinks Festival, two major dates on the calendar of Belgium’s roots and world music scene.
Around the same time daddy Radics also ducked into the studio to lay down the drums and percussion tracks for a new cd by
Rohan Lee. With bass player
aLion providing all the right vibes, Roni (Mighty Pirates) on guitar and former calabash keyboard player
Double P, daddy Radics recorded a whole set of new riddims, fresh from Jamaica. The release of this cd is planned for 2008.
Enjoying his work as a freelance drummer daddy Radics also got to work with
Mika & The General Dub Progress, collaborating with Jean-Paul Izizaw on bass, keyboard-player Faman (Panache Culture) and the wonderful Stephane Lakhal (Panache Culture) on guitar. For this project daddy Radics was happy to team up again with former Omar Perry guitar magician Andrès Lopes, this time working as a sound engineer.
(BV)
2008: “LOGISTICS, ASHAM & A SMILE”
Logistics, logistics and damn logistics again put an end to the most promising collaboration with the Congolose orchestra Ziggynampo. My love for Congolese rumba and sébènes will live on forever in the heart of my music, in the music of my heart, especially now that I’ve had the chance to experience those vibes up close, first hand and personal. But then there was logistics, logistics and damn logistics again!
But life goes on and found me returning to my first musical passion: the sweet riddims of reggae. And guess what, I finally stumbled upon just the right musicians to fulfil my ultimate reggae music dream: to establish a new, solid-rocking, highly dependable and super soulful reggae backing band!
Check out:
www.myspace.com/ashamband
So what else was new? Well, most time and energy went into the preparation and rehearsals for
Tribute to Dennis Brown, a heartfelt celebration and commemoration of one of Jamaica’s greatest stars. Next year it will be ten years already since he passed away, so with my Asham brothers I ducked into the Ebony Recording studio in Antwerp to lay down some Dennis Brown tracks. We got
Yosa ‘Lion’ and
Erick Judah to sing and I just can’t wait for that demo cd to be released early 2009!
I also did an amazing recording session with
'Johnny den Artiest', a very funny lyricist living in Antwerp who injected some humour into the reggae- vibes inna Belgium and did this with a lot of style and great taste! With its typical 'Antwerp patois' this project definitely was something else for me! But Johnny was really riding the riddims with the right flow and we had some pure quality time there, so make room for Antwerp’s rising reggae star! Nuff love and respect to...King Johnny!
So what will 2009 have in store? Well, for one thing I’ll be out there backing up Rohan Lee, Yosa ‘Lion’ (Tribute to Dennis Brown) Erick Judah, King Johnny and... Big things agwaan!
... but remember, go out and give something of yourself today… start with a smile… and the rest will easy after that! Nowadays, we need this more and more!!!
Nuff love to ya all!
Radics
“Incessantly struck by the way all good music is in some way related,
I seek inspiration almost everywhere.”
(Wim8600Bgttes - aka Daddy Radics)
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