4th World Ready For The World

With two great performances at the recently concluded 20th aniversary of St. Lucia Jazz 2011, and the release of its highly anticipated debut album, Can't Stop Us, 4th World is now available for national, regional and international bookings.

For engagements please contact:
Jako Productions by Phone
(758-712-8024) and / or by email (info@jakoproductions.com).
To facilitate the process attached is 4th World's updated press kit.

For more information on 4th World
and Jako Productions, Please visit:
http://www.jakoproductions.com,
http://www.reverbnation.com/label/jakoproductions,

http://www.twitter.com/jakoproductions,

http://www.facebook.com/jakoproductions,


To watch 4th World music videos or
their live performances, please visit:
http://www.youtube.com/jakoproductions.

To listen to or buy 4th World's music
(downloads or physical album) please visit:
http://cdbaby.com/cd/4thworld

 

4th World set to release debut album in anticipation of Saint Lucia Jazz 2011

We are pleased to announce the soon to be released 4th World, 14 track debut album, titled Can't Stop Us. Below is the accompanying album preview and information.

In St. Lucia the CDs will be available for purchase at Sunshine Bookshop outlets, Book Salon on Jeremy Street, Castries, the Corner Store at Rex St. Lucia, gift shops at Ladera Resort and Coconut Bay Resort and Spa, and online stores for individual track or full album downloads or for purchasing the physical album.

Watch out for 4th World at Jazz On The Beach (Sunday, May 1, 12PM at Reduit Beach) and at Pigeon Island (Sunday, May 8, 12PM at Pigeon Island Park)

We would like to thank all those who have made the album possible and have helped in the progress and development of 4th World, and also those who helped with our trip to perform at the Montreal International Reggae Festival August last year.

So special thanks to Waddy Francis and Ladera Resort; Matthew Hartmann and Cap Maison; Coconut Bay Resort; Tequila Joe; Benson Evans; Adam Evans; Adam Gillmor; Remy Avril of Avril Designs; Brian Jones Francis; Carleen Jules; Burt Collymore; Andrew "Yardie" Haynes of Hotness International; Julian St. Rose; Kena of Heritage Grill and Old Plantation Yard; Dr. Kenny Anthony; Vieux Fort South District Rep; The Southern Taxi Association; Priestley Louison of La Place Salaison; Omar Davis of Caribbean YouthFest; Conrad “Jay” Small of Small Woodwork and Carpentry; Samuel Brice of Shernell’s Food Services; Wilson Jn Baptiste of Gems of St. Lucia; Hilary Saltibus; Clarita "Nola" Flavius; Tedburt Theobalds of Sapphire Restaurant and Bar; Stathan “Tafari” Simon; Shomari Maxwell of the Tropix Band; Ron Louis of the Extra Love Band; SEQUA; and the St. Lucian media (RSL, HTS, Helen 100, DBS, Choice, NTN, The Wave, HotFM, Radio Caribbean, Victor Marquis and The Voice, and Guy Ellis and The Mirror.

Together we are building a better St. Lucia.

To listen to some of the tracks and/or watch 4th World's videos, please visit:
http://www.reverbnation.com/4thWorldvibes, 

http://www.jakoproductions.com/4thworld 

http://www.youtube.com/jakoproductions.

To keep abreast of 4th World and Jako Production activities, please continue to visit: http://www.reverbnation.com/label/jakoproductions, 

http://www.twitter.com/jakoproductions, 

http://www.facebook.com/jakoproductions, 

http://the4thworldband.blogspot.com.

4th World Releases Taking Blows

(the track will be posted at a later date for you to hear. In the meantime listen to our tracks from the player top right of this page)

4th World, the reggae band from Vieux Fort, who in early August thrilled us with their debut single, Reggae Party, and who, based on many accounts, was the highlight of the recently concluded Montreal 2010 International Reggae Festival, has announced the release of their second song, Taking Blows.

Unlike Reggae Party, which was enticing us to rock away the night, cause “reggae make you feel alright, so whine if you want to, grind if you want to,” Taking Blows is a defiant  freedom song,  dedicated  to  “all my fallen soldiers,  and to my Freedom Fighters on the battle field.” 

The song goes on to say: “I’ve been shot and brutalized, accused and victimized; I’ve been locked up in jail and criminalized; I’ve been betrayed, beaten, and crucified; I’ve been sold at a price just because of my pride; I’ve been taking blows, licking wounds and making foes; and sometimes I loose my life; they burry me, but still I rise; still I rise; still I rise; still I rise;” 

With such lyrics one  cannot help but summon the atrocities of slavery, colonization, and imperialism; the persecutions and prejudices rastafarians face in the system; the struggles and sacrifices that most artists  have to endure. And  one cannot help but conjure images of Freedom Fighters as Jesus Christ, Martin Luther King, Malcom X, Che Guevara , George Odlum, Nelson Mandela, and Mahatma Gandhi.

However, lyrics aside, in Taking Blows, using only guitar and congas, Cold Sweat, the composer and lead singer of the song, who perhaps possesses the best voice in World Reggae,  brings us a powerfully emotional tune reminiscent of the music of Stacy Chapman and Bob Marley’s Redemption Song. Taking Blows  conjures  images of defiant groups of Africans or Rastafarians around camp fires chanting and beating drums.

4th World releases Now She is Gone

With the release of its  third single, Now She is Gone, 4th World who made a big splash at the Montreal 2010 International Reggae Festival and who has promised fans a debut album early next year, seems right on track to delivering on that promise. In fact, according to band members, besides Now She is Gone, the band has three other songs (Can’t Stop Us, Stereo, and Jah Puppet) that are ready for release.

This new release, Now She is Gone, was composed and sang by Sylvester “Itoobaa” Peter, who, almost a decade ago, brought us  Freedom, which is still considered the best reggae album produced in St. Lucia, and the greatest musical endeavor to come out of Vieux Fort.

Apparently, within the warm embrace of 4th World,  Itoobaa has found new and great inspiration, because Now She is Gone has the blues flavor of a B.B. King composition and would be right at home in a Rhythm and Blues Festival, or a southern USA cotton belt bar, yet it is roots reggae going back all the way to Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer, and Burning Spear. Still, this fusion of blues and reggae, has given rise to a  reggae track the likes of which have not been heard before.

That Now She is Gone is destined to be a hit, should come as no surprise to those familiar with Itoobaa’s work, for Freedom (whose video is playing on Tempo), the title tract of the Freedom album, remains one of the greatest reggae hits of the Eastern Caribbean, and more recently, Black Cinderella (whose video is also playing on Tempo), written and arranged by Itoobaa for  Brandon Harding,  has become one of St. Lucia’s biggest reggae hits in recent years.

In Now She is Gone, an inconsolable Itoobaa sings the blues. His voice is raw, harsh, soulful, yet richly layered. Why is he singing the blues? Well, because the one in whom  “I have found exactly what I need, … is gone, yet my love still lives on.. though my heart is torn, for me she is the only one… If you could put yourself in my shoes,” he explains,  “then you would know why I’m singing the blues.” 

This is vintage Itoobaa, this is art in its most uncompromising fashion. This is music that has to be heard, and to make sure of that 4th World will be having a single release Party at 9PM Thursday, December 16 at Tequila Joe’s Restaurant and Bar in Rodney. The band is extending invitations to the media and fans alike.

If the rest of the songs on the album 4th World has promised to release early next year  are as good as Now She is Gone and the previous two releases (Reggae Party and Taking Blows), then 4th World’s debut album may well eclipse Itoobaa’s Freedom album.

4th World releases (5th single) Stereotype

4th World, the St. Lucian reggae band that rocked the crowd at the 2010 Montreal International Reggae Festival, and who has announced its tour of the Northeastern USA soon after its  participation in St. Lucia Jazz 2011, has released its 5th single, Stereotype, from its debut album, Can’t Stop Us, to be launched March of this year.

The strength, originality and prolificacy  of 4th World rest in the fact that it has three lead singers all of whom double as songwriters  and instrument players. In previous 4th World releases, we heard from Nijah “Cold Sweat” St. Catherine (Reggae Party, Taking Blows,  and  Can’t Stop Us), and from Sylvester “Itoobaa” Peter (Now She is Gone), now with the release of Stereotype we are hearing from the third leg of 4th World lead singers and songwriters--Darrel “Frenchy” Augier. Employing the full force of nature-- wind, thunder, lightning, fire and water—the lyrics and music in Stereotype come down with elemental force. And like the other 4th World releases, Stereotype is edgy, irresistible, revolutionary   in arrangement and lyrics, yet it is as true to roots reggae as the music of Bob Marley and Peter Tosh.   

What a treat, what a thrill to listen to 4th World; What variety of music and voices. There is Cold Sweat, the vocal maestro, who some say possesses one of the best voices in world reggae. There is the veteran, Itoobaa, the man whose rustic and unyielding voice conjure all the great reggae artists of old, and who has a knack of combining reggae with blues and  jazz to come up with international hits like Freedom. And then there is Frenchy, a man apart, whose originality in voice, lyrics and arrangement takes one’s breath away.
To listen to single releases from Can’t Stop Us, 4th World soon to launched debut album, please visit http://www.reverbnation4thWorldvibes.com, and for more information on 4th World, such as the Making of 4th World, please visit:http://scrnch.me/making-of-4th-world  

JACKO PRODUCTIONS

The Making of 4th World - In the Beginning

4th World hails from Vieux Fort, a town at the southernmost tip of St. Lucia, long regarded as the hotbed of St. Lucian reggae. At its core 4th World is a conscious reggae band, but even so the band has no reservations about fusing roots reggae with dancehall, hip-hop and R&B. In fact, the band interprets its sound as the blending of the creative energies of its members. This openness towards music along with the fact that three of 4th World's instrument players take turns serving as the band's song writer and lead vocalist, has enabled the band to create and perform a wide variety of reggae music; some songs remaining true to the music of Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, some veering towards dancehall and Hip-Hop, others serving heavy doses of R&B, Blues and Jazz.

4th World is led by Nijah "Cold Sweat" St. Catherine (vocals and keyboards) who has over forty recordings under his belt and whose deep, husky voice is considered one of the best voices in world reggae. There is Darrel "Frenchy" Augier (vocals and rhythm guitar) who, singing in a high pitched and passionate voice, is gaining a reputation for composing compelling and captivating songs that are all his own and as such he is an original artist to keep an eye on. The veteran of the band, Sylvester "Itoobaa" Peter (vocals and bass), 2001 album (Freedom) is considered the best reggae album produced in St. Lucia. On lead guitar is Marlon "Bad Kali" Florent, who makes the guitar cry and fills in all the empty spaces of the band. He provides the glue that binds the music together and the spice that gives the band its special flavour. On drums is the energetic Al Prescott, the youngest and newest member of the band, who, coming from a long line of percussion musicians, keeps the band energized and ever ready.

A question many people ask is how did 4th World get its name? or what's behind the name? Itoobaa explains that long before 4th World was formed, in impromptu fashion him and Cold Sweat would be on the block playing guitar and singing, sometimes composing songs on the fly. In fact, many of the songs they have since recorded were first tested in the crucible of those spontaneous gatherings. During one of those sessions, a friend from the neighborhood walked up to them and said, "You all are the 4th World  Band, man!" At the time Itoobaa and Cold Sweat thought nothing of it because there were no plans for a band, but after the band got started and they had to come up with a name, the first name that popped up was 4th World. They brainstormed for a different name, but none of the other names they came up with seemed to fit the band as well as 4th World. So the name stuck.

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