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Meet Singer-Songwriter "Lenny Deneb"

Writer : Caribbean E-Magazine on Monday, March 12, 2012 | 11:41 AM

CEM caught up with legendary singer-songwriter Lenny Deneb of Saint Lucia, where he talks about his passion for music and his life.

 
Who is Lenny Deneb?
Lenny Deneb is a singer-songwriter with a long musical history beginning with roots reggae through to lovers rock and now specializing in a fusion of reggae and rock, which I call reggae-rock, but resides under the conscious umbrella. Throughout my music career I have also taken on other roles such as radio and club disc-jockey pioneering Zouk music in London, managing Britain’s premier zouk band and as a promoter I was involved in promoting Burning Flames and WCK in London and also a music reviewer.

The journey began at age ten when I migrated to England from St. Lucia and therefore my formative years were spent in a difficult environment and foreign culture. The change of environment and culture had a profound influence on my development as a human being, none more so than the need to be structured, focused and target driven in the pursuit of my goals. Sure there were many negatives including the need to deal with and manage the effects of racism; a subject that has figured in some of my songs. However the positives have far outweighed the negatives.

I have always had a love for music and no I did not start by singing in church. As a young man I would often accompany my parents to the West Indian dances with live bands playing ska, reggae, soca, soul, funk and other popular music of the times. Consequently I began hanging out with a number of local musicians and began to learn the keyboards and to gain an understanding of melodies, chord formation, song structure and arrangements.  In my late teens a major family disaster left me at a very low point in my life. As a consequence of this I found myself gravitating towards the local youth club in Mile End, east London, which was affectionately known as ‘Saxon’. There I met other young people who shared my love of music and with encouragement from Stan Emmanuel the then youth leader; I co-founded a reggae band named Cygnus.

In 1978 Cygnus signed to Greensleaves Records (now part of VP Records) and released four singles for the label; three self-penned namely ‘Babylon you got to set Jah children free’, ‘Jahman’ and ‘Thank you for last night’ and a reggae version of the Peter Noone song ‘Silhouettes’, which was also licensed through Barclay Records (France) and included on a compilation album entitled ‘Reggae Jam’.  After parting company with Greensleaves Records, Cygnus then worked with Jamaican producer John Rubie of Freedom Sounds releasing three singles for Rubie of which two were self-penned namely ‘Pressure’, ‘Listen to me’ and a reggae cover of McFadden and Whitehead’s ‘Ain’t no stopping us now’.

As well as touring extensively in the UK, Europe and Scandinavia, Cygnus’ services were also in demand from artist such as John Holt and Errol Dunkley and the band also played support to Tappa Zukie, Jimmy Cliff and The Cimmarons in France, as well as replacing Aswad on a number of dates in Ireland. Cygnus received great reviews from the music press and positive comments from DJ John Peel and David Rodigan. Cygnus was also name-checked by Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols as one of his favourite reggae band of the time.

After the demised of Cygnus in the early 80’s I embarked on a solo career and between 1984 and 1985 I recorded four singles for my own LED Records namely ‘Reggae party’, ‘Mustique girl’, ‘Soldiers’ and ‘Who or what turns you on’ which made record of the week in the Echoes music magazine and also receive a great review in the Caribbean Times newspaper. Recently this song was being sold on EBay as a collector’s record. I later recorded a zouk-soca single for London based Jamaican producer Bill Campbell entitled ‘Shakedown Suzanne’ and I also wrote ‘Standing in the rain’ for Judy Boucher.

The late 80’s and early 90’s were taken up with academic studies in the field of social science, but using the name Zouk Doctor I  was also involved as a club and radio disc-jockey exposing the London public to Burning Flames, WCK and spinning the discs on Kassav, Mav Cacharal and Gazolinn  live concerts.

The late 90’s saw me returning to St. Lucia to reside and set up PCL Studios. Thereafter I released my debut album ‘From the sanctuary’ and spent time nurturing a number of young St. Lucian talents namely PCL Krew and One 2 One. In 2008 at the inaugural St. Lucia Music Award I received a nomination for ‘Producer of the year’ and got signed to a three year management and marketing deal for India and the Middle East by WOA Records. In 2009 I released the single and video ‘Settle the score’, in 2010 on my new label Lateko Records I released my second album the compilation titled ‘Solidarity’ and in 2011 I performed at the Ocean Breeze Music festival in New York.

Of all your accomplishments, which are you most proud of?
I would have to say that whatever the Creator has blessed me with, I am truly thankful. Every accomplishment came with its own joy and pain but I recognized that all has added value to my existence. Life for me is a journey and at different stages of the journey we get to experience different emotions. I feel truly blessed to have been given the opportunities to experience so much joy, but similarly the pain has been much and that’s why it has been said that we should treat joy and pain as two impostors; for the joy we are now experiencing is due to the pain we experienced in the past. Therefore I am equally proud of all my accomplishments.

Your debut album ‘From the sanctuary’, what was the album about?
The ‘sanctuary’ in this case refers to ‘Saxon’ the youth club where my musical journey began. The songs on the album are all about the human condition. The topics range from lost love to domestic and societal violence, racism to lost dreams and social injustice. Basically the songs are the results of my work experience in the social science field with young people, families in crisis and my observations of how society functions. Therefore I guess they are protest songs.



Did you write your own songs?
Having musical influences such as Bob Marley (an artist I had a chance meeting with in 1980), Bruce Springsteen, Lenny Kravitz, Ocean Colour Scene, Peter Tosh, Lucky Dube, Sting and REM, it is inevitable that I have to write my own songs. I learnt very early on that the world don’t care how well you can copy another artist’ song, but rather you are judged on your ability to create and write your own


What importance do you place on the lyrical content of your songs?
As a lyricist I have learnt from wordsmiths that has stretched my intellect and touched the human consciousness. As those who follow my music will tell you; Lenny Deneb does not write party songs, but rather my lyrics are there to provoke your thoughts and hopefully to get you to think about your fellow human being.  Whenever I listen to music the lyrics must be able to keep my interest because that is where the message lies. Therefore lyrical content is very important to me.


Where do you draw inspiration when writing?
The Almighty Father is the source of life and from Him all good things flow. I feel truly blessed to be inspired by Him and to be used as an instrument to write and sing songs that deals with the human condition; because ultimately the songs are calling out to humankind to consider our behaviours and attitudes towards each other.


You lived both in London and St. Lucia. How different are the two when it comes to your music?
This is never an easy question to answer….. However it would be fair to say that recording my type of music is easier in places like Europe and the States because of all that has gone before and the availability of rock influenced musicians are greater.  In my opinion, the Caribbean on the whole has yet to fully realize and appreciates its musical diversity and potential and St. Lucia as part of that whole is at a similar point of development.


Your style of music is reggae & rock. What musician/s inspired you and why?
The foundation of my music draws influences from reggae greats such as Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Lucky Dube. The music and lyrical arrangements of these artists for me are not typically reggae if you understand what I mean. Similarly, the rock influence of Bruce Springsteen (a great story teller), OCS, Lenny Kravitz, The Police, U2 and REM enables me to project the lyrics of my songs in true protest fashion. In addition, because of these songwriters I have had to look further than the surface because my thinking has been disturbed and they have challenged me.


How is today’s music different from back in the days?
Another one of those trick questions…. I have often heard it said that music today is different to times past. However I don’t believe this to be so. My reason is that Bob Marley’s music and lyrics are equally important to today as the times when they were first released. The thing that concerns me is that some artist does not seem to understand that music is a powerful gift given by the Almighty to affect the world and as receivers of this gift we as musicians, songwriters and singers have a responsibility to act in a responsible manner in what we do with this gift. If there is one major difference between the times however it is with the advent of technology the production of music has changed and yes there are pros and cons. Nevertheless old school can inform new school and vice versa if you see what I mean.


Besides your genre of music, what other music do you listen to?
In my collection you will find an eclectic selection of music ranging from Jazz through to reggae, classical, world beat, zouk, soul, gospel and rock. However, whatever I listen to must be uplifting and able to keep my interest.


You worked as freelance music critic with World Beat music magazine specializing in Zouk music. What is Zouk music?
The word zouk means party. Zouk is both a dance and a type of music. The music is a combination of Zairean Soukous and Dominican Cadence and originated out of the French Caribbean. The band Kassav is arguably the biggest proponent of the music. The sensual and energetic dance has roots in Brazilian Lambada and Samba.


You have also worked with a lot of industry big names. Who was your favourite and why?
Again I feel truly blessed to have had the opportunity to meet these people. Every one of them contributed to my development in some way. John Holt showed a lot of patience towards us as a young group and was very humble. I remember Jimmy Cliff as an artist with great stage presence. Errol Dunkley gave a great insight into how to play reggae. The chance meeting with Bob Marley left a lifelong impression on me. He truly believed when he sang “What the use you live big today, tomorrow you buried in a casket”.


Are there any plans for releasing an album?
I am currently working on my third album to be titled ‘Reggae Rocks’. However there is the possibility of a single before the album. In the meantime the last album ‘Solidarity’ and the debut ‘from the sanctuary’ are both available on iTunes, Amazon and CD Baby. In addition your readers can Google Lenny Deneb to discover more information.



What can your fans expect from you in the near future?
If it be the will of the Father I am hoping to do some more live performances. This is something I truly enjoy as it brings me face to face with the people.



What advice would you give to someone who wants to be in the music business?
I would say take time to learn your craft, be focused and definitely learn the business side of the industry.




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