BLASTING AWAY…: The artistes and their animated alter egos, from left Logiq, Jus Bus, and Drastic.
St. John’s Antigua- Justin ‘Jus Bus’ Nation is ‘Blasting Away’. The Antiguan producer-cum-vocalist recently released his first video: a Kenny Frankland-directed/Mark Paterson-animated 2D fantasy in which creative cohorts Logiq Pryce and Drastic Philip, of Them Island Boyz, join him as they chase a dream, plant a seed, and prepare to soar.
A teaser for his CD to be released down the road, neither the song – somewhere between hip and trip hop, nor the video – in which three a troll (Jus Bus), a fawn (Drastic), and a goblin (Logiq) try to escape the world and explore the universe – is your usual Carnival thing, notwithstanding the timing of the release. But that’s the point.
“I want to tap into all the demographics around the world, not just Antigua,” said the artiste, who, as a producer, has always painted outside the lines, blending unlikely genres and creating new mixes, just “doing what feels right (musically)”.
Signed to Torsten Stenzel’s label, he’s been stretching himself even more artistically; “building,” Jus Bus said, “on the talent he found in my voice.”
The video which has been burning up the web, debuted last Friday at the Yard, the after work spot twinned with Chosen Sounds studios, where we first came to know Jus Bus, the producer. There was applause and an encore and online almost universal kudos.
“We’re proud that we’re doing it from here and expressing this kind of talent,” Jus Bus said.
“It’s just so epic,” said Logiq, meanwhile, of Blasting Away. “No one expected anything like this.”
Blasting Away isn’t all Jus Bus is up to this Carnival. His Mango Riddim, co-produced with Adrian ‘Zag’ Zagoritis and Xantone Blacq, has attracted a wide range of new and old talent; from Chal-i-X featuring Xantone Blacq doing ‘Mango Jam’ to Mack Truck ‘Holding it Down’, Drastic’s ‘Sing me ah melody’, Kenne Blessin’s ‘Gold Digga’, Promise’s ‘Conga Number 9’ to what’s likely to be the most popular release on the rhythm Ricardo Drue and Swallow’s reboot of the latter’s 1983 hit ‘Party in Space’.
“Swallow went in like a champion, did it, and left,” Jus Bus said. “I am blessed that I could experience a part of history in the making.” He’s excited to be bringing the track to a younger audience and bringing feel good music to the people.
“I’ve always wanted to bridge old and young,” Jus Bus said.
Speaking of young, Jus Bus, Logiq, Drue, and Drastic have, also this summer, been working with a group of youngsters, participants in a music camp, part of the Swalings Playlist camping experience. They were hands on, breaking the kids up into groups and working them on creating songs in different genres – soca, pop, hip hop – and then performing and video recording said songs with assistance from DJ Who and Sheroma ‘Brass Angel’ Hodge-Philip.
As for his CD, now that he has folks ‘Blasting Away’, anticipation will be high but Jus Bus will not be rushed.
“It’s a process,” he said. “I’m trying to build up momentum…I’m trying to do something so huge that it’s undeniable.”
