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Easy Swing to Oranje Streetz Musick

Published:Monday | October 29, 2018 | 12:00 AMSade Gardner/Gleaner Writer
Ainsworth 'Mitchie' Williams, manager and curator at Rockers International, credits Orange Street for his love of music.
File: Ainsworth 'Mitchie' Williams, manager of Rockers International record shop, has know created his own label.
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It's no coincidence why producer Ainsworth 'Mitchie' Williams, decided to call his label Oranje Streetz Musick. He spent his teenage years on Orange Street in downtown Kingston, where he developed an ear for music, working in record shops like Winston Riley's Techniques Records, and Randy's record shop.

Orange Street is also home to reggae singer Dennis Brown, who was born at 135 Orange Street now home to the renowned Rockers International Vinyls and Museum which Williams co-owns.

"I want my label to have the same impact that Orange Street has had on the world," Williams told The Gleaner. " It was ideal to use the name because I spent a lot of time here as a youth, and I feel a part of it. Orange Street is one of the most popular streets when you look at music coming out of Jamaica - different from 56 Hope Road, where Bob Marley lived."

Even though Oranje Streetz Musick was established in 2016, Williams said the label is just now garnering attention due to its latest release of the Easy Swing rhythm. The project is a sample of producer Clement 'Coxsone' Dodd's 1969 rhythm, Swing Easy, and carries a distinct one-drop beat, with a bassline dipped in rootsy-dub. A 13-track compilation of the rhythm featuring acts like Prince Alla, Junior Saw, Ras Kelly Holt and Earth Warrior, is currently available on digital platforms.

"The feedback has been our biggest so far. I am expecting at least three to four songs to be successful." He added, "I want the rhythm to reach as far as it can reach - it has a modern, old-school, 1985 King Jammy vibe to it. People should hear it and ask 'Who is Mitchie?' I did the programming, Flabba Holt played bases and Tony Asher played the keys."

 

AUTHENTIC FEEL

 

This authentic reggae feel is quite deliberate. Williams said his experience in the record shop business has given him insights into what the international audience likes. "When I see the type of people weh come here and buy records, and what them choose, me would be a fool to stick to one genre, like straight dancehall. Not bashing dancehall 'cause mi have dancehall fi come, too; but at the end of the day, people weh come here waan things like Lee Perry and King Tubbys, so I use that as a guide."

However, his experience in the industry does not guarantee circulation of his music. "It's hard getting songs played on the radio in general, because of the whole payola thing. But some of the songs from the rhythm have been playing on the radio. It's still challenging, though."

Williams first tried his hand at production while working with Riley in the late 1980s. He is credited on Riley's 1988 Vigilante Squad album, and was also a songwriter on Tiger's 1989 album, Come Back to Me. His previous rhythm, 'Going to the Dancehall', was released earlier this year.