Linval, first thing we have to talk about is your new album, 'Ghetto Living' (Makasound, 2009, red.), your first major release in many many years. How exactly did the guys from Makasound tempt you back into the studio?
Linval Thompson: "Well, it's all a vibes thing, you know. I was writing some tracks together with my twelve-year-old son, Kevon, who's studying sound-engineering. Makasound hears about this and expressed interest to expand this project to an actual album release."
Listening to the songs it's clear that some of them hint at some of your older hits. Did you do that intentionally?
Linval Thompson: "No, to tell you the truth I was actually trying to stay away from doing that, but apparently it was something I had in me and that had to come out. It's just my style, nothing I could do to stop that, but it certainly was no planned-out thing in any way."
When you're listening to the album, you immediately get the impression you're listening to a classic reggae album, maybe in great part because I believe you're someone who still believes in doing all the instrumental parts with live instruments.
Linval Thompson: "That is important, yes, because it keeps the music alive. Music recorded in that way will never die or fade away. Apart from that the right lyrics are also very important to give an album that timeless feel."
You're first real hit tune back in the days was 'Don't Cut Off Your Dreadlocks'. A bit of a strange song for you to be singing at that time, seeing that you didn't have any dreadlocks yourself yet.
Linval Thompson: "(laughs) Well, you know, you don't have to be dread to be Rasta. The vibes were in my heart still. No one came up and gave that song to me, I wrote it myself, so you know, it was something that came straight from my heart and it's been there ever since until now."
Apart from your career as a singer, you're also a prolific producer. Where does your heart really belong?
Linval Thompson: "I started out as a singer and producer at the same time, because I produced the first song I ever recorded. I never really planned to become a producer; it was one of those things that was just meant to be, like an angel descending and telling you to do this or that or go in this or that direction. These days I see myself as both a singer, a producer, a songwriter and a businessman, but none of these things was planned out. As long as it's something positive, I know it will lead me in the right direction. I'm always cool and laidback. If you don't know I'm Linval Thompson, I will not come up to you and introduce myself. That's just the kind of person I am."
What are the talents a good producer needs? What do you need to know?
Linval Thompson: "As a producer you have to make sure the lyrics are right for the music. For me personally, lyrics always have to be positive, be truthful and have meaning. A song also has to have a certain universality, so that anyone anywhere in the world can understand it. For a producer, it's also quite important to develop a unique style, both vocally and musically, that identifies your music."
In a way, you passed on your producer skills to Junjo Lawes, who you more or less introduced into the business. How do you remember him?
Linval Thompson: "Back in the day Junjo was ok, but he strayed from the path at one stage. Money can change people, but in reality it doesn't mean a thing. You can be rich today and broke tomorrow. It's better to have friends with clean hearts, than to have heaps of money and when you're not used to having it, it can lead you astray. I just showed him how to do the business and the rest was really up to him, nothing I could do. He watched me work and caught on really quickly."
You also did a number of now very rare dub albums. The 'Negrea Love Dub', 'Greenbay Dub' and 'Outlaw Dub' albums have just been rereleased by Greensleeves in their ‘Evolution Of Dub' series. Now for these albums you worked with a young guy that went by the name of Scientist. What can you tell us about him?
Linval Thompson: "Yeah Greensleeves contacted me to do the rerelease, so that's cool. When I was doing these albums at King Tubby's, Tubby was never too interested in staying late to finish off the tracks, so I got this little youth Scientist involved. In a way it was easier to work with him than it would have been to work with Tubby, because he was already a big man in the business. Back in the day Scientist's style was very popular in the UK. We also used to add some extra vocals, that weren't on the original versions; that's a style we came up with; so on these dub albums are tracks you can only find there. It was something like a special."
With the rise of the digital era in the eighties, you changed gear and established yourself as a businessman in real estate. Are you still involved in that today?
Linval Thompson: "Yes, I still rent out some apartments. It was something to fall back on when the music business was slow. I think that was a good move I made and these days I can use the revenue I get from these apartments to invest in my music."
Like so many other Jamaican artists, you've also been confronted with the pirating of your albums. How did you deal with that?
Linval Thompson: "Well, to tell you the truth, it's something I don't really like to think about too much, but although these records don't make me any money at least they promote me. A guy in Canada named Abraham pirated a lot of my stuff, telling everybody me and him were in business together. I always liked working with Greensleeves, because they were always correct and still keep paying me my royalties. Sade used a sample of mine on her 'Lovers Rock' album without asking me and that's also something Greensleeves is taking care of for me."
How did you get involved in the Inna De Yard project and what does this kind of music offer you as a singer?
Linval Thompson: "I had done some business with Makasound before, because they re-released my 'Rocking Vibration' album (Makasound, 2004, red.) a few years ago. After doing that re-release they approached me to see if I would be interested in participating in the Inna De Yard project as well. It's music and I love music, so whatever I can do to support it and keep it strong I will do. Inna De Yard is spiritual righteous music; it's nothing like all the tunes they are putting out in Jamaica today. We're not running after diamonds, silver and gold. Many great artists have left us already, so now it's up to us to keep their spirit alive and also pass it on to the next generation. The time for vanity is over; we need to help each other out now! Nobody has any love for anyone else anymore in today's music business. It's up to us to put the respect back in the music and a project like Inna De Yard is a good start."