Elmicha Mystic
I was born in the east end of London on the first day of the seventh month, late 50’s I remember vaguely stepping of an airoplane after touchdown in an airport somewhere in Dominica. I was three years old then, and spent five years on the beautiful Caribbean island of Dominica. This is where my love for music began. By the age of sixteen when I left school , I had still not yet played a note of music, but was listening to the popular music of the artists of that time. Artists like, JAMES BROWN, BOOTSY COLLINS, IDRIS MOHAMMED, BIG YOUTH, THE MIGHTY DIAMONDS, UROY, TRINITY,BOB MARLEY, are just a few of the multitude that were and some still are producing the music of today. In those days I would try recording on a portable cassette player through the built in condenser microphone. Two years later due too circumstances I was a resident on the Isle of dogs in east London where I was introduced to a man named Mr Green. It was through this link that I became committed to music, Reggae Music. Mr Green is a musician from the 60s, to whom I became strongly attached. this man introduced me to the drums, as he was a drummer himself, but the type of drum he introduced me too was the Conga and Bongo drums . I then bought myself a melodica as an introduction to the keyboard, and I used Augustus Pablo’s records as my tutor. I created a simple recording facility by plugging in a microphone to a built in input and recording to a cassette deck. As time passed my music setup became more complexed. I was beginning to collect and buy pieces of audio equipment and experimenting with sound. This led to friends coming over for jam sessions which was an addition to my music experience. I began writing lyrics for songs, and rap material. I also began performing them at local raves. This was also an important element of my development. I was at that time just building up my confidence for performing in public. This is where I’m coming from, the (SOUND SYSTEM) home made style, and mixing and blending with the musicians who were available at the time. I was prompted by people around me to take music more seriously, but I had no idea of how to go about doing so. I was going to every dance and rave that my pockets would allow, and took any opportunity to grab the sound system microphone. This is how I kept in practice for years, particularly at local functions. I went into local pubs which played reggae music, and would display my talent at every opportunity. I became well known in my neighbourhood for my rap skills and was even recognized as a singer to some, but I myself had not yet decided the route I would take. During this time I had not yet learned to read a note of music and have remained the same too this very day. Never the less around, 1981 A certain Mr. Green and other associates decided to put a band together named OSHAMA We toured the outskirts of London, places like, The Band on the wall, in Manchester, Leeds univercity,Guilford collage, and lots of other places . This was short lived as it was a strain on the pocket. It seemed like there was no through road for me, so I continued to rap at raves and parties. In the year,1982,Atum was founded by Mr. Green and associates. This project was founded by the local council and various other funding bodies. The project was aimed at the local community, especially the unemployed , youth of the community. Being employed by Atum as a freelance music tutor, sound engineer, and musician. I began putting on music workshops in various places and at the same time getting involved in council functions such as the East end festivals.Theese functions took place at the Victoria park annually and I performed there with the Atum band on several occasions. These functions also built up my reputation as a musician and helped the attendance of our music workshops. These workshops were a live setup and consisted of a drum kit, bass guitar keyboard and microphone,which was the property of Atum. My style and pattern soon took hold of local ears. Giggs were so far and few between that I still found that the dance hall was the only available place where I could perform my songs. Growing in confidence I was performing in the west end clubs such as Ronnie Scots,Gossips and places I would enter without even acknowledging the name of . At the moment gigs are not on the top of my list, as I have experienced live entertainment in various places. My last appearance took place at the Weavers field park in Bethnal green on the 3rd of September 95,along with Trevor Walter’s, Tipper Ire, Delroy Pinnock, Sylvia Tella and many more artists in aid of the Tower Hamlets Breaking down the barriers Festival. Prior to that was the Xmas jam 94 which was a German tour , where I appeared at the following places. Munchen,-------------VENUE: Charterhalle. Nurnberg---------------********: Lowensaal. Karlsruhe---------------********:Irish House. Stuttgart----------------********:Longhorn/LKA Aschaffenberg--------********:Colos-Saal. Koln---------------------********:Live Music Hall. Munster----------------********:Jovel Music Hall. Hamberg---------------********:Markthalle. Berlin--------------------********:HuxleyÕsNeue Welt. Weirden----------------********:Jugendzentrum. Hanover--------------*********: Tor 1. Set up by : CONTOUR music promotion,Konzerte & tourneen GMBH. Since then, I have only performed one gig in19 96, which was at Victoria park in East London. For The East End Festival. I feel that the German tour was one if not the best musical experiences of my career. Never the less my main objective at the moment is to concentrate on getting some of my music on the streets and into the record shops.
09/09/01
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BIOGRAPHY
