Weekly > Interviews
Pama International
Pama International have just released their brilliant album Pama Outernational and have seen the plaudits roll in for it. Mixing reggae, dub, ska and soul it’s a sunshine filled record that will light up any room and their already growing reputation is being added to with support dates with The Specials coming up over the next month as well as dates of their own.
We caught up with Sean from the group for a quick chat recently.
Firstly, tell us how the band came together and what your aim was when you first put the group together…
Pama International formed in 2001, with myself and Finny (who I’d worked with in The Loafers and Special Beat). We wrote an album’s worth of material and then put a band together to record it and take it our live. Our first show was in March 2002 at The Windmill in Brixton. The aim was really to enjoy music again with like minded people and create a vehicle for my own writing.
I’d previously had deals with A&M and Sony, with a band called Skanga, which I ended up being very unhappy in. Big deals, which changed people I was working with. It wasn’t a nice experience, so with Pama International I wanted things nice and worked in a more positive manner. I wanted to build something that wasn’t reliant on any label or anyone else for that matter. I think we’ve achieved that. Pama Intl is pretty self sufficient. And a pleasure to do.
Obviously with the reputation you’ve earned previously with the bands you’ve played in as a group (The Specials etc), does it add more pressure on to yourselves when you start a new band or is it easier as you have the respect and ear of the industry already?
Well, I wasn’t in The Specials, so don’t feel any pressure there. I don’t think Lynval does either. We just do our thing. A bit selfish maybe but I set out to please myself with our recordings. I’m getting more and more critical of my own writing and our sound, so work hard to make a record I like. Seems a funny thing to say, but there’s a lot of people out there that make music for other people. They chase the fashion. We just do our own thing. Every 10 years or so it seems to be fashionable!
The ‘ear of the industry’ is really something I’m not interested in. We just do our thing. If people like it then it’s a great buzz. If they don’t…they don’t.
The Specials connection is a double edge sword. It has helped to open doors, but from some camps all they want to know about is The Specials and Pama Intl becomes the subtext. The way I deal with that though is to try and write better and better songs, so we’ll be heard in our own right. There’s a lot of great people out there into what we’re doing so all good.
You’ve had some great guests playing with you over the years, which have been your favourite collaborations and guest appearances so far?
Most of the reggae legends we had on Trojan Sessions were great. Especially, Rico, Dennis Alcapone, Dave Barker, Ansel Collins, AJ Franklin and Derrick Morgan. Billy Bragg was a real pleasure to work with, as was Lee-Madness and Horace-Specials. Everyone we’ve worked with has been cool. Wrongtom, Mad Professor, Neol Davies-Selecter, Nasser-Big Boss Man, all great people. Over the years I’ve worked with alot of people in this game with egos or habits or just generally not nice people. With Pama Intl I get to do things on my terms and only work with good minded people. Michie One was a star and lovely person.
You’ve just released your brand new album Pama Outernational, it seems to be getting really good reviews across the board, do you feel it’s your strongest work to date as a group?
Yes, but then I would say that wouldn’t I. Every band does. I’m very proud of it. And extremely pleased with the response. More DJs have picked up on it then ever before and press. It’s hard work getting the sort of attention we have as a small independent band. I’m very thankful more people are tuning into what we’re doing.
There are messages of unity and equality throughout the record (or at least in my interpretation), is that something that you feel is more important now than ever with the political situation both in Britain and worldwide?
No,I don’t think it’s more important now then before. I think it’s always been jsut as important. I think in the world we live in today there’s less excuse for any racism, bigotry or ignorance. Life can be hard enough without us fighting amongst our selves. We got to help each other to get through.
It’s the perfect soundtrack to the summer, the album….so why did you leave it until autumn to release it!!!??
Just the way it happened. I started work on it late last year and it took 6 months to do. Then all the monthly press want copies 3 months in advance, so November was the earliest opportunity.
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Add to favouritesYou are touring the record, including a support slot with The Specials, which are you looking forward to more, the support slots in the bigger venues or the smaller headline shows?
Both. The Specials tour is a great opportunity to get to more people. Although we only get to do 30 minutes each night, which doesn’t give us much of a chance to go into the dub element of our sound as much as I’d like to. Headline slots are great. We do 1 hour 15minutes and get to dub things out a lot more. And people are there to see us. But I enjoy both.
Will you prepare for them any differently and will the set be the same for them?
The set for The Specials is all uptempo stuff, no slow ones really. And as I said the sets a lot shorter. You’ve got to react to the crowd you’re playing in front of. Luckily Pama Intl’s sounds cover a lot of styles be it ska, soul, dub, roots or rocksteady. So we can tailor it a bit for whatever evening. My preparation before each remains the same… a pray and shot of JD usually do the trick.
Who else are you listening to and liking at the moment?
There were a couple of old albums reissued on the Pressure Sounds label last year that I’m still playing. Jimmy Radway and the Fe Me Time All-stars. A fantastic dub album. And Joe Higgs-Life Of Contradictions. Wonderfully written reggae album. Very different to the normal style of that period. Those two albums haven’t been off the turn table. With the Specials tour coming up I dug out More Specials, which I love. I haven’t heard much new stuff of late. The last new album I got really excited about was Amy Whinehouse’s Back to Black. She’s such a talent. I hope she works through things and makes another amazing record. Right now I’m in the tour bus listening to Van Morrison’s His band And Street Choir album. Beautiful stuff.
What does the 2010 hold for Pama International?
We’ll be promoting Outernational for most of the year. Taking it wherever we can. We’re also talking to Mad Professor about doing a version album with him of Outernational. And taking it out on the road next summer, with him at the mixing desk. In February we’ll be doing another headline tour, going to places we haven’t been this time round.
Other then that I’ve started writing the next album. I don’t like to stand still for to long, so continually write, but that won’t see light of day till 2011. I’d like to give myself enough time to write our best album yet.
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