One has dread-locks, a grey beard and the look of a typical Rasta. The second seems very young, never goes anywhere without his cap and has the look of a typical blue collar Parisian. But to define them both, you’d better leave all the stereotypes behind: they’re not that easily labeled. At 55 years-old, the man nicknamed Electric Dread for his extravagant energy on stage has contributed to the heydays of Jamaican roots reggae: as a composer for singers such as Hugh Mundell and Earl Sixteen, as a singer with Inner Circle, and under his own name.
When he met Fixi, the accordionist for Java, drummer, pianist, arranger, producer, conductor (for Tony Allen among others) the alchemy between them was immediate and with the help of his colleague Rwan, Fixi gave a new lease on life to French folk by connecting it with current music, thus reinventing the "real Paris sound".
As measured as Winston is full of fire, Fixi loves to absorb traditional musical styles through his many travels (Brazil, Jamaica, Reunion) to make them his own with his accordion. A language he shares with Winston whose pastor father played the accordion.
Their music is reggae, soul and blues. Nigerian Afrobeat, Brazilian samba and Colombian cumbia. Maloya rhythms from Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean mixed with French folk...
Read moreSomething mighty happens when Winston McAnuff and Fixi come together: something off the scale.