Emerging reggae artiste Wesrok recently teamed up with American reggae band Big Mountain for a country-influenced single, True Love, that has generated a buzz.
The recently released video for the single was shot in Mexico and captures the wide open rural spaces of the countryside, the mountains, foothills, breathtaking badlands and endless prairies that stretch to the horizon.
“The song says it all. Love is the answer to a world that is lost and full of hate. Only Jah love can save us. Love is taken for granted by all of us; there is nothing greater than Jah love, that brotherhood, and love for humanity,” said Wesrok, whose real name is Percival Buddan.
Last year, when the single was first released, it entered the Billboard Country Digital Song Sales chart, debuting at #86. Wesrok reflected on the stroke of good fortune that landed him the collaboration.
“This song came about after a friend, promoter-producer Don Hines, introduced me to the band’s lead singer, Joaquin McWhinney, who asked me to send him an original song. He was thrilled about it, and we agreed to collaborate. We also worked with a producer in Mexico to bring the song to life,” Wesrok explained.
“We shot the video in Ensenada. We had to wake up very early in the morning to take advantage of the morning sunrise and light. It was a lot of fun,” Big Mountain frontman Joaquin ‘Quino’ McWhinney, said.
Quino, who is of Mexican/Irish heritage, has high hopes for the project.
“The response has been very positive. The production is also well arranged and the vocal performances are very dramatic and soulful,” Quino said.
BIG MOUNTAIN RECALLS ‘BABY I LOVE YOUR WAY’
Big Mountain is an American band best known for its remake of Peter Frampton’s Baby, I Love Your Way, which, in 1994, climbed to number six on the US Billboard Hot 100; No. 1 on the Mainstream Top 40; and No. 2 in the UK.
“ Baby I Love Your Way, was a well produced song with a catchy chorus, that was released at a time when reggae music was finally becoming accepted on mainstream radio. It was also part of a movie soundtrack, Reality Bites, and the song was well promoted,” Quino said.
Quino joined as the lead singer of the band Shiloh, in 1984. Several members of his family were mariachi musicians and his interest in reggae was sparked after seeing a documentary about Bob Marley and Rastafari.
The band later changed its name to Big Mountain in 1991, and appeared on Reggae Sunsplash in 1994 and 1995. In 1998 Jamaican drummer/producer Paul ‘Groove Galore’ Kastick replaced Carlton ‘Santa’ Davis as full-time drummer and primary producer in the group.
Kastick spearheaded the production on the next six Big Mountain albums, spanning from 1998 and 2007. After 10 consecutive years of touring, Big Mountain decided to take a break in 2005.
In 2013, Quino, Hyde, and Kastick reformed the band with an extended lineup. In May 2016 the band released their first album in 14 years, Perfect Summer.
Big Mountain will tour the Philippines in March and April.
