One Third continues ‘The Journey’ to stardom

One Third has re-emerged from the shadows of the entertainment scene with the launch of their five-track EP, The Journey.

"It is not a return. Never classify it that way because we never left; we were still doing music in one respect or another, still recording, doing shows here and there," said Adrian Campbell, a member of the trio.

One Third, which consists of Al Johnson, Adrian Campbell and Miguel Walters, won the Digicel Rising Stars competition in 2006, but fell off the radar soon after.

Walters said the group has suffered from a lack of media coverage, among other factors.

"Media has the power to let the public know whether an artiste is working or not working, and sad to say, a lot of the events we performed at as One Third were more on the corporate side and might not have been covered by a newspaper, television or radio," Walter said.

Al said that One Third's journey to stardom was somewhat impacted by engineering and sound factors.

"What had happened was really and truly weren't getting the production support we needed; the type of rhythms did not match our style. The difficulty we faced is that they never complemented what we were trying to say or do."

"If you listen to the EP, you instantly realise that it is not your typical reggae and dancehall music. Everything is specifically made for the songs that were written with musicians that we handpicked," Miguel said.

"One of my pet peeves is not hearing what I want to hear when I am on a stage. That is another reason for learning the art of music engineering, especially for live shows. Now I can contribute in that area," added Miguel who has a recurring gig at the Triple Century Sports Bar.

The EP, which was officially released at the listening party held at The Jamaica Pegasus in New Kingston on Wednesday, takes the listener on The Journey with the trio with titles such as Survivor, Hitchhiker, Any Day, Smile and Hotspot.

Dr Sonjah Stanley Niaah, director and lecturer at the Institute of Caribbean Studies (UWI), said One Third "shine their musical light into the rest of the world" with The Journey.

"When I listen to the musical maturity what is presented to us, it is a nostalgic response," Dr Niaah said. "Some may argue that five songs is too much, but the five on The Journey is not too little, not too much. Only good can come from it," she said.