Christopher Birch talks being on a hijacked plane; shares life lessons
Published:Sunday | December 26, 2021 | 12:12 AMStephanie Lyew - Sunday Gleaner Writer
“I can’t remember the exact year. It was in Africa. I was on a flight with Shaggy and a few other industry professionals, and the private airplane was hijacked,” said well-known producer, musician, and record label owner Christopher Birch. It was an unbelievable account of one of his most memorable experiences on tour.
The Birchill Records principal recounted what “could have been a horrible” experience but saluted the crew, specifically the flight captain, “who found a way not to make it worse”.
He shared that the airplane was in the process of being refuelled when the hijackers entered and robbed the pilots of their money and belongings.
“I recall waking up. Shaggy and the rest of them were sleeping, but the pilots tried to hide what was happening. I saw weapons, but I was in a daze, exhausted from flying from one country to the next. The captain dealt with it so discreetly,” he told The Sunday Gleaner.
Birch added, “It was after we took off and arrived in Ethiopia that the pilot explained what happened and then the media and all the excitement.”
That incident did not discourage the music professional from his dream of being a touring musician. Instead, it has made him recognise his purpose: to make music. He said there are a lot more good memories. Even in current times, where the entertainment industry appears to be at a standstill, Birch said his focus remains on creating new music.
“We are pushed into survival mode. It’s been more survival than anything, and I am doing what I have been doing the last umpteen years, just making music, and it keeps me sane. Music is medicine. It makes people happy, and I am always a happy person despite all that’s happening,” Birch said.
“Every decade, the industry sees a change in music, but because of the pandemic, the dynamic of what it was has resulted in a change. I actually find myself doing more work and more experimenting. Right now, the music business has been dead in Jamaica for more than 18 months. It is what it is, but one thing I am sure of is we are going to survive it, and I am one musician that is pushing through.”
In September, Birch released a collaboration with upcoming singer Kalyra titled High and reintroduced himself as a musician and artiste. The producer, who, credits his brother, Winston Birch, a musician, for opening his eyes to the world of music, said his first entry into the business was playing at a piano bar.
“I am always a recording artiste. The difference is I am always behind the scenes making the magic. I big up my brother, who I used to hang around, with his band playing at a hotel. When I played the piano on that occasion, it was me alone and 50 tourists singing, and I not only got paid, I got tips in US,” he shared of his first official gig, adding that “after that, I got lots of offers to travel”.
The producer also named the eclectic duo Sly and Robbie as his main role models. Like them, he plays multiple instruments except the guitar, his first instruments being the bugle and trumpet. He was previously a member of the Sane Band, which played for reggae artistes such as Garnet Silk and Tony Rebel, and then he joined the famed 809 Band. There, he worked with reggae stalwarts such as Dean Fraser, Freddie McGregor, Beres Hammond, Marcia Griffiths, Judy Mowatt, and Bob Andy. He has also produced for dancehall favourites like Charly Black and Vybz Kartel.
He said: “The perception of an artiste in Jamaica is someone singing, but I’m a musician artiste ... in that I can put my voice on a track because it is easy. I can make my voice sound like the best thing ever. It’s just more recently that I have returned to the forefront.”
Birch says that his market is mainly overseas but that he still makes rhythms that will attract the Jamaican audience.
“I work mainly overseas. I work with other artistes who may not be as popular on the North American side but in Europe, Africa, and Japan. Music is my life, and I have fun with it. Let’s have fun with music, which is love and a major part of what the world needs now. Let’s also keep reggae and dancehall strong,” he urged.