Darrio ‘keeps on rolling’ with latest personal achievement
Published:Monday | February 13, 2023 | 12:43 AMStephanie Lyew/Gleaner Writer
Reggae-dancehall entertainer Darrio Johnson, more commonly referred to as Darrio, is pulling the strings of his career in a way that he believes is changing the narrative.
“I’m feeling a different kind of satisfaction with my personal achievements,” he said in a recent interview with The Gleaner.
Early in the pandemic, the artiste-songwriter assembled a group of talented musicians and established the Fyah Force band and, with the reopening of the entertainment sector last year, has reaped the combined fruits of their labour.
“No better name could have been chosen for the band, we are coming with a force that’s hot,” Darrio said, adding that, “even I have seen how dedication to the band and how learning to play an instrument during COVID-19 has helped me diversify my portfolio and unleash new potentials.”
Comprising keyboard player Davian McNaughton; bass player, Jowayne Smith; guitarist, Jared Ansine; and drummers Akiel Dixon and Brandon Johnson; the band has been busying themselves with Reggae Month bookings, said Darrio. He, along with Fyah Force, performed on the Essence of Reggae Music Festival presented by Frankie Music, which was held at the Police Officers’ Club over a week ago where the artiste made his guitar-playing stage debut. Darrio chose Keep on Rollin’, a song by Southern Soul Music Awards multi-award winner King George, out of South Carolina, to strum up noise among the audience.
He shared that, “I was introduced to that track by one of my drummers, Akiel, and liked it because it was unusual. It had a blue-sy sound but the argument of the lyrics and content was not of the blues culture. I thought it would engage the reggae-dancehall audience.”
TRACKS ON TRACKS
The 30-minute set saw the artiste harmonising and deejaying a medley of songs, including their rendition of the 1968 classic Israelites, songs by the Beach Boys, Buju Banton’s 2006 track on the Wipe Out Riddim titled Me and Oonu, and returning to their rendition before he pulled out the guitar.
Darrio, whose entrance into the music industry was in the dancehall space, introduced himself with the track Shub Out and, since then, he has had several major releases, including Ungrateful, Clean (Lakka Whistle), Gyal Sidung, a song with former labelmate Konshens, Just For Loving, among others.
“Essence of Reggae was a great experience and I was impressed because the atmosphere and setting matched that of the reggae music festivals in Europe, with the vendors, the stage production and the works, but only thing was the people support in terms of turnout. I think, here in Jamaica, we have taken the carnival season more serious than Reggae Month celebrations,” the artiste said. “As a people, we can’t complain about what we don’t know; we have to chip in and play our part and know we have a responsibility to our culture, to preserve reggae instead of complaining that it is dead. Without support, it will suffer, because the artistes will deliver but people need to come out and witness it to keep it rolling.”
Darrio returned to the island from a short tour of Europe last November, and the next time persons will get to see him pulling on his strings may be when he returns to Utrecht, in The Netherlands.
“The knowledge I have of the guitar is widening; it started out with just the basics and now I can play Harder They Come by Jimmy Cliff; I’ve Got Sunshine by The Temptations; Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran; and there’s no learning the guitar without Bob Marley’s Redemption Song. I’m also plucking one and two songs, some unreleased music. Maybe I’m underplaying it but I have a set of about 15 songs that I can play, and most of them are my own,” he said.
“The promoters in The Netherlands actually requested I perform with my guitar and I see where more persons are becoming more perceptive of seeing me in this lane. It’s not that I even prefer reggae, it more has something to do with my growth … that need to connect differently and melodically as I get older,” Darrio continued.