Meeting Aschadan for the first time it is easy to conclude he looks and sounds too good to be true. His clean-cut looks, his well-trimmed, athletic physique that speaks of regular hours at the gym, his total emersion into the Jamaican reggae-dancehall tradition, and the fact that he hails from St. Lucia, which has produced few reggae or dancehall artist of international acclaim, may all contribute to doubting that he is for real.
However, if Aschadan sounds too good to be true, it could be because he is a natural. The thing about naturals is that it so happens that however they are built, whatever the environment in which they were raised, or whatever is inside of them, has made them ideally suited for the activity in question. So it is as if they were made for that purpose and that purpose alone. This appears to be true of Aschadan. It is as if he was born to be a reggae-dancehall artist, and to make sure he fulfilled this destiny, his parents sired an older brother, who, when Aschadan was six or seven years old, was very much a dancehall performer, and so represented Aschadan’s first introduction to dancehall music. And to seal the deal, his parents christened him Aschadan, a stage name that many artists would be happy to carry. In fact, many who come across Aschadan mistakenly take his given name as an adopted stage name.
Hailing from the town of VieuxFort, a Mecca of St. Lucian dancehall and reggae, Aschadan Duplessis has shared the stage with the likes of Jah Cure, Mr. Vegas, Allison Hinds, Sherwin Winchester, I Wayne. His music, a fusion of pop, dancehall, and reggae, is reminiscence of Sean Paul.
Aschadan rose to the public forum in the mid-2000’s, when he participated in the Cable and Wireless St. Lucia StarQuest Talent Search. The two-month-long competition attracted over 1000participants, competing in the genres of Country & Western, R&B and gospel. Despite performing none of the required genres, Aschadanmade the finals and was voted the people’s choice winner.
In 2008, Aschadan’s music video for Legacies, a song paying tribute to his father who passed away the year before, flooded St. Lucian television stations and was aired regularly on such regional and international television stations as MTV and Tempo. In fact, the video made Tempo’s top 10 music video chart.
Aschadan’srepertoire is a music of opposites, a testament to his versatility. At one end are his conscious songs, which combined with his urgent, passionate, compelling and unforgettable voice, recall the prophets of old coming down from the mountains to bring messages of life and death to their people. Only in the case of Aschadan the message is steeped in reggae-dancehall and the messenger is youthful, clean-cut, and clothed in modern attire. For example, in Legaciesthe artist reminds us, “life is full up a changes, and as dee earth turns dee world rearranges.” And in Shadows After Dark he warns us, “If we cah find food fe eat, well we nah trust no shadow after dark?” At the other end are his party songs, which are all about the ladies, with such titles as TwerkIt for Me, Buble Up, Them Gyal We Wah, Deep Low, keep it Rocking.
Like Tsunami, Aschadan’s seventeen track debut album, produced by a combination of producers from the United States, France and the Caribbean, was released in 2015. Like Tsunami is a compelling and infectious brew of dancehall, pop and reggae, and of both conscious and party songs.
Since the release of LikeTsunami, Aschadan has spent most of his time refining and fusing various genres of music, creating what he refers to as his futuristic sound. In this experiment, he has fused French Creole with West Indian dancehall, thus embodying his country’s creole culture. Aschadan’s 2018 single release, TwerkIt for Me, performed on Afro Caribbean, Dancehall and Electropop tones, provides a good example of this new turn in his music. The artist is now in studios putting the finishing touches on his soon to be released second album, which will be nothing less than a showcase of his ground-breaking futuristic sound.
With such music, Aschadan is a welcome addition to Reggae Xplosion in Palm Valley, taking place August 2, 2019, Palm Valley Entertainment, Grande Riviere, Denney.
Besides Aschadan,the show will feature The Phases Bandas they perform many of the reggae songs on their soon-to-be-released album, What People Say. The show will also feature up-and-coming reggae artist, Natty Conqueror, and such iconic reggae and dancehall artists as KingHephzibah, Deighton Charlemagne, Meshach, and Itoobaa, all backed by The Phases Band.
