www.yardie-reggae.com

LUTAN FYAH

PHANTOM WAR

* * * * /

2006 - Greensleeves - studio - discs: 1

This set caught me off guard. But let us start spending some words on this artist before adding any comments on this specific set. Lutan Fyah was born Anthony Martin in Spanish Town, Jamaica. After the High School he played soccer in Jamaican Premier League up to 1999 when the call from music became too strong to turn around. As it happened to a lot of artists at the beginning the road was tough as no one payed attention to him. Later he started to record for Gargamel and other producers. Thanks to some success he started to open the stage shows of Jah Mason and others in Jamaica. The debut set "Dem No Know Demself" (2004) followed. That was a great and confident debut. After that came "Time And Place" in 2005. The present set is his third effort. And without any doubts he reached a very high quality. The set is filled of Rastafari messages of redemption. What makes Lutan different are his light and delicate voice over great rythms and his lyrical skills. Mixing those two aspects together brings as a result a highly powerful approach to the contemporary Conscious and New Roots. What makes me transfixed is that this set is a continuous of beautiful songs, all of which are permeated of Rastafari spirituality and social issues. More than that if we consider that the set is nineteen songs long, things get more astonishing. There is no track to erase from this set. That is the reason why I do not want to talk about any specific song: are all strong and powerful, even the more slow and apparently smooth ones are great. Everything here deserves attention and respect. Do not miss this album!