Cairo Young seeks to redefine gospel music

When Cairo Young began crafting ideas for his first album, he wanted to work with people who shared his views to “redefine gospel music”. One of them was Canute Ellis.
The duo co-produced New Day, Young’s album, which was released on June 19. It has 14 songs which cover diverse genres — from roots-reggae, R&B to pop. The chemistry with Ellis, says Young, paid dividends.
“Canute understands the sound I have been producing over the years and has been sonically crafting it for several years. The consistency in tonality and the blend of sounds that you feel and hear are as a result of sticking consistently to and growing with just one source of that sound,” he said.
Those eclectic sounds can be heard on tracks Easy, Expectations, Truly and One Way. The latter features DJ Nicholas, a leader of the neo-gospel movement that swept Jamaica 20 years ago. DJ Nicholas was one of the artistes who Young listened to as a budding singer in Hectors River, Portland. Raised in the church, he loved traditional gospel music,  but also listened to dancehall acts like Agent Sasco and American neo-soul singer Mali Music.
Ellis, who is based in Orlando, Florida, started his career as an engineer with The Grace Thrillers. He has worked with several contemporary gospel artistes, including DJ Nicholas, Jason Mighty, Marvia Providence and Golda McFarlane.