What better way to spend Christmas Eve than getting down to the conscious reggae vibes bestowed upon Nayah Reggae bar by Luciano the Messenger, a Christmas present to Istanbul, a winter warmer flown in from sunnier climes.
Luciano the Messenger has been a pioneer of roots reggae with his conscious lyrics and harmonious soulful sound, in an age where electronics and a generation of dancehall have given way to artists perpetuating an unsavoury and objectifying side to Jamaican culture, which focuses on ‘batty shaking’ and other such topics. Luciano has stuck to his guns, defying current trends, and created music that sends out purely positive messages, wanting of the sex and violence that sneaks its way into the lyrics of his contemporaries. Everyting irie!
Still being new to Istanbul, this was my first Nayah Reggae bar experience. I was delighted to find a bar dedicated to my favourite genre of music in Istanbul, and I shall definitely be returning. The eye-catching graffiti adorning the walls made walking up the stairs a thought-provoking affair. The art, impressive; the messages written in marker pen, entertaining.
‘There is no culture’
‘TV is sinful’
‘No illuminati’
We arrived to the sound of 45’s spinning, playing reggae and dub. This immediately brought me back to my childhood, which was lived to the soundtrack of old school reggae (my parents have an extensive 45 inch reggae record collection, I was a lucky child).
Our first taste of live reggae was in the form of the reggae band Come Again. Their singer made his way onto the stage with vocals reminiscent of Buju Banton and Alborosie; he was a real crowd-pleaser and gave us a taste of the show to come. He was also joined on stage by Orcun from Sattas with his soulful reggae vocals and rhythmic hip action to match. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised by these native Turkish reggae artists, who would not sound out of place in the genre’s native Jamaica, demonstrating the universality of reggae. I shall definitely be on the look out for any of their future gigs.
Luciano was heard before he was seen, making his entrance through the crowd – face to face with his fans, touching hands as he went by. Beginning with the hit ‘Give Praise,’ he started as he intended to go on – performing with the passion that defines his conscious reggae sound. Not to mention, he blessed us with a mammoth set, over an hour long. We were more than impressed.
With the Come Again band on percussion we witnessed the coming together of two worlds, Jamaica and Turkey, in perfect harmony. On top of that, they were playing for a crowd made up of people from all walks of life, old and young, who came together to hear the Messenger spread his positive message. It was a testament to the unifying nature of Luciano, and the genre as a whole, that any potential differences were put aside and replaced with reggae music; Luciano was the common denominator. All together an amazing experience for this reggae and Istanbul loving ex-pat; seeing the two combined through the mellow beat of the reggae drum was music to my ears.
Louise McStravick is a contributor for Yabangee.
