Having just released his third album, Step Upthe most international of beatmakers French on the world reggae scene, welcomes us at home, in Yvelines, west of Paris. In his studio, surrounded by his bass, his MPC and his numerous keyboards, he tells Hortense Volle about his relationship with machines, his discovery of Jamaica, his passion for the culture of this island and the way in which he shaped his own sound between reggae and bass music. Portrait.
If he cut his teeth on stage, as a bassist, alongside Uncle David, Nuttea and Babylon Circus, Manudigital then focused on production for Biga*Ranx and Soom T, among others.
Since his solo debut, the author of the albums Digital Pixel (2016) and Bass Attack (2018) has also released a host of EPs and collaborative projects. The opportunity to surround yourself with artists from the four corners of the globe such as Alborosie, L’Entourloop, Skarra Mucci and Joseph Cotton.
Musician, composer, producer, “riddim maker”, “selector” within the Digital Sound sound system, Manudigital is also known for its numerous video concepts such as the essential “Digital Session”. Equipped with his Casio MT40 keyboard or “Sleng Teng Keyboard”, he walks the streets of Kingston, New York or Trinidad to meet artists such as Capleton, Elephant Man and Queen Omega who, in his company, revisit in one take their classics.
Manudigital in SessionLab is also an opportunity to look back at the history of reggae, in music, from its ancestor, ska, born in the 1950s, to digital reggae, on which the artist made his mark factory and which, in the mid-80s, revolutionized the way of producing music in Jamaica.
Journalist : Hortense Volle
Realization : Benjamin Sarralié
3D mixing in Dolby ATMOS for immersive listening with headphones: Jérémie Besset
FMM – RFI Labo production unit manager: Xavier Gibert
To follow Manudigital:
Youtube / Instagram / Facebook / Twitter
Titles broadcast
Excerpts from the album Step Up (X-Ray Production – 2023): Step Up (ft. Joseph Cotton & Bellyman); Quieren Mas (ft Alika & Blackout JA); Dub and Bass (ft. Corporal Negus); Reggae Music and Love (ft. Alborosie & Yami Bolo)
From the album Bass Attack (X-Ray Production – 2018): Dem A Poison (Ft. Soom T)
Excerpt from the EP Digital Lab vol.3 (X-Ray Production – 2015): Already Midnight (Ft. Marina P)
Excerpts from the album Digital Kingston Session vol.2 (X-Ray Production – 2021): Digital Kingston Session (Ft. Capleton); Digital Kingston Session Elephant Man
From the album Digital Kingston Session vol.1 (X-Ray Production – 2018): Don’t call me local (Ft. Queen Omega)
And also extracts from:
Under me Sleng Teng –Wayne Smith
I found the sound – Uncle David
Only Just Begun – Manu Digital feat Joseph Cotton
Niggers Are Scared of Revolution – The Last Poets
My boy Lollipop –Millie Small
Take It Easy [1966] –Hopeton Lewis
Storm Dance –Biga Ranx
green island – Donald Drummond
People funny boy –Lee Perry