ArtistRack bring to you ‘A Beautiful Country’ by Jon Scott:
JON SCOTT IS NOT YOUR TYPICAL SINGER-SONGWRITER!
You wonβt find this Nigerian-born and London-based Afro-soul optimist wearing busker chic, doing the usual circuit of open mics and toilet venues, or hanging about hopefully in Hoxton.
Jon Scott took his parents very seriously when they packed him off to London as a wide-eyed teen to study for a proper career. So seriously that, when he isnβt writing, recording and performing his inspiring songs of love, peace, and unity, running his own Brown Babes label, and being a proud father, he has a very proper job.
Jon Scott is probably the only music-obsessed singer-songwriter who owns his own law firm in the city of London.
βMUSIC HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE FIRST THING,β JON EXPLAINS. βTHE LAWYER PARTβ¦ I JUST FELL INTO IT, BASICALLY. YOUβRE SUPPOSED TO HAVE A CAREER AND MY PARENTS INVESTED A LOT OF TIME AND EFFORT INTO THAT. SO I COMPROMISED. BUT I NEVER STOPPED GIGGING OR WRITING MUSIC.β
Jon Scott?After 20 years of living for music, the legal eagle decided to take his art as seriously as he could and self-released his 2008 solo debut album Some R Beautiful and the Balearic Beats-influenced Summer 08 EP. And, having found a growing audience for his brand of mellow, feel-good pop-soul, he got straight on with making album number two.
Boasting co-production from Gordon Hulbert, who has worked with Annie Lennox, Chaka Khan and Angie Stone, Flow Like A River does exactly that, inviting the listener to recline in floating vessel of choice, bask in an eternally balmy sonic sun and let Scott steer them towards kinder, gentler waters. Or, as the man himself puts it: βThe world is full of conflict. In my day job I see, first-hand, how confrontational people are when they donβt need to be. It is hard enough getting by without raging at the world to get what you want. Peace and unity are what Jon Scottβs all about and I make no apology for believing that thatβs the most important thing to sing about.β
Scottβs musical journey began as a child in Lagos, taking in the kaleidoscopic clash of sounds that engulfed him as he walked through the Nigerian city streets. βIts not records in stores and supermarkets like it is here. If youβre walking down a Lagos street the shops are cheek to jowl. One minute youβre hearing hi-life, the next minute Frank Sinatra, The Beatles, Abbaβ¦ youβre hearing everything at once, including the local Afro-Beat. I was greatly influenced by Fela Kuti as a kid. I just loved the way he laid down a groove. The Afro-Beat thing was very special and uniqueβ¦ a man creating a whole genre for himself. But I also liked Abbaβs melodies. Then thereβs Marvin Gaye, Motown, Stevie Wonder, Quincy Jones and Michael Jacksonβ¦ all the obvious suspects.β
Scott references both Gaye and Jackson on the album track and single, βGive Me A Callβ. βThe line is: βIβve got Marvin on my iPod so letβs get it on / I hear Michael on the radio and I wanna rock with you.β A couple of months before Michael Jackson died, my 16-year-old son discovered Michael. I played him The Earth Song and he thought it was just amazing. He was desperate to get tickets for the shows at the O2 and I was staying up half the night trying to buy them. So when the news came it was shocking. My son and I were listening to Billie Jean a few days later and I felt the same way I did when it first came out. Even if he didnβt sing a note in that song β the groove was there. That groove is what Iβm talking about and what I set out to achieve.β
Flow Like A River is dedicated to Scottβs earliest musical influence, the late Reverend Father James OβConnell. βI was in boarding school in Lagos, Nigeria. And he was the missionary priest there. Instead of having the usual boring services or Mass or whatever, he went out of his way to be interesting. He formed a choir with us. There was a school band there at the time called Ofege who went on to be a very successful Afro-Rock band in Nigeria. They were superstars when I was younger, and Father James had them playing in the chapel with us.
So Mass would become like an evangelical concert. He then took that one step further and had us put on musicals like Jesus Christ Superstar, Godspell, and the African musical Ipi Tombi. So every year was excitingβ¦ the musicals became an event across Lagos and the rest of the country. People would pour in in droves to see us perform. Thatβs where my love of music and performing began. It opened up a whole different world for me. So it seems fitting to dedicate βFlow Like A Riverβ to James OβConnellβs memory.β
Scott was barely out of short trousers when he moved to London to study. And although he successfully granted his parentsβ wishes, got his law degree and started on the path to his own London law firm, music remained his first love. He spent a short time at UCLA at the age of 19 until his concerned father decided that his son might be having too much fun playing in bands in Californian nightclubs, and insisted Jon return to London to finish his studies. It was only a matter of time before Scott chose to dedicate as much time to his music as he does to overseeing his company. βWriting songs is relatively easy. But crafting them until they reach the standard that I want is so exciting. Itβs wonderful. The creative process is something I canβt live without.β Running a law firm, raising a family and steering a musical career β thatβs one Hell of a workload. βIt is. But I run my law firm in the day, record in the evening, and my family is really supportive. Iβm a lucky man.β
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