British pop hitmaker Sam Smith Says 4 other the songs on his chart topping album Glorias were written in Jamaica.
“I write unholy in Jamaica,” Smith said to the delight of host Tyrone Edwards who made it known he was Jamaica.
“I love Jamaica, it’s so sensational, I wrote probably 4 or 5 songs of the album there, so it was incredible inspiration for this record,” Smith continued.
“To be joyful I needed sun and the energy,” Smith prefaced as host
“Then we took the song to Kim and ask Kim is she want to be a part of it. We had this incredible day in studio where I go to witness the greatness of Kim Petras, and how she writes, and how she is creatively.”
“It truly was so much fun and I think you can hear that on the song we were just calling and laughing the whole time”, they reflected during the interview with Etalk.
“Unholy” peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard hot 100 as well as No. 1 on Spotify US, U.K. and globally. The song which features Kim Petras has so far surpassed 671,938,710 streams globally.
Smith other collab from the album “Gimme” with Koffee and Jessie Reyez made entries on iTunes ar #21 Poland, #27 Mexico #43 Brazil, #45 Uzbekistan, #65 United Kingdom, #67 Italy, and #97 Denmark. On Apple Music in entered at #41 Switzerland, #44 Malta, #55 Ireland, #66 United Kingdom, #82 Cyprus and #82 in Myanmar.
Both “Unholy” and “Gimme” were recorded at Geejam Resort in San San, Jamaica where Sam visited in November 2021 to finish record his album along with super songwriter group Stargate. “Gimme is produced by dancehall producer Anju Blaxx.
Blaxx told the Jamaica Star that Gimme‘s Dancehall beat was his idea, along with his co-producers Jimmy Napes and Stargate.
“With this song having the original dancehall sound, the ‘boop boop’ drums and bass, it is different from what persons expect from Sam Smith.”
He said he created the riddim around an idea that Stargate and engineer Timothy ‘Quik Keyz’ Kahwa presented to him.
“Quik Keyz works with Jon Baker and GeeJam Studios. He and I both attended Full Sail University in the US. He made that connection early 2022, and when they presented the demo with Jessie Reyez, a one melody and vocals, I worked quickly to create a drum and groove around it,” he said. “I was inspired [so] I probably worked on it in an hour or two, and they were in awe and clearly more interested to do more work because of how punctual I was. They are very professional and top-quality producers. This is opening more doors for Jamaicans, both producers and artistes.”
Blaxx, who produced songs for Popcaan and other dancehall artist said he has not met Sam Smith in person but said he has been doing a lot of work with Stargate who Michael Jackson, Rihanna, Coldplay and more.
Edwards reminded Smith that Golden Eye 007 was also written in Jamaica, “I remember finding out a few years ago that Golden Eye 007 was also written in Jamaica so there has been some great continuations to pop culture written in Jamaica so you might have found the recipe, you might want to go back to Jamaica.”
To which Smith responded, “I feel like it calls you to it as well, there is a musicality in the air there, like really you can feel it, it’s the nature, it’s the people, the food, it’s sensational.”
“The land and the future really inspires the music,” Smith continued.
Other than Bolt, Bob and Reggae Jamaica is world-renown for the island’s heritage and relationship with Bond, James Bond. For moviemakers and fans alike, Jamaica is the crem de la creme of locations with the spirited stories of Bond splashed all over the island’s resorts, beaches and attractions.
Writer, Ian Flemmings set three of his novels in Jamaica (Dr. No, To Live And Let Die, and The Man With The Golden Gun) but the latest in the series of James Bond movies, “No Time To Die” almost didn’t make it back to its Jamaican roots. If it were not for a serendipitous encounter with the talent scouts and Steve Beaver, co-owner Geejam Hotel in Portland, the film would have shot its opening exotic scenes in either the Dominican Republic or Cuba.
The cultural ties between the British Empire and Jamaica are best reflected through James Bond as he aims to save the world with his first-world technology but finding the time to sip shaken martinis in exotic locations. No Time To Die producer Barbara Broccoli tells the story of why she chose Jamaica as the location for the latest in the series.
“Jamaica is important to the Bond series because…the people and the culture you really understand that when he (Ian Flemming) was writing about Bond saving the world that was the word he was wanting to save because it is an astoundingly beautiful place”. She said on the No Time To Die Official James Bond Podcast.
Jon Baker, the other owner of Geejam, the same resort that Smith stay while he was in Jamaica chronicled a second hand story of coincidence on his Instagram account with details on how Jamaica became the backdrop for this year’s Bond flick ‘No Time To Die’. “Steve in his ‘host with the most’ fashion organized with local location scouts..to take them on a full tour of the environs, villas and local area…Portland ticked all the boxes they were looking for and we made sure they saw it”.
Bond Producer, Barbara Broccolli concluded on the James Bond podcast, “That was where the first film was made and it felt right for the 25th and for this particular story to go back there and we have always said it is James Bond’s spiritual home.”
If Jamaica is Bond’s spiritual home then Jamaican music is the fictional spy character’s source of inspiration. Along with the culture, Jamaican music is intricately linked to the creative inspiration, lushness and beauty expressed in the film.
