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A NEW DIRECTION FOR RED FOX?

 Red Fox–

Deejay Red Fox has rocked many dance and concert halls in a three-decade career. Going into the new year, he yearned for a change in pace.

The seasoned toaster’s third album is expected to drop in the first quarter of 2016. His previous set, Face The Fox, came out in 1998.

Maxi Priest

Maxi Priest

Produced by New York’s Musical Masquerade, the yet-titled set, Red Fox tells the Jamaica Observer, is a mature effort.

“Since my last two albums, I have grown up quite a bit. I feel like have mastered my craft to the point where I don’t have to think as much when I am recording,” he said. “I am a much better writer and my delivery has way more clarity than before. I still feel like the world hasn’t heard Red Fox on the level I know I can perform.”

Red Fox, Rayvon & Shaggy

Red Fox, Rayvon & Shaggy

There was a five-year break between his first album, As A Matter of Fox, and his second. That set was distributed by Elektra Records while Face The Fox was a joint production between Howie Walker and Phillip Smart.

Since then, he has toured with Maxi Priest and released a flood of singles, several of which made reggae charts in the Big Apple and South Florida.

Phillip Smart at the mixing board at HC&F

Phillip Smart at the mixing board at HC&F

Now 45, Red Fox said the upcoming album is dominated by live instruments, a departure from the computer-driven beats he has worked on for much of his career.

Dancehall/reggae, he believes, has become too predictable.

“I try my best to give open ears to the young artists in the dancehall today but its quite difficult. I find that we are slowly killing the culture by drawing more to an American lifestyle,” he explained. “Dancehall once rock the globe because of the drum and bass and our strong culture. I understand we have to evolve but without the groove and the culture wi only left with a foreign language. We need more passionate artists and less self-centered acts,” he added.

Red Fox & Screechy Dan, Four weeks @ No.1

Skylarking by Red Fox & Screechy Dan, Four weeks @ No.1 on the Foundation Radio Network Top 30 Music Chart.

Born Gareth Shelton in Kingston, Red Fox migrated to New York in the mid-1980s. Late that decade going into the 1990’s, he was among a group of promising artistes who emerged from Smart’s Long Island studio, others being Shaggy and Barbadian singer Rayvon.

Red Fox’s latest song is a cover of Horace Andy’s Skylarking, done with fellow deejay Screechy Dan. It too made No.1 on both the New York and South Florida Reggae charts.

— Howard Campbell

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