IT’S been nearly a month since the terrorist bombings in Brussels, Belgium, which left 35 people dead (including three suicide bombers) and 300 injured.
That tragic morning remains in the mind of reggae artist Lenn Hammond, who was in the city at the time promoting his latest project.
Hammond, who is a nephew of Beres Hammond, spoke to the Jamaica Observerfrom his base in Toronto, Canada. He said he was in Belgium as part of a six-week European engagement, which also saw him making stops in The Netherlands to promote his latest album Raw Soul and its lead single Take You For Life.
“From the moment I got to Europe in February I could sense that there was a different vibe. I later learned that ever since the attacks in France security has been heightened, and so you saw a lot more armed security everywhere you went.”
Hammond said he felt tension in the air the night before the bombings as he was leaving rehearsal in preparation for a performance. He woke up the following morning to the frightening news.“Where I was staying was about a 20-minute drive from the airport and almost immediately one could sense that something had gone wrong. I left Belgium on March 28, and in the days following the bombings there was a clear difference in the country,” he explained.
“There were a lot more emergency vehicles on the streets, the skies were busy with aircraft, and when you got into the heart of the city there were traffic changes and a lot of barricades in the streets.”
The bombings affected his promotional plans.
“We had to scale back a lot of things we had planned, including appearances. My musicians, who were all Moroccans, could not get out and that hampered our efforts in some way. Luckily, it was at the end of the trip.”
Lenn Hammond
Despite the Brussels incident Hammond is pleased with his campaign. The trip helped introduce him to a new audience and set up talks for appearances on major reggae summer festivals in Europe.
Raw Soul has 18 tracks, the majority of which were written and produced by Hammond. They were recorded in Jamaica with the Uprising Roots band a few years ago.
“It was a really great experience working with Uprising Roots. We were all on the same page and so we put the time into the project and we are pleased with the results,” said Hammond.
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