by Kahlil Crawford
“…we had acid, and then acid changed to…happy house, and happy house changed to house and garage, and house and garage…went to jungle…that was the groove of street people…”
In the pantheon of underground music vocalists, most are unheralded and even more are unknown. Then there is Blu James, a sonic virtuosa who has reached plateaus most vocalists only dream of. Prolifically, there are few musical genres she has not touched, all the while representing her underground roots and culture.
A “UK Windrush” child of Trinidadian and Australian heritage, Blu cut her first dubplate at the age of 13 and performed with London’s famed Java Nuclear Power Sound System. After the UK acid house explosion, Blu started raving and MCing – singing rare groove (old school reggae and R&B) classics over “happy house” music at parties spun by DJ Spoony and Timmy Magic.
“…my idea was that, because London is small and consolidated…I’m gonna saturate the market with my voice, so that’s what I decided to do.”
After establishing herself as an MC, Blu became a “voice for hire”, and sold her talent to countless producers and DJ’s throughout the London scene. Many tracks made it to dubplate, some were released on labels, and others never saw the light of day.
Later, as a member of the ska band Maroon Town, Blu performed internationally on behalf of the British Council – the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities.
“Everywhere I’ve been in the world, there’s people with that same (love) energy, with that same vibe…”
Blu reached a plateau with the global anthem “Red Alert”, alongside mainstream club act Basement Jaxx. She toured with the duo for two years before departing due to business differences. Soon after, Blu decided it was time to settle down and raise a family, which brought her to Tampa, Florida, where she currently resides.
Since then, Blu has recorded a self-titled album with Bugz in The Attic – the West London broken beat collective. The self-described “homegrown vocalist” laid down rangy chords over an array of beat patterns that crescendo with the emotional “Walk On” (note her Ripperton-esque, high octave squeals and wails).
After starring in “Viva Gaia” (“Long Live Mother Earth”) at Disney World’s Animal Kingdom, Blu is now poised for another resurgence with “Morning Sunrise” – an ethereal runner with previous collaborator Danny Wheeler and company:
