Words by Jesse Serwer—
The Courtney John Project’s “Black Cinderella” opens with a sample of the original version of the song, recorded in 1972 by Errol Dunkley. (a song which was also recently sampled by Protoje on his new album, The 8 Year Affair.) But the falsetto singer’s 2013 spin on this timeless reggae staple quickly changes gears, its beat morphing into something dark, heavy and electronic, nearing dubstep territory.
The sound, a futuristic fusion of reggae and electronic music, has been dubbed Rootstronic by John and his collaborators in the Courtney John Project: producer The Wizard, who we introduced you to last year in an interview at her father Beres Hammond’s Harmony House studio, and Steven “Lenky” Marsden, the veteran Jamaican producer best known for crafting the masterpiece that is the Diwali riddim. It’s a sound the trio plan to further explore on their upcoming album Future. In the meantime, sample/download “Black Cinderella,” and tell us what you think of this new-school version of Errol Dunkley’s classic.