Mortimer ADD
From Within - An Interview with Mortimer
09/20/2024 by Gardy Stein
Firm as a bone and light as a feather
When the world first heard his voice on the intro of Protoje's song Protection, it was clear that this singer is going places. Mortimer is a gentle force, an amazingly talented artist who is not afraid to share his innermost feelings with us. His new album From Within is exactly what the title suggests: fourteen songs (plus three dubs by Tippy I-Grade), carefully crafted by Winta James and Mortimer himself, taking us deep into the latter's heart-space.
In an intimate interview, the artist granted Reggaeville vivid insights into the workings of his mind and the songwriting process, speaking about both dark places of his past and the bright joys of music.
I don't think we have to introduce Mortimer as an artist, because most people will already know you. Before we talk about your new album, can you tell us about your recent European tour with Tippy I-Grade and Samory-I? What are some highlights you’d like to share with us?
It was awesome actually, I had an awesome time! It was a blessing to be able to be out there with my brothers sharing music, sharing the creative space with the rest of humanity. You know, with all the turmoil that's happening in the world, it's a joy to know that music can still bring us all together, no matter the time or space. So that was good, I had quite a few interesting experiences there too, some places I went for the first time and it was super cool. I've always dreamt of travelling the world, and here I am getting to do it with doing what I love – music! (laughs) So yeah, it was a blessing, and big respect to Tippy and Samory as well, they were excellent road partners on the road. And our tour manager Dama [Damien Albert], big respect always.
Did you have any favourite show, where the vibe was special or whatever?
Actually, all of them were special in their own way, I loved every one of them. No, that's a lie, there was one that I didn't particularly like at all. I like sharing the vibe with the people, but the venue was very noisy. Anyhow, I enjoyed the Jazz Café in London, that was super awesome, I loved that energy there, that was one of my favourite places.
Were there any lessons that you learned? I think it was your first tour where you played a lot of shows in a row, right?
Well, there's always room for growth I believe, in this life. I always just talk to myself about these things. For one, I feel like I definitely need to lose back some weight, you see me? Because I see how rough it is on stage, it's very hard being on stage for so long and just keeping the vibes, and so I've learned that physical fitness is super important, so I need to get back on that now. Over the years I've kind of let myself go, being a family man and making music and going to bed late and eating all kinds of things and whatever, so now I'm gonna get back into that. Also, I've learned that music is something that you have to be patient with, that music is a very powerful force and it's a privilege to be able to do music, to share music with the people. The responsibility that we have to humanity as artists, as creatives, it's a great responsibility, that's one of the lessons for sure. And another one is don't get too carried away (laughs) with all the newness, you know what I mean? Just relax.
On your Insta you posted a video in the falling snow. Was that your first time experiencing it?
(laughs) Yes, it was my first time! I was in Sweden actually, it was really, really, really awesome, I never experienced anything like that before in my life, I only saw those things on TV.
Did you get to walk around in the snow, or try any winter sports?
No! We didn't have the time for all of that. We were constantly moving, some of the times we went to really nice hotels that we didn't even spend two hours in, you know? We would just go there, hold a little 20 minutes nap, change, get ready, head out again for an eight or nine hour drive, and then it's showtime right after that. You know the runnings!
Which other places in the world would you like to visit?
I actually have two places on the top of my list that I'd really, really love to visit, and that's Japan and Africa. I'd really love to experience Japan's culture, it seems like such an interesting place and I'm a big fan of the Samurai as well. I don't know if there are any remaining Samurais or if that age is over or if some of these temples still exist where they used to train their mind and the combat as well, I definitely want to see that. And I'd really love to visit the motherland for sure.
You will reach there! Turning to the new album now, when did you start working on that? Was it right after your EP Fight The Fight?
It's been a while, a couple years now. I actually started working on the album even before the EP! We got deeper into the works of it after the EP for sure, but I've always been working on music.
And can you tell us about the title, From Within? I mean, in some measure it's self-explanatory, but when did you decide that this would be the title?
From Within, for me it just kind of suggested the place where the album was coming from. I wanted this body of work to be as honest and open as I could be, just to express a few things out of my mind, so it was really simply from that place. Most of the things were internal, you know. I mean, everything outside affects the inside, and the inside affects the outside, but this body of work is more honest, more vulnerable than I've ever been.
Did you ever have doubts if you should put it out, since it is so personal?
Yeah, I have, but I let it stay anyway. I just let God guide my steps as I go, and trust that it will all work out for the best.
It is a great body of work, really! My biggest respect for that. I think the world needs something like this; this honesty and this inside view.
Thank you!
Talking about the production, you've been working with Winta James again on this one. How much did you yourself contribute to the songs?
For the most part we worked on them together. Most of the songs… I produce as well, you know, so most of my ideas I start from home at my studio and then I bring them to Winta and we work on them together in his studio, we add to them and we take away and we finish them up (laughs).
Who else was involved in the creation of the tracks, which musicians did you invite?
Monty, Devon Bradshaw, a man like Hector ["Roots" Lewis], he played on the first track In My Time and he also sung backgrounds on Where Would I Be as well. Sherieta and Chevaughn, those are two incredible singers, Tammi as well, Riff Raff, Beezie Coleman… yeah, quite a few!
How about the songwriting? Was that only you or did you get some help from others?
For the most part, like 99.9% that's all me. There are like two songs on the album that Winta actually came to me with the ideas for those songs and then we finished working on them together, but most songs were written by me.
Wonderful! Now, the first two songs, In My Time and Bruises, are the only features on the album. Damian Marley is on the former and Kabaka Pyramid and Lila Iké are on the latter. Can you tell us what made you choose these artists in particular and how the collaboration worked?
The collaborations were good! For In My Time, Gong and I, we weren't in the same space. We sent the song to him and he did his part where he was. Winta was in studio with him though, and I've met Gong, you know, super cool brother. I think with all that he stood for over the years and his messaging through his music, the things that he's aware of and his consciousness, I felt like he would be the right person to execute such a song. He could only add value to it, you see me? So Winta definitely went out of his way to facilitate this whole situation and I give thanks for that. It took many flights to and fro! (laughs) But we made it work and I give thanks.
Lila is amazing, very talented, very gifted, you know, super cool human being, and Kabaka, I've been listening to his music for years now. Him again too, you know, his brain space, I definitely knew that like… this is for him! And that song spoke to both, the struggles as a person and struggles that you realised in the society as well, you know, it's all about where we're coming from to where we're going, all that we faced before and all that we're still facing now in present day, just in different forms.
True. Three songs were released already as singles, Whole Heap, Slowly and Not A Day Goes By. What reactions did you get so far from fans, from people on IG or wherever?
The feedback has been great! I'm super grateful for all the feedback, it's awesome to know that we can connect this way, this positive way, through the music that we make. It's always crazy to me because like I'm at home and I'm writing these songs and I'm feeling these feelings and all of a sudden it's out there in the world and somebody else knows all the lyrics to your song… it's crazy! Every time it's just mind-blowing to me that we can connect in such a way. I feel like there is so much common ground between us as human beings, and still we pretend as if there is none. We pretend that there are these barriers that block us from love, from loving each other, from treating each other fairly, you know what I mean, from the balance of life, from equality and justice… I don't know how we do it!
As soon as materialism comes in, you have greed, you have envy, all the negative. It's possession, I think that's what really puts us off the feeling-side, because as you say, feelings are universal. But we'll get there one day! The three singles mentioned have beautiful videos as well. Let's first talk about Slowly, which has an animated video by an artist called Ikem Smith. Was that your storyline, your idea that you put to him?
Yes! I just wanted something magical, something storybook-like, that fairy tale element. Because that's what I feel like when you're caught up and wrapped up in love, it's what it really is. Especially the sexy-time parts of love, the physical affection and all of them kind of thing, those sides of it, I do enjoy a lot, you see me. So I felt like, just as magical as I feel while… (laughs), you know, it's the same way that I wanted it to be put out in the video as well. And it's nature, it's nothing to be ashamed of speaking about! I mean, we've made so many things taboo, but it's nature, and that's how the animals came in, too, because the animals are basically giving their approval to what was naturally created, for us to be together in whatever ways that we want to be together.
Yeah, I love that scene in the woods, it's almost like a Lion King kind of vibe, the way they bow to the couple! That's a really cool idea.
Thank you. I appreciate that, and big up to Ikem as well. He did an excellent job getting that together, very talented artist.
Will there be videos for other songs as well?
Yes, there will be! We are actually shooting the visuals for another song that's coming out, My Child. That was a letter to myself and my children as well, things I wanted to hear from my father that I never heard, and I tell it to myself and now I tell it to my children. And we just did Not A Day Goes By the other day, we did a video for that, we shot that at the Habitat Camp up at Protoje's. I felt like it was a fitting environment for that song, based on the concept that we had for the video.
That's a very tough song. You touch the issue of suicide and even sing about that you tried to take your own life… If you care to tell us, what made you stop, what made you not do it? Maybe to inspire others who are in a similar situation, what can you hold on to if you reach that point?
It's easier said than done, that's one thing for sure. Matters of the heart and the mind are not ones that you can dissect like a liver, you know what I mean, or you can just take out and fix or whatever. It takes a lot, and I know that a lot of people right now are going through the craziest things, mentally, emotionally, physically. But whatever the mountain is, it's worth getting over. It's not as easy as said, but for me personally, I was afraid to hurt myself in that way, even though I wanted to and I felt like I needed to, but… you know, on one of my attempts I was just shaking out of control, and also there was another side of me that wanted to live as well, so I said, “Listen to the side that wants to live!” Cause there is that side, even amongst the crowd and the noise and everything else, there is! If you just try to find a way within it all to kind of hear that voice that tells you to live. And just live, hold on for as long as you can, and live. Choose life always!
Thank you! And we are all grateful that you listened to that voice, that you're here to deliver music like this which will in turn help other people, you know. They'll definitely heed that call.
I find it very important to be human, you know, because that's what we all are. So, in a lot of my songs, I try to just kind of humanise myself. I don't want anybody seeing me as no kind of superstar or no kind of… you know, like it's all great and good that everybody thinks that “Yes, Mortimer is good at what he does, he writes good songs!” I really appreciate that, but my songs don't come from a place of wanting that. As a matter of fact, most of my songs are written to me, it's just written for me, and it's my hope that when it goes out there in the world that it impacts everybody else in a positive way, that's my contribution before I die. You know, I want to know that I contributed in a positive way before my eyes are closed, before this physical has passed.
It does, your music touches people not only in the reggae bubble, it's doing circles! You also sing about smoking, meditating, and you also have one song which is like a devotion to Jah, so what role do these topics play in your everyday routine?
I mean, God is in everything, always, that is the essence of our being. You know, there's no us without the acknowledgement of God and higher power. So, there's not a day going by that I am not grateful, thankful for the opportunity of life and for God guiding my steps over the years, and blessing me with the talent as well to do music. When it comes to herb, it kind of helps me to just relax and not overthink the process too much. It brings me to a place where I wouldn't go without it. It works with me as I go deeper, you know? So yeah, it's part of my music making process for sure.
One of my personal favourites on the album is New Roads. Can you take us a bit through the creation process? Like, what new roads are you trodding, how was that song born?
I went to Winta's house to make some music, and I stayed over, like a sleepover kind of vibe. So, I was at his house and he played me a fresh idea, a drum track and chords, that was it, there was nothing else on the record at all. He was just like "Yo, bro, I'm having a thing, listen to this song!" I listened, and then Winta went to sleep later on in the night and I was up, I stayed up in the studio, and by morning, when he was awake, the song was finished. (laughs)
It's really a beautiful one! And then about Balcony Swing, is that something you remember from childhood? Was there a balcony swing on your veranda?
Well, not from my childhood. The story behind Balcony Swing is a story of my new love, you know, it was when I met my now wife. I'd moved out of my parents' place and I was living in an apartment, it was my first apartment where I actually paid rent and thing, not like couch-surfing with my brothers. Because technically, I had moved out a long time, but it was like cutching here and cutching there, just in the name of music, because my parents wouldn't facilitate music vibes and thing. The lady there, the landlady, she had a rule that she didn't want any females, she didn't want me to bring in any women, because it was a room inside a very big house. So, I rented a room, and my room came with a bathroom and a balcony. And on my balcony, I had a balcony swing, like one of those actual swings, you know? And that's where me and my girl used to spend a lot of time together, just talking. We'd just smoke and talk and smoke some more and talk and drink and talk. Like we'd talk for hours! And what I had to do is sneak my woman up. Sometimes she'd skip work and I used to help her to climb up the balcony. She'd throw up her work bag, and I hung over the railing and I'm like "Grab my hand!" It was that real Rapunzel kind of vibes (laughs). I stretched my hands down and helped her up and she climbed up on the edge of the balcony and stuff and I pulled her over. So, I used to sneak her in through that door from the balcony so the landlady would never know that she was ever there. She found out eventually, but that's what the song is about. So yes, there was actually a balcony swing and there was actually a balcony!
None of my songs… I don't write any fictional songs. I don't write songs from a place of only observing. Songs that I write are actual things that took place in my lifetime, I don't write for just writing sake, to just write and rhyme and all of them kind of thing. I really want to get my experiences out there.
It is felt, it is really felt! It's a different vibe from all those pop songs. So, in that vein, what changes did you feel in Changes?
When I wrote Changes, I felt there was somewhat of a shift right before COVID. It was like, I remember doing Rum Fest, the Rum Festival here in Jamaica. And the energy that was behind the EP, the EP had just come out and the whole thing was just going crazy, you know what I mean? Like Lightning was picking up, people were loving the vibes, I felt like a shift and I said to my girl in the car "Do you feel that? I feel like things are about to change!" For the better too, as a matter of fact, like more people hearing the music, it was interesting. Plus, I've been going through a lot of stuff within my own self that I was trying to conquer, and I felt that I was finally at a place where I could let some of it go. That kind of made me feel a whole change within myself. There are things, as I said in the song, that I used to be afraid of, that I'm not afraid of anymore, like losing people. For my own peace of mind, for my heart-space, I'm not afraid of that anymore. So, I definitely will choose myself and my peace and my sanity over any relationship at all. That's one of the things that I'm not afraid of anymore. I'm not afraid anymore either of what I will become or how far my music will go, because I've surrendered to the universe and time and God. I just do my best and put it out there and leave it alone, to just do what it does. So, some of the fears and the worries and the strain that I used to carry, I no longer carry these anymore. That's what that song is about, you know, feeling all of these changes in my mindset and in my heart.
That's great to hear. This brings me to the last question about the album. From Within is deeply introspective, songs like Rather Be or Heavy or My Own Tears are songs that really reflect that inner view. Do you also get your inspiration from external events? Like, when you see what's happening in the world, is that something you kind of process?
It's a mixture of both, because, as I said earlier, everything outer affects the inner and the inner affects the outer as well. I can't lie, though, I was locked in a space. When I wrote a lot of these songs, I was locked in my own head, in my own time and in my own space. I felt like I was just in my own world, so a lot of even what was going on outside didn't penetrate those walls a lot of the time. There were times when I had to pay attention to what was happening outside, yes, but most of these songs were from my sufferings internally, from my experiences that I went through as a person. And yes, what's happening in the world does sadden me a big deal, it's heartbreaking to see. And the present-day situations that are happening now, without us even going into it, it's heart wrenching! I don't know how we've gotten to this place at all. When you say it's greed and money and land and people, it's so crazy! But most of these songs were born from just me in here, which isn't necessarily the best place to be all the time, because it kind of makes you unaware at some point in time as to all that's happening around you, when you're kind of locked in like that, but I went through years of being locked in my headspace. With this album, I wanted it to be kind of… almost like a beginning to shed my old skin. In a sense just to put it all out there, get some of the burdens off my shoulders, get some of the thoughts out of my brain and out of my heart, some of the feelings that I was feeling.
I think a lot of people are not inside enough, they don't feel themselves enough. They are not reflecting enough because they're living externally, consuming TV shows and social media, always thinking about the next purchase, the next car, the next outfit, whatever. I think it's a balance, we need the "From Within" view as well.
I feel we need that kind of balance to even attempt to heal the world. It's going to have to start from each person. It's not an outward problem that we need to fix, because all of these outward problems that are existing now are a result of man's own mind and heart. So, we have to start with the person first, and if each person should try to work on that, then we'd have a better world at large. Because then there are certain things, love… love has become so unpopular these days. And yet it might seem like the most simple word, it's a four letter word and the concept behind it, everybody can probably reel off their tongues, off the top of their heads. But in a deeper sense, we've missed the essence of it. And it's the lack of it why we have so much going on these days, a lack of love for ourselves and each other. Because if we lack love for ourselves, we also lack love for the next person because it is impossible to love another person and not love yourself. And it's impossible to love yourself and not love another person because we are all one. You are me and I am you.
And now I have goosebumps! That's so true, thank you for the reasoning. What do you plan for the release? Like, do you plan a live show or some kind of celebration?
I'm still in the planning stage. I'd love to have… my idea is an intimate listening, and when I say intimate, I don't mean like just a few people. It can be a lot of people, but still the setting is very intimate. I'd like to play a few of the songs acoustic as well. I'd love to speak about each song, to tell the story behind each song. I want the whole event to feel like you're getting just a peek into my heart-space, and into my mind as well. I hope we can put that all together.
Thank you so much, Mortimer. Is there's anything that you want to add to this conversation?
Well, I just want to encourage each and every one of us to keep love in our hearts, for ourselves and our brothers around us, and our sisters, it's as simple as that. And keep your head above the water as much as you can! Keep firm as bone and light as feather at the same time. Lots of love.
Oh, that's sweet. Thank you so much for your time and for the energy you put in the album and in your music, and for the challenges you overcome to do that, to be here, to enlighten us in that way.
Thank you for having me. I appreciate it. I'm glad we can connect through music. And I also want to say thank you to everybody who has been rocking with us so far. Everybody who has been listening to my music, thank you. Every like, every share, every cry, every tear, every smile, to every household, thank you so much. I really appreciate it. And yeah, keep loving, keep feeling, keep fighting!
The interview appeared first in the FESTIVILLE 2024 magazine. Click here to download it as free PDF!
