The Tribune

BAHAMIAN reggae band, Willis and the Illest, will reveal their newest project - a cover version of Bass is Heavy - to their fans during a special event at the John Watling’s Distillery on Friday.

What makes this project unique is that the song, originally written by Bob Marley, was never recorded nor released by the reggae legend.

Willis Knowles, lead vocalist for the Illest, said: “In the summer of 2008, I found a black and white YouTube video of Bob and his band in a creative session just singing the song. You could tell that this was something in the works, it just never made it out. It’s a gem.

“I sent it to the band and we just experimented with it. From listening to the video, we came up with our rendition of it, live. Each time we perform it, it gets a little stronger and a lot of positive response from our fans so we thought it was time to release it.”

When asked if there were any noticeable differences between the Illest version of Bass is Heavy and the one Marley sang, Willis Said: “None of the words have been changed but because it had never been played before, none of the chords had been live.”

The song will be released in three phases, with the first taking place at the launch event at John Watling’s, where they will perform a 90-minute set that will include the original footage of Marley and his band practicing the song.

The second phase will include the filming of a Bass is Heavy music video, by Bahamian director, Lavado Stubbs of Conchboy Productions. Mr Stubbs also directed the band’s last music video, Lion in the Jungle, featuring Pressure Buss Pipe, which was shown on MTV International.

The final phase of the “Bass is Heavy” project will be a promotional tour. The band is still working to secure sponsorship but expect to perform the song live in front of audiences in the Bahamas and abroad.

Proceeds from the ticket sales will go directly towards the second phase of the project. Tickets for the event on Friday are $15.