Circle Of Life - Matisyahu

Last week, DisFanReview.com editor Admiral Duke had the opportunity to speak with Reggae artist Matisyahu about his cover of the Lion King classic Circle Of Life which appears on the new album DISNEY REGGAE CLUB. Here is his report:

Often dismissed as "island music" Reggae is a vibrant and powerful music genre that at its best, fuses spiritual themes and rock-steady beats to get your body moving and raise your spirits. So, a lot of credit goes to Disney for being forward thinking enough to create a listening experience that melds the power and beauty of some of cinema's most classic songs with the spirit and energy that can only come from reggae. Disney's Reggae Club, is more than just the latest release in Disney's series of cover albums... It's a lot more than that. The track list reads like a list of Reggae royalty with some notable up and comers mixed in. The latter is personified by the artist who performs the albums lead off track, Circle Of Life.

While most of Reggae's best known artist's hail from the tiny Caribbean island of Jamaica and tend to subscribe to the ideals of the Rastafarian religion, MATISYAHU isn't and doesn't. Actually, Matisyahu hails from Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York and is a Hasidic Jew. Though the obvious differences in background and religion would seem to preclude him from living the life of a Reggae superstar, the genre is almost custom made for his blend of spiritual themes and positive vibes that splices together elements of Hip-Hop, beatboxing, and Hazzan, Judaism's style of songful prayer. You have heard his music before. His 2005 debut album, Live at Stubbs, spawned the top 40 hit King Without a Crown and His second album, Youth was Billboard magazine's 'Digital Album of the Year' in 2006. One Day the first single from his latest album, Light, was the un-official theme song of NBC's coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Circle Of Life from the Disney film, Lion King, has always contained some rather spiritual elements, but never has it had the kind of deep spiritual resonance as it does in Matisyahu's hands.

"I love the content matter, the Lion and majestic imagery, back to the earth/natural and spiritual themes all fall in line with classic reggae imagery and content." No surprise, of course, for an artist whose deep spirituality informs all of his music, but his own personal connection to the film, is what drove him to cover this song in particular.

"It was my favorite movie growing up. Not when I was 4, when I was 14. Also, after seeing the movie about 10 times my son now thinks he is a lion."

Matisyahu's version of the song not only adds some of his own lyrical styling but changes the tempo while keeping the overall feeling of the song intact. Which begged the question, Did Disney have a lot of input into the song's recording?

"We had free reign. I was trying to figure it out... then I heard the African singing in the beginning, it sounded like a reggae base line. It went from there."

What was most striking to me about this song was the psychedelic 'Dub style' ending that degenerates into echo's and reverb, a style most Disney fans might find slightly off putting if uninitiated. For those folks, Matisyahu had this to say:

"Music is all about moving forward, evolution, to stay static and keep doing the same thing is death music."

-Admiral Duke