Papa Michigan from the first dual-toasters Michigan and General Smiley, just refuses to gather moss.

He is actively seeking a resurgence in he music scene which he hopes will be fuelled by his latest set Empress by My Side, which he said was inspired by his experience of Europeans idolisation of roots and culture reggae.

“This album was influenced by when I went to Germany and I became aware of the Europeans reaction to roots music. I realised that the Europeans are more into the cultural part of the music. They love to hear melodies. They love to hear horns, drum tracks. They are not totally fascinated by just the dancehall, because the dancehall really become monotonous,” Papa Michigan told the Observer.

Born Anthony Fairclough, he shared the special distinction along with Erroll Bennett with whom he teamed to establish what was the sensational deejay duo Papa Michigan and General Smiley. As pacesetters of a new and exciting period in the history of Jamaican music, the twosome became part of the last crop of prominent artistes from the Studio One stable produced by its legendary head honcho, Clement ‘Sir Coxone’ Dodd.

Following closely on the heels of Love Iz Papa Michigan which he released a year ago, Empress by My Side is the second solo set for the deejay since he and his partner embarked on solo careers.

The 16-track project has its share of romantic lyrics from the veteran toaster on tunes like Rude Boy Date, Empress Let Me Love You (not to be confused with the title track), Woman I Love You, Ain’t No Loving, No Other Girl Like You, Everything About you as well as cuts like Many Rivers to Cross, Too Much Guns, Take It Easy, Giving Thanks and Praises, Good Herbs to mention a few of the material on the well produced album.

“I realised what they like, what they love so this is what influenced me to put this album together,” disclosed Papa Michigan who also revealed that he is so encouraged by the response of the European market that he is currently working on his next album.