EIGHTEEN-YEAR-OLD singer Tressan Barnett, better known as Sumerr, has been quietly making a name for herself.

Her song, Jessie James, is making noise at radio and she has popped up at several live events.

Her latest single, Summer Time, is also doing well. It was used by promoters of the recent Appleton Treasure Isle (ATI) weekend party.

Not bad for the former CAPE student who one year ago copped seven CSEC subjects.

Describing herself as an all-rounder, Sumerr says she was very involved in high school. She played football for Bishop Gibson High School, and was elected president of the students’ council.

She was also a member of the school’s choir which won gold medals in the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission’s School’s Choir competition.

Erasto gets personal on Playa

Singjay Erasto says his latest song, Playa, was inspired by a personal experience.

“I met a young lady when I was much younger and by socialising with her over a period of time, I found out that she was a player. When I heard the rhythm, she was the person who came to mind. That’s how the song came about”, Erasto told this column.

Playa is produced by Adrian Hanson for Donsome Records.

Erasto, whose real name is Donald Fyffe, hails from St Mary. He cites Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Sizzla, Dennis Brown, and Richie Spice as influences.

He says he developed his skills through music classes, and it was through those sessions that he met Hanson.

“I have done recordings for Adrian’s label and he has even encouraged me to start my own label,” Erasto stated. His label is D-Rock Productions.

Some of his earlier recordings include Take Away and Future of Tomorrow.

Spanner Banner eyes the big one

Not much has been heard from singer Spanner Banner in some time. He makes a comeback with the track Old Time Flame on the Big One Drop rhythm, produced by Ralston Barrett.

“I feel good to be a part of this project, the rhythm has a very good vibe and I like what the producer is trying to achieve,” said Spanner. “I personally think it’s going to do very well because of the quality of the songs on the rhythm.”

Spanner Banner broke through in the late 1980s with Life Goes On and later scored with Chill, which was also the title of his 1995 album for Island Jamaica Records.

Some of his recent recordings include Happiness and Another Man’s Baby.

Bits and pieces

Singer Christopher Martin recently completed a series of performances in Japan and the United States. Martin has been riding high with the songs Mama and Carpenter. Other recent hits include Cheaters Prayer and Chill Spot which both topped local charts.

Veteran deejay General Degree will start his Snapple Dapple European tour in November. The trek runs until December 16 to support his Snapple Dapple Volume 1 album. His latest single is Hypocrites.

Easy Star All Stars’ latest project Easy Star’s Thrillah, a reggae tribute to Michael Jackson’s iconic Thriller album, debuted at number one on Billboard magazine’s Reggae Album chart. It came in at number 11 on the publication’s Heatseekers Album chart.

Easy Star All Stars’ previous chart-topper was Easy Stars’ Lonely Hearts Dub Band in 2009.

Its 2003 set, Dub Side of the Moon, which peaked at number five, is its biggest seller to date with over 85,000 copies.