In 2006, three young men captured the hearts and minds of Jamaicans when they entered and won Digicel Rising Stars. For many One Third, with their tight harmonies and likeable personalities would have become the next best thing on the local music scene.

Over the years the trio have worked the corporate scene performing for major company executives and their staff, recorded here and there and done the show circuit, but have not reached the levels both they and their fans have envisioned for themselves.

Over the past 12 years, each member, Alpheus “Al” Johnson, Adrian Campbell and Miguel Walters, has been waiting for that moment to pull the group to the forefront. With the help of their team One Third has finally put together its first compilation — an EP containing five songs and two introductions called The Journey.

This work will be available for purchase on all digital platforms as of November 5.

According to the trio, the EP was always on the cards and the time is now just right

“It was always in the making. It was always going to happen,” explained Walters. “A lot of the time when we got tracks and beats it just didn’t fit us — our sound, our personality our vibe — so when we went into the lab we had to create a lot of things from scratch. So it took time to get things right and good music takes time. Collectively, we feel proud of this body of work. We can confidently put it out there and say, ‘Here Jamaica, here world this is what we have now, this is the journey, a five-track EP and the album is coming next year’.”

Speaking to the Jamaica Observer at the launch of the EP at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel in St Andrew last Wednesday, Johnson noted that the time it has taken could also be due to the process in getting the perfect tracks together.

“None of these songs happened overnight or within one day. Smile was a process of about a year and a half, Hitchhiker was a process of about two years. Survivor took one day in terms of the writing and recording, but post production took some time,” he said.

One Third describes The Journey as being a very Jamaican sound with a sprinkling of each of their personalities. Walters, it is said, injects his love of dancehall music from the 1980s and ’90s when deejays such as Shabba Ranks, Papa San and Ninjaman ruled the music. Johnson influences the group through his love of the non-Jamaican genres while Campbell brings a strong gospel flavour to the music they produce as a trio.

“If you listen a track like Anyday, which is track number three on the EP, you hear the different textures, the different sounds, the different feels all coming together as one,” said Johnson.

The group is also confident that at a time when global music sales are down, they bring that distintive quality that will make people want a taste of The Journey.

“The quality of our music truly makes it a standout. It’s not only about selling the music it’s also about performing the music. A lot of persons making music are not able to perform the music and achieve that same sound or even better. For us just putting out the music and telling you to buy, it’s about performing as well… it’s really a package,” Johnson related.

“It’s a sound out of Jamaica that has great international appeal. Most times people hear these songs they are like, ‘Are these Jamaican?’ We get that reaction all the time,” added Campbell.

“What people buy nowadays is people. They like the music but they buy people and personalities, and One Third has that,” noted Walters.