KINGSTON, Jamaica — Growing up in the town of Vevey in Switzerland, Timo Don’s earliest introduction to Jamaican music was by listening to songs by Vybz Kartel, Mavado and Alkaline among others.

A prolific dancer from the town, Timo Don decided to try his luck in music production, hence his label Lunarium was started.

“I got involved with music production quite naturally because I’ve been a dancehall dancer since 2018. My best friend ‘Nils’ from Switzerland downloaded FL Studio and showed me the basics during the COVID-19 pandemic. We started from there and slowly gained progress by learning by ourselves and through YouTube. My dancer friend from Jamaica ‘1Black Prince’ from Black Eagles crew was already involved with music and that’s how I did my first collaboration and started producing,” Timo Don told Observer Online over the weekend.

Timo Don shared what initially drew him to the sounds of Jamaican music.

“The main reason is the history of hip-hop. I started dancing hip-hop because of dancehall. Once I gained more knowledge, I realised that Jamaica was the source of a lot of genres like hip-hop, drill, reggaeton. I had to learn more about Jamaica, so I invested a lot of time and energy to learn, travel to Jamaica and promote dancehall events in Switzerland since 2019,” Timo Don recalled.

On March 7, he released his latest musical production titled New Start (Vol 1) rhythm. The project features the songs More Than Conquerors by Jahmiel, Self Defence by Bugle, Believe by Sylxnce, Everyday by Bubahloo, Migrate by Kibaki, Mind by Lavisch, Cold by Sudzman, No Love by Chin Flame, Energy by Troydon Bent, Be Careful by Chi Ching Ching, Pain by Skill Boss, Rocky Road by Nekodiamond and Inexorable by Frahcess One.

Timo Don recalled his first visit to Jamaica seven years ago.

“My first trip was supposed to be with ‘Mams Goku’ my mentor, but I ended up going by myself in November 2018. (Very unfortunate situation but everything went well for myself and the trip). I stayed for two weeks. I have probably travelled more than 10 times since that first time, sometimes three to four times each year,” Timo Don disclosed.

Said Timo Don, “I tried to produce a song with Kalado and Silk Boss but it never turned out well so I’m not forcing it. My first goal was always to make good music that I enjoyed. I understand my career is a long-term business so I’d rather work with smaller artists than established artists with different standards.”

Of course, he has some names on his wishlist, with whom he would like to collaborate.

“Of course, mainly Masicka, Vershon, 450, Yaksta, and Vybz Kartel,” he said.

Timo Don explained how the idea for the New Start rhythm came about.

“I created the New Start rhythm in 2021, the night after my birthday. I was going through depression, and I wanted to elevate myself. That’s why it’s such an emotional riddim I guess. What’s funny is that while creating the riddim and having almost no knowledge of producing music in general, I had Jahmiel in my vision. Proud to say my goal and vision have been accomplished,” Timo Don stated.

When asked how easy or difficult it was to get the artistes involved in the New Start rhythm project, Timo Don said: “To be honest it all depends on the artiste. Some are very easy to deal with while some were not so easy to deal with. Jamaicans in general are hard to deal with, but the love always made it work (or not when the energy was off). There were more artistes that jumped on the riddim but I wasn’t satisfied enough so I choose the 13 best songs.”

Prior to the New Start rhythm project, Timo Don produced songs for Bubahloo (an EP comprising seven tracks), Frahcess One and 1Black Prince.

Timo Don is focused on promoting the New Start rhythm with the aim of taking it international.

“My main goal is to promote it in Jamaica first. The European market, mainly here in Switzerland, is slowly gaining traction. People are really impressed with the quality and the musicality behind the songs, so I know it has huge potential in Europe. Just doing it step by step and starting with Jamaica,” he said.

— Kevin Jackson