Crimson Heart Replica: Getting The Alt Scene Jumping In Kingston, Jamaica

Aaaaah, we knew Jamaica had great things in store for us. Don't get it twisted, love reggae and dancehall, but there's a vibrant alt scene in Kingston that goes far beyond that, with artists expressing themselves in genres ranging from rock to electro, and everything in between.
At the heart of the movement, Katherine Williams - a.k.a. Crimson Heart Replica, is one of the movers and shakers.

Crimson Heart Replica: Getting The Alt Scene Jumping In Kingston, Jamaica

First and foremost, she's a singer/songwriter/performer, doing her thing with her brand of soulful lovers' rock (yea man, listen to it below, you'll see what we mean). She grew up listening to artists like Stevie Wonder, Santana, Madonna, Prince, Earth Wind and Fire, and aims at creating timeless music. Then there's the Event Promoter hat: "Right now one of my main concerns is developing the scene here in Jamaica with my event 'Altered Fridays' and with my live shows", she tells us. FYI, producer Diplo was a guest DJ a few weeks ago, and they even got a visit from (gasp!) Grace Jones - one of the greatest artists on Earth, if you ask me... :-)

Update: Katherine now has a profile on afropunk.com - http://www.afropunk.com/profile/CrimsonHeartReplica
Katherine is also an activist and has produced events such as 'Hu$tlin' For Haiti' last year, with proceeds ($100,000JA) going to relief efforts in Haiti. "I'm working on a new project called 'Party With A Purpose' for the summer", she adds.
Needless to say, it hasn't always been easy being an alt kid in JA. "People have been rockin' out here in Kingston since the early 90's, but they used to get a really hard time from the police and promoters; police would even go as far as to plug out amps and shit." But things are definitely moving... "I did an event called 'Zombie Prom' last summer and 200+ kids showed up dressed as zombies ready to dance to electro, indie, metal and any other kind of alternative music. I love my little scene."
Mmmm... Definitely makes us wanna jump on the next flight to Kingston... How about you?
- Lou C-D

CLICK ON PLAY |> TO LISTEN TO CRIMSON HEART REPLICA'S "GETTIN' ILL":

CHECK THIS OUT!

Tags: Alternative, Crimson, Grace, Heart, Jamaica, Jones, Katherine, Kingston, Pop, Replica, More…Rock, Soul, Williams

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Comment by Moni on December 21, 2011 at 6:05pm: Love her style and unique sound!

Comment by AFROPUNK on January 19, 2011 at 11:43pm: Hey guys, Crimson Heart Replica is now a member of afropunk.com. You can greet her at: http://www.afropunk.com/profile/CrimsonHeartReplica

Comment by Lunakiss on January 18, 2011 at 10:43am: I like CHR's voice. It's hard to find nice rock style voices. She's a great versatile voice like Alexis's from SLS. Despite them both have different style in vocal range, I say two thumbs up for CHR. Thanks for the scoop,AP.