Reggae and dancehall singjay, Chino, is already in preparation mode for yet another album.
The artiste who released is sophomore Japan album, Never Change, last summer and a self-entitled US debut album, Chino, in May of this year, has started working on another album which is scheduled for release in Japan early next year.
One of the earliest singles, he says, will be a remix of his hit single, Seal Di Link featuring Japanese female artiste, Akane. “She will be singing in Japanese, while I sing in English,” says Chino.
The Driving Me Insane, Must Come Back and Ruff It Up singer is no stranger to imbibing his music with a Japanese flair – his previous Japanese album, Never Change, featured a Japanese version of his hit song, From Mawnin’. The single went on to become the number one downloaded/purchased track and ringtone on Japan’s most established ringtone sites, Reggae Zion – a first for anyone outside of the Japan market. The song soon became the site’s theme song – also a courtesy previously extended to only Japanese acts, while the album became one of Japan’s overall best sellers that year.
Chino says his aim is to make the upcoming Japan album even more successful than its predecessors. “I always try to put everything into my music – from the lyrics, to the musical arrangement, just about everything. And I will be trying to outdo my previous albums both in concepts and sales; so apart from pushing music in the Jamaican, Caribbean and US markets, I am also now focusing on the Japan market.”
It is therefore not surprising that Chino chose Seal Di Link as one of the first singles to work on and possibly release from the upcoming album. Seal Di Link which was released on his US album sold in excess of 150, 000 copies on iTunes during its first week. Also by extension, a few hours after Chino’s Never Change album was released last year, it debuted at the number 7 spot on the Japan iTunes Top Reggae album chart and climbed to the second spot later that evening; thereby outranking Bob Marley’s Legend album – quite the achievement. Marley’s Legend had held the number one spot on all iTunes charts with the exception of Japan and Germany.
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