D'Litchie
D’Litchie is a multi-skilled musician. Born and raised in South East London, UK, he grew up listening to a wide range of musical genres influencing his style and drive to produce music. His debut performance was on an acoustic guitar at age 14, entertaining the Lord Mayor of Greenwich, in a school production. At 16, D’Litchie was playing the melodica on some of the Lovers Rock music produced by Studio 16 at Joe Gibbs Record Shop in South East London.
By the age of 18, D’Litchie’s talents were being showcased through his work in various live bands. He played melodica, percussions and sang backing vocals in the Progression Band; sometime later, he played the bass guitar in the Blood Tribe Band (family unit), before joining the Mawassi Band (with Anthony “Drumtan” Ward). Shortly after, D’Litchie added the keyboards and clarinet to his repertoire, and fulfilled his dream of learning the intricacies of the saxophone.
D’Litchie’s vast range of musical creativity shines through in the productions from his Nuff Life Music label.
The Saxophonist
D’Litchie’s strong work ethic and warm, approachable personality earned him international recognition as one part of the horns section of Max Romeo’s Charmax Band, spending several years on seasonal tours with Max Romeo and other Reggae legends, including Lee Perry, The Congos and Dr Alimantado.
D’Litchie’s unique “saxy” flavour can also be heard on a number of live gigs and recordings for Ariwa Music, Falasha Music (Blood Shanti), Joe G’s Music, Lionz Den and the late Michael Prophet.
D’Litchie’s current appointments include Black Roots (Bristol, UK based band), and corporate businesses/private functions for his innovative blend of soul, jazz and popular music standards with his reggae creations.
The Engineer/Producer
The introduction of digital music in the 90s provided the vehicle for D’Litchie to become a prolific studio/live engineer, working for Tree of Life Records (UK) with artist like Horace Andy, Alton Ellis, Joy Mac and Johnny Clarke. In the late 90s, D’Litchie moved onto managing productions at Are We Mad, a branch of Mad Professor’s Ariwa Studios, where he gathered invaluable skills in varied roles at the company. He created original tracks for many reggae artists such as Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, Macka B, Earl 16, Sister Audrey and Devon Russell. He also produced remixes for major record companies like EMI/Sony Music and other investors, as well as mastered effective artist/road management.
D’Litchie’s Nuff Life Music is built on his strong foundation of knowledge and expertise. Nuff life Music offers a range of Reggae music and flavours of old-school Soul, Jazz and Ska. Sister Audrey, Sydney Prince, Nana Genesis, Beverly Notes, Mikey Maclean and Simon, are a few artists with songs to be released on the Nuff Life Music label.
The Artist
D’Litchie celebrated the achievement of two of his goals – mastering the saxophone and music production – with the launch of his debut album in 2012 (co-produced by Sister Audrey), called Mystic Games. The album echoes D’Litchie’s peaceful disposition (he’s often called the Peacemaker), his playfulness (wit) and the wealth of experience he has gathered on his travels along the musical highway.
D’Litchie is currently adding the finishing touches to his second album, which is due to be released in the autumn of 2023. Like the first, this album oozes originality, authenticity and pure quality.
About DALitchies
DALitchies’ services are based on a collection creative juices mix with a combination of over 40 years qualified experience in the music and broadcasting industry which D’Litchie and Sister Audrey have bonded together to form DALitchies.