Carter’s in Colombo!

• Multi-talented songwriter, artist, vocalist, actor and painter performs at Qbaa and is on the lookout for new artistes

By Rashika Fazali

Most people have never heard of him while some know him as a gentleman with multiple talents. However, for the people in the global music industry, he is a well-known ‘behind-the-scenes’ star and a respected artiste.

To understand what a ‘behind-the-scenes’ star is, you first have to note that very little people know of the musical influences behind the success of an artiste. The producers, songwriters, mastering engineers, managers, and the rest of the music producing team, are the most important people who majorly contribute to an artiste’s success. Thus they become the ‘behind-the-scenes’ stars who happen to be naturally famous in the music industry, but less recognised by the public.

Keithen Carter, twice divorced and a father of two, is an admired and a valued lyricist who has penned numerous hits for stars likes Michael Jackson, Madonna, Stephanie Mills, and Chaka Khan, just to name a few. He also worked with Philip Bailey on the album ‘Triumph’ that earned them a Grammy. He is also an actor, a versatile singer and a voice over artist. Most importantly he is also a painter.

Currently he is in Sri Lanka on invitation to sing for four nights at the recently-opened restaurant and lounge Qbaa which is co-owned by popular cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya. Carter unleashes his singing abilities as a jazz vocalist on Wednesday, Friday, and the weekends from 8:30 p.m. onwards.

I had the privilege to discover more about him, his history, his view on the music industry today and his reason for choosing to be here in Sri Lanka.

Born in Chicago, he was looked after by his grandmother after he lost his parents in a car crash when he was only two years old. Carter acknowledged that his grandmother was his hero. “She thought me to love even in the face of racism, hatred, etc., and to forgive. She also taught me to respect women,” said Carter.

He first got an idea of what the music industry was about when he met people like Donny Hathaway and the recently-deceased Terry Collier, which led him first to advertising. As time passed, he was introduced to the likes of a recording studio as a songwriter where he grandly mentioned that he had been in working in recording studios for over 30 years writing for various famous artistes. From that point onwards, he started working with producers in Chicago and slowly moved into LA. It was there that he met Jon Smith, his writing partner.

Carter revealed that he has also been a voice-over artist for 30 years and has worked in many commercials including lead vocal performances for the noted Mazda advert ‘Zoom, Zoom, Zoom’. He also mentioned that he has been writing for London Record Labels such as Phonetic Recordings, Mustard Music and Bugs Music for the past 12 years. “They have sent me all over the world to write for various musicians,” stated Carter.

He revealed that when Lionel Richie left the Commodores, he was asked to step in for him. However, the most noted single that he happen to lend his vocals to was one of the best tunes from the ’80s, ‘True Blue’ by Madonna.

He is currently set on working in Asia due to numerous reasons. “When I was working in Prague, I broke my leg at a conference and that made me want to quit. I told the people I was working for, ‘I am done. This is it. I can’t do this anymore.’ But of course, they did not want me to leave the music business at all,” revealed Carter.

So they moved him to Asia – Thailand first where he performed a couple of gigs at places like Tong Lau and then moved to Sri Lanka. “I am looking for artistes and producers I can work with. That’s the interesting thing about this job.”

The move from America to other parts of the globe was decided on the basis that he was tired. He stated: “I was tired. I wanted to reinvent myself. I have to explore new things else I get bored.” Apart from music, he mentioned that he is also interested in theatre. “I like to do a one-man piece. I’ve met a lot of interesting people and I’ve also had a lot of experiences which I can put down on a paper.” While he was in Thailand, he was also able to do a whole series of paintings.

Speaking about his family in relation to art and music, he added: “My family was into music, but I was more into arts. Am I a painter first and a musician second? No, I am not either. You just do what God wants you to do.”

On writing music, he stated that it is fun because he gets to watch the artistes performing the numbers he has written. He also added that he has written over 90 songs. His inspirations are experiences. He added, “Artistes write about themselves. We do it for acceptance and survival. If we do make money out of it, then it’s a reward. Music is a science. We all have guidelines to writing music.”

Giving his opinions on the music industry today, he explained that it is not the same as 20 or 30 years ago: “Artistes in the past had to really work. They had to struggle, but today it is easy. It is a new game and people are not making money like they used to.” However with regard to the quality of music, he noted that it is indeed getting better. “Just like in an artist’s palette where there happen to be a lot of colours, there are also opportunities, equipment, and toys today,” stated Carter.

He mentioned that he has worked with famous artists and DJs of all genres. However, he strongly dislikes DJs because all they ever do is take a song, rip it apart, and reproduce it like it was their own creation. He strongly opposes the idea of sampling stating it as a big “no-no”.

So what’s next for Carter? “I have no idea. Wherever God takes me is next!”