Sailor Jane puts reggae spin on Sade’s biggest hits, album released Friday
KINGSTON, Jamaica — American singer Sailor Jane, who is an admirer of Sade’s music, has put a reggae spin on 14 of the iconic singer’s biggest hits, and released the album No Ordinary DUB – Sade Re-imagined.
Produced by Easy Star Records co-founder and Billboard charting producer Michael Goldwasser, No Ordinary DUB – Sade Re-Imagined was released Friday, February 14.
“I have definitely been a huge fan and inspired by her works for many years. I love that she subtly exudes class and sensuality without doing or showing too much. Same in her musical style. She is elegant and simple, and it translates to timelessness and class. This has been very influential to me stylistically,” Sailor Jane told Observer Online.
She opined that working with Goldwasser — a giant in the international music industry — was a constant learning experience.
“He is a true professional and absolute creative genius. Watching him navigate the studio and work with the musicians over those few weeks was really something. He has excellent time management skills and was able to really bring out the full potential of all equipment and musicians at the table,” she said.
No Ordinary DUB was created in multiple sub-genres of reggae music. From infectious one-drop rhythms to classic ska and dub beats, lovers rock, afrobeats to current dancehall sounds, the album gives fans an eclectic musical treat.
“The vibe on the album is a sound that I conceptualized in my head several years before approaching the project. During the recording of my last single, Into You, I had collaborated with several musicians from Jamaica and finally heard the sound that I was looking for. That is when I knew I had found the players for this project,” Sailor Jane disclosed.
The singer is currently in Jamaica writing and recording original music with a few local producers, with plans to release an original album later this year.
“I released a few singles in 2024 from the No Ordinary DUB project. I hope to release several singles that I have been sitting on since last year in 2025. I am ready and have been working and we will see some productivity in 2025 for sure,” she said.
Songs featured on No Ordinary DUB – Sade Re-Imagined include the hits No Ordinary Love, Paradise, Smooth Operator, Cherish the Day, Stronger than Pride, Sweetest Taboo and Your Love is King.
Nigerian British singer Sade took the world by storm with the release of her debut album Diamond Life in 1984. The singer who has sold millions of records globally, has a large catalog of hits that have hit local and international charts.
One of her songs, By Your Side, released in 2000, was given a reggae remix and was a hit locally. Sade even resided in Jamaica for several years.
Sade won the Grammy Award for Best New Artiste in 1986.
— Kevin Jackson