Winston McAnuff & Fixi

Winston McAnuff & Fixi

Winston McAnuff & Fixi is a collaboration between Jamaican reggae singer and composer Winston McAnuff and French accordionist, arranger and producer Fixi. McAnuff is born in Jamaica in 1957 and is known for his stage nickname Electric Dread. He works in roots reggae and has a long history in Jamaican music, including writing songs for artists such as Hugh Mundell and Earl Sixteen, singing with Inner Circle, and recording under his own name.

The collaboration develops after McAnuff’s career takes a new direction in France through work connected with the Makasound label and its founders Romain Germa and Nicolas Maslowski. Before joining forces with Fixi, McAnuff records A Drop with singer Camille Bazbaz in 2004 and Paris Rockin with the rock-musette group Java in 2006. In Java, Fixi plays accordion and is part of a project that reconnects French folk traditions with contemporary music.

Fixi also works as a drummer and pianist, and as an arranger, producer and conductor, including work associated with Tony Allen. He plays alongside Sinclair and Mathieu Chédid and draws on musical traditions from Brazil, Jamaica and Réunion. McAnuff and Fixi share an interest in the accordion, which links Fixi’s work with McAnuff’s upbringing, as his father, a pastor, plays the instrument.

The partnership continues after McAnuff’s son Matthew McAnuff is murdered in 2012, after which he returns to the studio with Fixi. The pair brings together Jamaican roots reggae, French folk elements and accordion-led arrangements.