Mr. G

Mr. G, aka Colin McBean, has recently announced a remastered, 23-track compilation entitled ‘OG Retrospective’, which is out now via the British-Jamaican artist’s Phoenix G label. With new masters provided by Simon at the London mastering house The Exchange London, a direct link to the original mastering done by the late-Nilz (Nilesh Patel) from The Exchange, the compilation marks a reflective period in McBean’s life. 

Mr. G: “The day I found my original studio masters and got my rights back was the starting point, and then I realised it’s 25 years on and it’s time to recode, remaster and reevaluate because I’ve never looked back properly. I’ve always been like a bat out of hell, never quite thinking I’m good enough or great at what I do, but it’s important to celebrate, because there aren’t a lot of people still here, still doing it after this length of time.

“All I’ve ever done is write and move forward, but more and more, I get the new generation sending me videos of my old tracks and sometimes I don’t even recognise them, so finally I thought, ‘ok, you’re comfortable in your own skin, let’s really see how you sounded at the beginning, how you’ve changed, how have the techniques changed? 

“It was quite raw going back over these; some of the memories are riddled with pain and angst - friends dying, where I was in my life at the time, having a heart attack and so on. Having a sound, too, can be a cross to bear. You’re only ever competing with yourself; your only game is being better than your last game, so if you dwell on the past too much, you can’t move forward. Getting to the point where I can look back and feel happy feels good. Invariably, what will come from this is ‘more’, because, with my own label, I have endless possibilities and will continue telling my story.”

Mr. G ‘OG Retrospective’ is out now as a six-12” limited edition boxset and digital via Phoenix G.

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