Howard Campbell, Gleaner Writer

Della Manley ... said her latest album shows where her head's at right now. - Contributed

IT'S BEEN eight years since Della Manley transformed from suburban housewife into minor celebrity thanks to mainstream acceptance of her debut album, Ashes On The Window Sill.

Two months ago, the lithe folk singer released Barbican Square, her second album, with a launch party at the PCJ building in St. Andrew. It offers more of the tender melodies that made its predecessor a sleeper hit. In a recent interview with The Gleaner, Manley said that she has matured since her last disc. Barbican Square, she explained, is a personal statement.

"I have grown as an artiste; on Ashes I was much more laid-back and inexperienced," she said. "This album reflects different things ... It shows where my head's at right now."

Credit

Manley again wrote most of the songs, but shares credits on three numbers with her sister-in-law Rachel Manley and Brian Jobson. The latter co-produced all but four of Barbican Square's 15 tracks with Neil Case.

Guitarist Ray Hitchins, who produced Ashes, called the shots on Other Side of Eden. The Firehouse Crew, best known for their work with Luciano and Sizzla, did the honours on I Know, which Manley cut with Mutabaruka.

She said working with the popular band broke new ground for her.

"The album was pretty much done and being mixed when I was asked if I have ever done a song on a 'riddim'," she said. "I'm glad I did it, it broadened my horizons."

With Ashes On The Window Sill, Della Manley helped expand local musical tastes in 1998. The daughter-in-law of former Prime Minister Michael Manley, the Montego Bay-born singer's gentle songs made a mark on dancehall-dominated radio.

Ashes was reminiscent of the acoustic sounds of Carole King and Joni Mitchell, performers Manley says are two of her biggest influences.

Significantly, the album got the thumbs-up from Timothy White who was editor of Billboard magazine at the time.

The album made Manley a fixture on the intimate cocktail circuit and landed her a stint at a leading north coast hotel.

The mother of two teenage daughters, she said a follow-up album was not priority for her during the last eight years. "For a while, I wasn't focused on recording," she told The Gleaner.

To date, I Know has been Barbican Square's only release and has got favourable play, especially on the all-reggae IRIE FM. The album, recorded locally and in Florida, will be distributed locally through Manley's DellaM Productions company.