His insatiable love for music probably started while he was listening to his Dad’s vinyl collection. Canute’s music memories start as early as 8 years old and once it’s about music, his memories are always happy ones...even when he didn’t know what a genre was he was studying instrumentals, cords, arrangements and mixes. It’s always come natural to him.
Hailing from St Mary, Jamaica, Canute Neil Ellis has become a leading force in the reggae and gospel music industries as a Technical Director, Audio engineer, Songwriter and Producer. From working with Bunny Wailer of The Original Wailers to The Commodores, beloved Reggae group Israel Vibration to Rock n Roll Hall of fame legend Jimmy Cliff on to India Arie and Stevie Wonder, Canute has been touring and making waves, this A1 Mixer has expanded working on the diverse genres of Classical, Jazz, Arabic and Folk music in Live and Studio scenarios.
This patient and passionate manager is driven to inspire and encourage others and each week he works with his 35+ member team to do just that a one of the largest churches in the DC area with capacity of 10,500 seats. With communication and attention to details and is strengths, he’s always driven to carry out projects to the highest level with a smile, no matter the circumstances.
On the Gospel scene he’s proud to have worked with greats John P Kee, Donnie McClurkin, Hezekiah Walker, Kirk Franklin, The Clark Sisters, Kurt Carr, Mary Mary, Tye Tribbet, Benny Hinn, Sam Hinn, Todd White, Christine D’Clario, Grace Thrillers, William McDowell, Todd Dulaney, Israel Houghton.
On the R&B and Reggae scene he’s worked with Wyclef Jean, Keisha Cole, Remy Ma, Beres Hammond, Chronixx, Bennie Man, Sheila Hylton, Courtney John, Dennis Brown, Sly & Robbie, to name a few.
He loves music and in the early 2000’s produced his first album “The Scroll” and followed up with The Scroll V2. These full length albums helped to bridge the gap between Gospel and Reggae in a time when this was frowned upon. He created a launch platform for several artistes who now are household names.
The third album “ Scroll V3 - The Trilogy” released in August 8, 2019, is the Evolution of Street Gospel. Canute describes his style as a eclectic, futuristic fusion and the projects reflects this Hip Hop, Reggae, World Beat, Electro, and Afro Pop tracks “I love producing” says Canute, through his infectious smile he says “It does something to me to make something out of a mere idea and turn it into a full blown sing along reflecting vibes.”
Among the many priceless moments of his career, the day he sat down with Bob Marley’s Mother Mrs Cedella Booker listening to Bob’s tapes and the work he did on her album stand out. So too does the congratulatory call for his participation on Israel Vibration’s, Reggae Knights album in 2011, nominated for a 54th Grammy for Best Reggae Album and the Grammy consideration in 2017 for a project he had written and produced with Ryan Berry “Divine Fava”.
This decorated Producer is always strumming a beat in his head and will continue to bring the best of Jamaica to the international stage.