Clinark Dill decided that staying on this rock as a performer was not getting him anywhere.

So, he packed his bags and set off to the UK last April, and he has since found that the grass is in fact a whole lot greener.

Mr. Dill, who has since dropped the ?e? from his first name, was on-Island recently and popped into for a chat about his new-found success.

?I am working with two of the best UK producers ? Mafia and Fluxy,? he said.

?They have worked with all sorts of artists like Maxi Priest and so many others. I have been working with them and the album is coming along. They are really impressed out there and a lot of people are waiting for it to come out. We are looking at getting it out in November or December.

?Some of the other artists come through and some just sit and listen to my stuff and they are like, ?where have you been all this time???

When he initially went to London, he was working with an independent label and they figured that once they got the tracks to a certain level they would take it to Fluxy and Mafia.

?They are often booked up and the timing was good so they told me to come the next day,? he said.

?And that is when we started working on the project with them. Also we are doing it independently so we have to it step by step because it costs a lot.?

His plan is to release on white label, but he is also selling his live performance album on the Internet.

The sound engineers ?are huge in the industry?, Mr. Dill said. ?Everyone knows Mafia and Fluxy.

?So it should be a good quality project. Also the band that I work with is ?Poor Man Friend? from Holland and they want to be my permanent backing band. They want to go on tour with me.

?So stuff has just been falling into place because, normally, you have to put together a band and that is a lot of work.?

Bermudian artists have been at it for so long and there is so much talent on this Island.

?But we don?t get the exposure,? Mr. Dill said of the frustrations of the Island?s small music scene.

?People aren?t interested in Bermuda because it is so small and away from everything.?Once he moved to the UK, he found things began to fall in place much more easily.

?When I went over, I was only supposed to record a few songs, and they liked it so much that they suggested I instead do a whole album rather than a few tracks,? he said.

?Then I liked the lifestyle over there and the level of exposure and so I came back a few times because I run a business here ? and now there as well ? and then I decided to give it a shot. I then met my manager, who is also now my girlfriend, and one thing led to another.

?So now I am out there for good. There are so many more opportunities and you?re close to Europe.

?I took a risk doing it, because I was comfortable here in Bermuda, but I am glad that I did it because of what is coming out of it now.?

He benefits from the fact that age is not an issue in reggae, he added.

Many will know him from his past performances with local reggae groups Jahstice and Youth Creation, where he originally started out in the early 80s.

His reggae style is a mixture of conscious rhythms and lovers rock, he said: ?Not a lot of political stuff, but a little of what is going on in the world.

?It is just about living right and everyday life and experiences of what I see. If I see something happening in the high street, I might think to do a little song about that.?

Mr. Dill is not only a singer, he also plays the keyboard.

?My father, who was a music teacher taught me to play from young,? he said.

His advice to up and coming Bermuda performers is to take the chance of leaving the Island and try their luck abroad.

?Just take a chance and go for it, because there are definitely opportunities out there,? he said. ?And some of the producers out there have asked me about other Bermudian talent, because, other than Collie Buddz, they have never heard about anyone from Bermuda.

?There is a lot of talent on this Island, but people get frustrated and they feel that they can?t make any money from this.

?Bermudians don?t like to struggle because they don?t want to give up what they are used to here. But people just have to take a chance.?

Mr. Dill said he finds being on the brink of success thrilling.

?It feels really good and, in some ways, I wish it would have happened when I was younger, but everything happens for a reason and in its own time.

?I am in the mix of it now and with the top people in the industry. So I feel proud and also proud as a Bermudian as well because when I went to Holland people were asking, ?Where?s Bermuda??

?So it helps to promote Bermuda as well.?

To follow Mr. Dill?s progress visit www.clinark.com.