?If there is one thing I learned from my mother it is, ?Do what makes you happy?.?

Which is why Bermudian-in-London Mark Lomas has set aside any thoughts of pursuing a career as a classical musician and instead is prepared to put up with all the hurdles associated with pursuing his goal of becoming a successful reggae producer/songwriter/recording artist.

?I am fairly persistent until people do what I want,? he smiles.

Admitting that moving to the British capital in 1998 to pursue his dreams has been quite an education, Mr. Lomas now knows that breaking into the big time is no easy feat, particularly in the disorganised world of reggae which is his sphere of interest, but he is also optimistic that the positive milestones he has already achieved will lead to bigger things.

?Patience is the key. It just takes time,? he says.

For those back home who have not followed his progress, the news that Mr. Lomas has switched allegiance from classical music to reggae probably comes as a surprise, for as a youngster he showed enormous promise as a clarinettist, passing his Royal Schools of Music Grade VIII examinations at age 11 ? the same age at which he played in the Bermuda Philharmonic Orchestra. At age 12, the Saltus Senior School student left here to further his studies at the prestigious Purcell School of Music in London. At age 16, with his GCSEs and a year?s worth of ?A? level studies behind him, he then moved on to the famed Juilliard School of Music in New York. Whereas Purcell, one of Britain?s top 20 schools, took a relaxed view of dress and discipline, preferring instead to let its students ?get on with it?, Juilliard operated along more rigid lines and was much more structured.

?It was very much a classical-based school with rigid ideas about what the various departments would do. If you played an orchestral instrument they would concentrate on turning you into an orchestra player, which is what they wanted me to be, but that was never my thing,? Mr. Lomas remembers. ?It was not something I was remotely interested in. I hated orchestra, I liked solo work.?

Despite that, he admits that he would still play the clarinet professionally today ?if there was anything to play?.

?Since I was about 12 I have been asked to perform the same ten clarinet pieces about ten times. There is a huge clarinet repertoire of which only a small portion gets played. For me it became a lifestyle choice. Did I really want to run all over the country playing standards to ageing and dwindling audiences, or did I want to do what I love??

He opted to do what he loved, and returned to London from Juilliard at the end of 1998. It was from age 13 that the gifted young student had quietly begun to develop a passion for reggae, and now the time had come to make the transition from classical music complete.

?Reggae was always the music I enjoyed, and I knew I loved it,? he says. ?Even when I was playing with the Juilliard Orchestra at the Lincoln Center, at the same time I was counting my orchestra rests I had an earphone connected to my Walkman, which ran right up my sleeve to my ear on the conductor?s blind side, listening to reggae!?

Mr. Lomas did not, however, fritter his time away at Juilliard but spent a great deal of time working with various composers, one of whom wrote a piece for him, which was published. At the end of his studies, he graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree.

In London, the young Bermudian set about trying to get a toehold in the reggae industry. In the ensuing six years he has learned a lot ? and come a long way. One of the first steps was to further cement his working relationship with fellow Bermudian Adam Mayo, who also lives in England. The two first met at Saltus Primary School, and their shared love of composing and performing reggae music was longstanding. Today, along with Mr. Lomas? wife Emma, whom he first met at Purcell School of Music and who plays keyboards and violin, the trio have a formal partnership known as Muchwork Ltd., although they trade as Dungeon Productions (e-mail: dungeonmassiveaol.com).

?Emma is an integral part of our success to date, and does a lot of behind-the-scenes work,? Mr. Lomas says. ?Our organisation is largely due to her diligence. She does accounts and all sorts.?

?Adam is quite an important part of the story also,? his songwriting partner continues. ?We first met at Saltus Primary School, and I met him in a musical sense in 1998 when someone said to me, ?Adam can play guitar and he plays some good stuff?, so we went to Just Platinum Studio in Bermuda and recorded our first song there, and that?s how we got started. I was quite lucky to meet him. He is a reggae man who writes his own lyrics, sings his own material, and plays guitar. He also has this uncanny ability to go out into the industry and network. He is the only person I know who is like that.?

Looking back on their progress to date, Mr. Lomas, who is the father of a little daughter Ayana, explains that, as popular as reggae music is here, in England it is a somewhat different story, which makes success slower and more difficult to achieve. He lists the following realities:

The reggae industry is not very professionally run, so everything is done by hustle.

Apart from the big producers, nobody is trained, so finding session singers who understand harmonies, etc. can be difficult, which in turn makes recording sessions protracted and expensive.

There are only three main reggae DJs in the whole of England (David Rodigan of Kiss FM; Sugar Dread on Choice FM; and Chris Goldfinger on BBC Radio One.

There are only two companies importing and distributing reggae music from Jamaica: Jetstar and Greensleeves, and they control the whole of the UK reggae industry.

Whereas hip hop albums sell in the millions, there is no real reggae CD industry in the UK. Reggae is more ?underground?. A brilliant album by a top artist, say Bounty or Sizzla, for example may only sell between 10,000 and 40,000 copies.

In terms of air play, reggae charts almost always feature releases by Jetstar and/or Greensleeves, which has the biggest distribution system in the UK, so getting the major DJs on one?s side is a challenge.

Reggae culture is anti-gay. Adverse comments on the lyrics of a song or an album can lead to curtailed sales.

?You will hear a lot of songs that contain anti-homosexual lyrics,? Mr. Lomas says. ?Once reggae starts to get somewhere, someone makes a comment and then the record companies become nervous and stop selling. This has nothing to do with any moral stance on their part, but is simply a mathematical equation.?

So how does someone like Mark Lomas or Adam Mayo break into the UK reggae scene?

?Persistence pays,? says Mr. Lomas, noting that he is very good at this.

Just how persistence, perseverance, and an unswerving faith in their talents have paid off for the two Bermudians is perhaps best demonstrated by their successes to date.

?David Rodigan on Kiss FM is a big supporter of ours and has been very helpful to us,? Mr. Lomas says. ?When he was in Bermuda performing I had my mother kidnap him and throw a big party at our house! That is the length that you have to go to. Sugar Dread on Choice FM is also a good supporter, and is playlisting our new single, ?Feelin? Nice?, which will be getting regular play on the drive-time programmes.?

In fact, ?Feelin? Nice? was released just before Christmas, having been produced by two of the biggest reggae producers in the UK: Mafia and Fluxy, and Gussie P.

?They heard our stuff and really liked it, so I sat down and wrote some songs and took them to their studio,? Mr. Lomas says proudly. ?This is our first assault on the mainstream industry, trying to muscle in on Jet Star and Greensleeves, and we have had quite a success in Europe and on local radio stations in Jamaica. The single is being released to all the main reggae outlets in the UK, and we also have agents in Germany and France working on licensing deals. Basically, we send them the album and they do the manufacturing and distribution and we will get a royalty on the record since we own the rights.

?We have got the base established, and now it is just a matter of putting everything out there.?

Saxon, the chief reggae sound system in the UK, which is also the best-known internationally, is also playing the duo?s CDs, ?Conscious Fire? and ?Ital Delivery?, and in Bermuda Souljah One, Power 95 and Mix 106 are doing likewise.

In addition, Mr. Lomas and Mr. Mayo have regular gigs at the Roots Garden in Brighton, England, and recently Mr. Mayo has been doing some recording work in Jamaica with The Wailers, as well as performing in Portugal and the Reggae Sunfest in Jamaica in 2002.

Mr. Lomas has also performed in London.

?Adam, my wife Emma and I are one big family. We get together and write every few weeks.?

As always with arriving artists, money is not something either of them is rolling in, and Mr. Lomas points out that, when it comes to producing an album, ?it is a hard world, costly, and the red tape involved is immense.?

It is also a very lengthy process, particularly with limited cash flow, because there are so many steps to the process, including studio time, hiring back-up singers/artists; recording, mixing and mastering costs; manufacture; registering with the Performing Arts Society and the Mechanics Copyright Production Society; distribution and other factors.

Despite all this, for Mr. Lomas there is no going back.

?It is a hard industry, but I would rather be doing something I love and be dirt poor than doing something I don?t like and have lots of money.

?One thing moving between cities teaches you is that you have to find happiness. If you find it you have to stick with it. I see a good future. It just takes time.

?Meanwhile, I have had great support from my partners, Emma and Adam, Adam?s parents, my mother (lawyer Keren Lomas), and the Prince?s Trust.

?The Trust gave us a start-up loan, and provides us with a business advisor to bounce ideas off.?

The albums ?Conscious Fire? and ?Ital Delivery? can be purchased locally at Bridge House Gallery in St. George?s, Dub City in Hamilton, and from Lomas & Co. and Strands beauty salon, also in Hamilton.

Bermuda DJs, and anyone interested in using their songs for advertisements and jingles can contact Mr. Lomas for the ?specials? or dub plates at 293-0942 until Saturday.

After that, they should contact him by e-mail at dungeonmassiveaol.com