Christine, when you and John originally started with Alpha & Omega, what did you set out to do?
Christine Woodbridge: "I grew up on reggae music and I had been going to clubs since the age of twelve. At one point I started to learn to play the guitar and I wanted to start my own band. I was part of an all-female reggae band for a while, but then I moved to Plymouth and that's were I met John Sprosen. We basically just started playing together, me on bass and him on guitar. The Alpha & Omega sound really developed gradually over the years. It just came out of nowhere really, because we never set out with any real intentions."
What exactly is John's background and how did you meet?
Christine Woodbridge: "John's from Plymouth in Devon. When I moved there I had heard he was looking for musicians to work with and eventually someone introduced us to one another. It just clicked instantly, there's no other way of putting it. It was just one of these mystical things that was meant to be, I suppose."
John is a bit of an enigmatic figure in the sense that he never tours or performs on stage. In practical terms, how difficult is that for you to work in this way?
Christine Woodbridge: "Well, there is some difficulty involved, yes. We used to record together in a studio, but at the moment we're just sending each other tracks back and forth over the internet. That's not a brilliant way of collaborating and I'm not totally happy with it really, but I've been living in London for many years and have only moved back to Devon in the past months. London is not a good place to live; it's not good for your mind and spirit, but Devon is a very inspirational place and hopefully we can go back to working in the studio again to create some powerful organic and mystic music."
The artwork for the earlier Alpha & Omega albums was heavily inspired by traditional Ethiopian religious art. Where did that idea come from?
Christine Woodbridge: "I think it was John who came up with an illustration he thought would be fitting for 'Daniel In The Lion's Den', our first album, and we really carried on the theme from there. Just like the name Alpha & Omega, I feel it's not really John or I who really came up with it, we just carry out what we're told to do. It's a mystical thing; if you listen to Jah or whatever you want to call the higher power, you'll know what to do. It's quite easy really! (laughs)"
You just mentioned Jah there and there is a lot of Rastafarian influence in the music of Alpha & Omega.
Christine Woodbridge: "Well, we're both very spiritual people and we believe in oneness, universal love and a greater purpose, but we've also got our differences. I've got my way of looking at the world and John has his. I try to live a very spiritual way of life; I love nature and I've just settled in a very beautiful part of England called Dartmoor and that's also where I draw most of my inspiration from."
From the very beginning you guys were very self-sufficient; you did everything yourselves, from the artwork of the albums to the production and distribution. Can you make a living of Alpha & Omega?
Christine Woodbridge: "I think it's hard to make a living out of roots music; it's just not commercial enough. Personally I have a gardening job I do as well and which I also love, but I wouldn't want to give up my music, so everything I do is focused on that. As you know the CD market has crumbled, everything is put online and downloaded for free, so it's hard to stand up to that, but at the same time our love for this music is so big that we want to continue at it anyway. Music is my main purpose for being here and I would never give it up to do a day job to give you just one example."
There seems to be an evolution in the dub scene to build ever bigger and louder speaker sets.
Christine Woodbridge: "Yeah, I like Abashanti-I or Jah Shaka as much as any other dub lover, but I also have moments when I feel more like listening to a more meditative style of reggae. Euro-dub or whatever you want to call it is definitely growing in popularity, especially on the European mainland, but personally I only like it in limited doses."
Since John chooses not to go on the road, you've surrounded yourself with some other musicians to do live gigs. Who exactly are you working with?
Christine Woodbridge: "Well, basically there's Jonah Dan, Paul Fox and Dan-I from Venice in Italy. I've tried out various combinations over the past years, but this line-up really works. We all get along very well. It's an organic thing though; the line-up as well as the sound keep evolving, so you never know who or what you are going to see or hear next time you see us."
You mentioned earlier that you started out playing in an all-female band. Do you never miss that feeling of being on stage with a full band?
Christine Woodbridge: "It would definitely be interesting, mainly because I haven't done it for years, but it takes a lot of coordination and organisation! (laughs) And it costs quite a lot more for people to book as well. I'm quite happy with the setup we have right now really."
London used to be a sort of reggae capital of Europe, but it seems to have lost a lot of its feathers. What happened there?
Christine Woodbridge: "I don't go out much in London anymore and the best sessions are now really held in France, Italy and even Belgium. Reggae-wise England is just not the best place to be anymore. In the nineties the vibes were still incredible. If you went to a Shaka or Aba Shanti-I dance, you would be buzzing for a week, but that seems to have disappeared. I don't know, things could still turn around again I guess; we can only hope!"