Ziggy Marley releases solo CD and says he’s a rebel willing to take risks for art!

Ele carries a weighty surname and an artistic name inspired by Ziggy Stardust, one of the incarnations of his idol and namesake, David Bowie. The chameleonic spirit of Bowie descended on the eldest son of Bob Marley, Ziggy (David) Marley, 34, who releases ''Dragonfly'' (BMG), his first solo album after 20 years at the helm of the group Melody Makers with siblings Stephen, Sharon and Cedella.

- Many people say that because Ziggy comes from reggae roots, he has to stay in that. I don't want to stay in a box, I don't want to do what they expect of me. I want to be free, to express myself in every way. I am a rebel willing to take risks for art. They say variety is the spice of life. I like to hear different sounds that inspire me; without renewal, music can be repetitive - he says in a phone interview from Miami.

To avoid the dangerous virus of sameness, Ziggy spent a year preparing ''Dragonfly'', which comes out on May 5, recording and re-recording in search of the desired sound, with help from producers Ross Hogarth (Metallica, Jewel) and Scott Lil (R.E.M., Incubus) and guest musicians of the caliber of Chili Peppers Flea and John Frusciante, veteran rock guitarist David Lindley and Incubus DJ Chris Kilmore. Reggae appears as an ingredient, never as the main dish of the album, which has rock, funk, hip hop, blues, ju ju and r&b.

In the lyrics he makes very personal reflections on life and the current state of the world. ''Shalom, Salaam'' uses the words that mean peace in Arabic and Hebrew to reflect on the eternal war between Arabs and Israelis in the Middle East, while ''In the name of God'' condemns those who kill in the name of God. He says both cases apply to what is currently happening in Iraq, where the neo-crusader Christian George Bush is crushing the infidel Iraqi Muslims.

"I believe most people want peace, but there are elements on all sides who like to shed blood, which only causes more bloodshed. No war ended with another war; this only brings more wars. I made ''In the name of God'' because I am upset with all religions. I think they should be eliminated. They say religion is about God, but God is not about pitting men against each other. Religion has become an enemy of God, of love and of truth. We need love, the greatest of all feelings. Loving one another is not complicated; it is a simple rule."

The lead track, ''True to myself'', speaks of the difficulty people have being true to themselves, which he says he has experienced several times in life. "There are many things that can divide us, many pressures. The economic system subjugates everyone; we have to worry about earning money, often the big company profits and the individual does not. And there are pressures to desire things that are not necessary, through the media, like the latest fashion clothes. All of this is a prison and if you escape it you feel much happier. We have to try to be true in our daily lives or we stop being who we are."

Ziggy Marley says all religions should be abolished. Ziggy reinforces these reflections on the title track, ''Dragonfly'', which means dragonfly, also known as lavadeira, a long insect that hovers in the air like a helicopter.

"I was under a tree in the garden when a dragonfly stopped in front of me and stayed there for a few moments, as if looking at me, and then left. Then I thought about what it would think when looking at me, if it wondered what kind of creatures we are. We are the same as them, we live on the same planet, we breathe the same air. Men have to understand that creatures are as important as we are on Earth."

Other moods of the Marley heir, who brings his voice ever closer to his father's, are in ''Melancholy mood'', a slow song with a beautiful trumpet solo written four years ago. "We live highs and lows and I was like that. Being successful in life does not necessarily mean being happy all the time. I felt neither happy nor sad, I stayed in that intermediate state." He chases away sadness on upbeat tracks like ''Rainbow in the sky'', which talks about looking at things in a positive way. "Someone may think it's bad that it's going to rain but you can admire the glory of the clouds in the sky, the rain that brings life."

Ziggy will tour with a band that is not yet defined; he is of course eager to bring his solo work to Brazil and says his career with the Melody Makers continues. Ziggy seems to take lightly a burden that weighs heavily on many good people: a legendary surname. Dozens of heirs around the world can attest to that, from Julian Lennon to Moreno Veloso. Ziggy doesn't worry: "A man has to be a man, no matter his name. He has to be faithful to his ideas, to his own identity, to what he really is."