Move over Rabbie Burns, it's time to meet Reggae Burns.

Just one day before Burns Night, the Sunday Herald has discovered that a new reggae album based on the works of Scotland's national poet will be released this year inspired by the tale of how the bard almost emigrated to Jamaica.

The project creating a fusion of dub beats and Burns lyrics, by leading reggae stars, is aiming to imagine what would have been the legacy of Burns if he had gone through with plans to sail to the West Indies to make his fortune.

It is the brainchild of Kieran Murray, a Scottish musician and producer who lived in Jamaica for five years and the album features artists including Ken Boothe, described as one of the founding fathers of reggae.

There are also plans to make a documentary film of the ‘Jamaica Sings Robert Burns’ project, which will follow the artists recording the music and tell the story of how Burns almost ended up in the Caribbean.

Penniless and entangled in complicated romantic liaisons, it is thought Burns had decided to accept a job on a slave plantation as a bookkeeper in 1786, but abandoned his plans due to events including the death of his lover ‘Highland’ Mary, his wife Jean Armour giving birth to twins and his poems being successfully published.

Murray, who is now based in Stirling, said when he moved to Jamaica in 2006 he came across folk songs which reminded him of Scottish traditional music.

“The melodies struck me as being familiar, they sounded like Scottish folk songs,” he said. “I started to think more about it, then someone sent me an article explaining how Robert Burns had bought a ticket to come to Jamaica in 1786.

“Being a Scot and a Burns fan as well, and living in Jamaica, I started to imagine what if he had come here – what would his legacy have been and how would the songs have ended up sounding?

“The more I started digging into his songs I thought I need to make an album of Jamaicans singing Robert Burns songs – almost imagining this would have been the legacy if he had come to Jamaica.”

Jamaican artists featured on the album include Brina, who is also Murray’s wife, Cherine Anderson, Rootz Underground, Nickeishia Barnes and Berri and it also involves musicians who have played and recorded with Bob Marley and The Wailers.

Tracks include classic Burns songs such as A Red, Red Rose, Ae Fond Kiss, The Slave’s Lament and a reworking of Ye Jacobites by Name to a modern anti-war song called Ye Warmongers by Name.

It was recorded last summer in Kingston, Jamaica and Murray said he hoped it would be released this summer.

“People have been saying I should get some Scottish singers on it, but for this project I really want it to be Jamaicans featured,” he said. “One of the overarching reasons for doing it is we have so much history between the two countries.

“I am a Jamaican citizen as well and I think Scotland and Jamaica are the two best wee countries in the world – we have this history, some is good, some is bad, but through music we can bring people together and move on and establish those relationships again.

“I have also tried to balance this project to make it at least equal female voices on the record – that is important to me as females are really underrepresented in Jamaican music, particularly internationally.”

Scottish film producer Mairi Sutherland, who will produce the documentary, said: “Robert Burns had the ticket for Jamaica. History could have been very different if he had gone on that boat - he might have been the national poet for Jamaica for all we know.

“I am sure Burns would have chuckled at his songs in reggae.”