*REMASTERED ROUGH TRADE 4 TRACK E.P LIMITED TO JUST 500 COPIES*
Everything on “Up Home!” is bigger, richer; the guitars are huge, as though they’re being played through the clouds, massive gusts of blue-green noise that move across the stereo spectrum like weather systems. “Baby Milk Snatcher” is built around face-flattening dub bass, with glinting piano and shards of guitar ricocheting through the song. “W.O.G.S.” is delirious to the point of expiration; “One Way Mirror” is their attempt at weird, lopsided ‘anti-funk’, the song’s melody crushed by avalanches of six-string interference. And the closing “Up” is AR Kane’s masterpiece, a disembodied thud pulsing at its heart as a six-note guitar melody spirals ever onward, Ayuli’s voice lost in its own reverie, hymning escapism via references to Jamaican political activist Marcus Garvey’s ‘black star line’.
• Jon Dale, lead review in Uncut Magazine
who grew up together in Stratford, East London. From the off the pair were outsiders in the culturally mixed (cockney/Irish/West Indian/Asian) milieu of the East End, with Alex and Rudy’s folks first generation immigrants from Nigeria and Malawi, respectively. The two of them quickly developed and fostered an innate and near-telepathic mutual understanding forged in musical, literary and
artistic exploration. Like a lot of second-generation immigrants, they were ferocious autodidacts in all kinds of areas, especially around music and literature. Diving deep into the music of afro-futurist luminaries such as Sun Ra, Miles Davis, Lee Perry and Hendrix, as well as devouring the explorations of lysergic noise and feedback from contemporaries like Sonic Youth and Butthole Surfers, they also thoroughly immersed themselves in the alternate literary realities of sci-fi and ancient history (the fascination with the arcane that gave the band their name), all to feed their voracious cultural thirsts and intellectual curiosity.
It was seeing the Cocteau Twins performing on Channel 4 show the Tube that spurred A.R. Kane into being - “They had no drummer. They used tapes and technology and Liz Fraser looked completely otherworldly with those big eyes. And the noise coming out of Robin’s guitar! That was the ‘Fuck! We could do that!
The duo debuted with the astonishing ‘When You’re Sad’ single for One Little Indian in
1986. Immediately dubbed a ‘black Jesus & Mary Chain’ by a press unsure of WHERE to put a black band clearly immersed in feedback and noise, what was immediately apparent for listeners was just how much more was going on here – a tapping of dub’s stealth and guile, a resonant umbilicus back to fusion and jazz, the music less a conjuration of past highs than a re-summoning of lost spirits.
The run of singles and EPs that followed picked up increasingly rapt reviews in the press, but it was the ‘Up Home EP’ released in 1988 on their new home, Rough Trade that really suggested something immense was about to break. SimonReynolds noted the EP was: Their most concentrated slab of iridescent awesomeness and a true pinnacle of an era that abounded with astounding
landmarks of guitar-reinvention, A.R. Kane at their most elixir-like.
If anything, the remastered ‘Up Home’ is even more dazzling, even more startling than it was when it first emerged, and listening now you again wonder not just about how many bands christened ‘shoegaze’ tried to emulate it, but how all of them fell so far short of its lambent, pellucid wonder. This
remains intrinsically experimental music but with none of the frowning orthodoxy those words imply. A.R. Kane, thanks to that second generation auto-didacticism were always supremely aware about the interstices of music and magic, but at the same time gloriously free in the way they explored that connection within their own sound, fascinated always with the creation of ‘perfect mistakes’ and the possibilities inherent in informed play.
Cerca:lee perry
*Jamaican artist Peter ‘Roots’ Lewis recorded various tracks with his brother Paul Lewis, for Lee Perry in the mid 1970’s at Black Ark studio JA, most notable track: ‘Ethiopian Land’. Here he features on an observational Roots Vocal track. The tracks date from the late 90’s and have previously been released on vinyl, now deleted. Alternate versions of the tracks can be found on the ISR Rootspective CD album, (IRONCD 05). Also available: 7” Peter Roots Lewis-It’s A Roadblock / Alien Dread–Dub Vs ((IRON 010-07).
The tracks have been re-mixed by Alien Dread and the B side features a different Dub Version. Rhythm is by the Hi-Tech Roots Dynamics, courtesy of Martin Campbell (Channel One Uk).
- 1: Desmond Dekker & The Aces – 007 (Shanty Town)
- 2: Lee "Scratch" Perry – I Am The Upsetter
- 3: Pat Kelly – Somebody's Baby
- 4: Delroy Wilson – Once Upon A Time
- 5: The Rulers – Wrong Emboyo
- 6: The Sensations – Right On Time
- 7: Austin Faithful – I'm In A Rocking Mood
- 8: The Maytals – 54-46 That's My Number
- 9: The Paragons – Memories By The Score
- 10: The Rulers – Copasetic
- 11: Derrick Morgan – Conquering Ruler
- 12: Stranger & Gladdy – Seeing Is Knowing (With Lyn Taitt & The Jets)
- 13: Val Bennett – Baby Baby (Aka 5-10-15 Hours)
- 14: The Uniques – People Get Ready Do Rock Steady
- 15: Val Bennett – The Russians Are Coming (Take Five)
- 16: Desmond Dekker & The Aces – A It Miek
- 17: Roy Shirley – Hold Them
- 18: The Kingstonians – Winey Winey
- 19: The Viceroys – Lip And Tongue (Alternate Version)
- 20: The Overtakers – Girl You Ruff
- 21: Lloyd & The Groovers – Do It To Me Baby
- 22: The Upsetters – Return Of Django (Feat. Val Bennett)
- 23: The Ethiopians – Train To Skaville
- 24: Desmond Dekker & The Aces – Intensified '68 (Music Like Dirt)
- 27: The Tennors – Ride Your Donkey
- 28: Derrick Morgan – Judge Dread In Court
- 25: The Uniques – My Conversation
- 26: Stranger & Gladdy – Over Again
The immediate successor to ska, the soulful, melodic sound of rock steady first developed during the long hot Jamaican summer of 1966 and reigned supreme thereafter for two glorious years before finally being superseded by the more energetic style of reggae.
Despite its relatively brief period as the island’s national sound, the rhythms of many of its biggest hits have continued to influence and inspire music-makers to the present day, resulting in renewed interest in the sub-genre among record buyers in recent years.
This superb 2xLP vinyl collection features 24 of the most popular recordings of the rock steady era, including the UK hits, ‘007’, ‘Train To Skaville’ and ‘It Miek’ and The Maytals’ anthemic dance-filler, ’54 46 That’s My Number’.
Pressed on high quality 140gm vinyl and presented in a stylishly designed sleeve, the album not only provides the ideal introduction to this hugely popular and influential sound, but is also a must for established fans of the Jamaican sub-genre, with many of the tracks appearing on vinyl for the first time in decades.
- A1: Wayne Smith - Under Mi Sleng Teng
- A2: Big Youth - Cool Breeze
- A3: Sister Nancy - Bam Bam
- A4: The Freddie Munnings Orchestra - Coconut Woman
- A5: Bobby Ellis - Step Softly
- B1: Althea And Donna - Uptown Top Ranking
- B2: Jah Lloyd - Lama
- B3: Culture - Stop The Fussing And Fighting
- B4: Lee Perry And The Upsetters - Jungle Lion
- B5: Johnny And The Attractions - Let's Get Together
- C1: Augustus Pablo - Viva Tirado
- C2: Archie And Lyn - Rat In The Centre
- C3: Jackie Paris - Make Me Smile
- C4: Bobby Ellis - Shank I Sheck
- C5: Winston Wright And The Upsetters - Jam #1
- D1: The Ethiopians - The Whip
- D2: Chaka Demus & Pliers - The Boom
- D3: Glen Adams - Can't Hide Love
- D4: Johnny Clarke - Rebel Soldering
- D5: Dee Sharp - Let's Dub It Up
Special new 25th anniversary edition of this most popular and highly-acclaimed of all Soul Jazz Records' Dynamite! series - 300% Dynamite is jam-packed with reggae tunes that crossed-over to become dancefloor hits and are 100% guaranteed to rock any party!
Out of print for the last 15 years, this new edition is being released in a one-off limited-edition heavyweight special-edition yellow coloured vinyl pressing + download code exclusively for Record Store Day 2024. This album is fully remastered, relicensed and with new tracks exclusively for RSD 24. Wayne Smith's booming anthem "Sleng Teng", Althea & Donna's worldwide hit 'Uptown Top Ranking', Sister Nancy's classic "Bam Bam", Augustus Pablo, Lee Perry - it's all here as 300% Dynamite joins the dots between reggae, jazz, funk, dub and soul.
Im Stil der frühen Dancehall-Platten hat es sich Pachy García zur Aufgabe gemacht, den Sound von Scientist, King Tubby, Lee "Scratch" Perry und den großen Technikern und Instrumentalisten der frühen jamaikanischen Reggae-Musik zu reproduzieren. Inspiriert von den Channel One Studios und der Roots Radics Band, ist der Sound im Dancehall-Stil mit einigen Ausflügen in den Rub-a-Dub- und Rocker-Stil gehalten. Aufgenommen in Pachys eigenem 333 House von Januar bis März 2019. Geschrieben, produziert und gemixt von ihm selbst. Auch alle Instrumente hat er selbst eingespielt.
- A1: Magic Momentum
- A2: Rockets To Mars
- A3: The News These Days
- A4: Life (Skit)
- A5: Love Vibration
- B1: Original Flow
- B2: Hold On
- B3: Surviver (Skit)
- B4: Tatamaka Pt.1
- B5: Tatamaka Pt.2
- C1: Time (Skit)
- C2: Time
- C3: Jinja (Skit)
- C4: Kochirakoso
- C5: Our Tactus
- C6: Nah Personal
- D1: No Chains
- D2: Push Comes To Shove
- D3: We No Let Y'all In
- D4: Mexico (Skit)
- D5: Future For Our Children
We Release JAZZ is very happy to announce an exciting new body of work by Joseph Deenmamode aka Mo Kolours. The singular musical spirit’s new 21-track album Original Flow is available as a double LP housed in a heavy 350gsm sleeve with original artwork by Mo Kolours himself and the classic WRJ obi strip, as well as in digipack CD and digital formats.
A catalog of critically acclaimed records, including his self-titled debut (2014), ‘Texture Like Like Sun’ (2015), 2018 album ‘Inner Symbols’ and three companion EPs, established Deenmamode as a prodigious musician and vocalist. Pitchfork extolled his “hypnotic, tribal-infused dance grooves”, DJ Mag appreciated the “colourful celebration of soundsystem culture”, and Resident Advisor advocated that “no one sounds quite like Mo Kolours”. Musical analogies were drawn by The Guardian as “The best album Curtis Mayfield never made with A Tribe Called Quest and Lee Perry” and Mojo as “like Marvin Gaye produced by J Dilla”.
Five years ago, Deenmamode moved to the Japanese countryside. Far away from familiarity, he contemplated his place and further questioned his identity. “I had none of my ‘own’ people around. I had time to really find what makes me tick musically. Japan has helped me go back to those subconscious leanings, really go deep, and reflect the aspects that make up my story”.
The tracks on ‘Original Flow’ have been constructed from sessions, improvisations and soundbites captured around the world during this time; collecting contributions from musicians including Deenamode’s brothers Reginald Omas Mamode and Jeen Bassa plus Andrew Ashong, Charles Bullen, Dwaye Kilvington, Eddie Hick, Stefan Asanovic, Myele Manzanza, Ross Hughes, and Tom Dreissler. Deenamode says “I’m proud of this album’s creative process. Coming from a tradition of scouring through hours of records, I wanted to create my own samples, to find that perfect loop that no other producer could put their hands on. I decided to invite a group of friends and acquaintances, who also happen to be incredible musicians, to a studio in Crystal Palace to improvise based on some loose ideas I had. We spent all day, and recorded everything”.
‘Original Flow’ is an album of UK street-soul nouveau, future indigenous jazz fusion, Rasta Segga, Nyahbinghi jazz, Malagasy Hebrew hip hop. While retaining a spirit of exploration and improvisation, it sees Deenmamode grow and flex beyond beat tape brevity, expanding composition and stretching his musical muscle to play live with other musicians. Themes of empowerment, overcoming adversity, and mental liberation coexist with notes from ancient history, futurism, and science, as well as musings on family and togetherness.
‘Magik Momentum’ springs from a discussion that features at the start of the song, an inspiring mentor answering a question from Deenmamode about improvisation and what role it plays in life when planning and manifesting the future. ‘Rockets to Mars’ questions the lack of care for the billions of people with nothing, while governments plan to explore space. “This sparked a comparison in my mind to a Sonny Okuson song that I would reference when performing. Okuson’s song talked of the lack of resources in many communities in the world, while governments go to the moon”.
He says the music behind ‘The News These Days’ is “possibly my favourite on the album”. Looped like he would a late sixty jazz-fusion sample, there was nothing added and the track was complete within a matter of minutes. “It was the first and best moment from the entire Crystal Palace session”, he adds. The album’s contrasting title track with minimal instrumentation played solo by Deenamode. While frustratingly searching for gems in past recordings, he thought in a burst of ego, “I don’t need no-one else to make a dope beat!” picked up his ravanne, (the traditional frame drum of his fathers home-land of Mauritius), pressed record, and started to play. He says, “In my thoughts were the rhythms of the Nubians in Upper-Egypt and Sudan, the swing of the huge drums played by Mauritanian women, of-course the Sega beat of Mauritius, and the ever inspiring beat of James Yancey”.
Driven by UK broken beat, Cuban congas, Nigerian and Mauritian inflections, ‘Love Vibration’ follows the concept that all emotions carry a vibratory frequency and pays homage to the frequency of creation and the power of love. The two part ‘Tatamaka’ tells of the history of Deenmamode’s ancestors, the maroons of Mauritius. “We are people who managed to run from our oppressors and find refuge in a corner of the island called ‘Le Morne’ where they could not reach us. One bloody day they came in numbers to re-capture, to revenge. Many of us chose to jump to our deaths, rather than be taken back into subjugation. The poem by Creole Richard Sedley Assonne says; “there were hundreds of them, but my people, the maroons chose the kiss of death over the chains of slavery”. Tatamaka was the name of a famed maroon leader who was murdered for claiming his, and our people’s freedom. The song is the imagined journey of escape and freedom by an ancestor of the maroons of Le Morne”.
Born in the west midlands and raised on the traditional sega music of his father’s Indian Ocean homeland of Mauritius alongside records by the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Santana and Michael Jackson; his influences expanded with late 90s jungle and drum and bass nights in Bristol, experiments at art college in Camberwell, and the rich culture of Peckham, “at the time we called it the Afro Quarters of London” says Deenmamode, adding hip hop, dub, soul and soundsystem styles to his individual sound.
He explains, “I love drum music, from hand-drums to 808s. I love music from the ancient past, heritage music, indigenous music, traditional music passed down from the beginning of time. Music from the body, hand claps, grunts and foot stomps. Music with audible depth, busy, bustling, highly charged. Music from the soul, the music from beyond. I love music from the islands and the mountains. The music of the streets, hustle music, alleyway beats. Club music”.
He describes the creative process as thinking in images. “The visual world and the world of sound seem to intermingle in my thought process. When I play the drum with my eyes closed, a world of imagery dances and moves with beat. Improvised drumming feels like I am listening to what I want to hear, rather than trying to play what I want to hear. Following the rhythm and finding new pathways to walk within the patterns is what I experience. In this way I often feel I am just a listener, instead of the player”.
Original Flow is pressed on biovinyl, a sustainable alternative to traditional vinyl. Biovinyl replaces petroleum in S-PVC by recycling used cooking oil or industrial waste gases, resulting in 100% CO2 savings in bio-based S-PVC production. Furthermore, it is 100% recyclable and reusable, embracing the circular economy ideology.
- A1: Bob Marley - Sun Is Shining
- A2: Lee "Scratch" Perry & The Upsetters - Soul Fire
- A3: Cornell Campbell - No Good Girl
- A4: Don Carlos - Rivers Of Babylon
- A5: Gregory Isaacs - Oh What A Feeling
- A6: The Wailers - I Shot The Sheriff (Instrumental)
- B1: Ini Kamoze - World A Music
- B2: Barrington Levy - Warm And Sunny Day
- B3: The Tamlins - Baltimore
- B4: Dennis Brown - Revolution
- B5: Sugar Minott - Rub A Dub Sounds
- B6: Horace Andy - Cus Cus
- C1: Freddy Mcgregor - Big Ship Sailing
- C2: Michael Rose - Artibella
- C3: Bob Marley - Soul Rebel
- C4: John Holt - I've Got To Get Away
- C5: Jimmy Riley - Sexual Healing
- C6: Yellowman - Zungguzungguguzungguzeng
- D1: Black Uhuru - Sinsemilla
- D2: Clint Eastwood - Love Story
- D3: Jackie Edwards - Let Me Go Girl
- D4: U-Brown - Tu Sheng Peng
- D5: Jackie Edwards - Angel Of Love
- D6: The Heptones - Island Woman
- E3: Chaka Demus & Pliers - Murder She Wrote
- E4: Sly & Robbie - Hot You're Hot
- E5: Max Romeo - Material Man
- E6: Wayne Smith - Under Me Sleng Teng
- F1: Derrick Morgan - Sensimella
- F2: Maxi Priest - Only A Smile
- F3: Alton Ellis - I'm Still In Love
- F4: Sly & Robbie Feat. Simply Red - Night Nurse (Radio Mix)
- F5: Sister Nancy - Bam Bam
- F6: Beres Hammond & Zap Pow - Last War
- G1: Ranking Dread - Fattie Boom Boom
- G2: Mighty Diamonds - I Need A Roof
- G3: Capleton - That Day Will Come
- G4: Errol Dunkley - Ok Fred
- G5: Ken Boothe - Artibella
- G6: Eek-A-Mouse - Ganga Smuggling
- H1: John Holt - Police In Helicopter
- H2: Marcia Aitken - I'm Still In Love With You
- H3: Althea & Donna - Uptown Top Ranking
- H4: Johnny Osbourne - Jahoviah
- H5: Winston Mcanuff & Fixi - Garden Of Love
- H6: Gregory Isaacs - Babylon Too Rough
- I1: Matthew Mcanuff - Be Careful
- I2: Morgan Heritage - The Return
- I3: Dillinger - Cool Operator
- I4: Inna De Yard Feat. Ken Boothe - Let The Water Run Dry
- E1: Marcia Griffiths - Come See About Me
- I5: Alborosie - No Cocaine
- I6: Alpha Blondy - Cocody Rock
- J1: Clinton Fearon - This Morning
- J2: Horace Andy - Ain't No Sunshine
- J3: Tom Fire Feat Matthew Mcanuff - Brainwash
- J4: Soom T - Politic Man
- J5: Biga Ranx - Liquid Sunshine
- J6: Ricky Grant - Rocky Road
- E2: Black Uhuru - I Love King Selassie
First reissue of this ultra-rare reggae album originally released in 1974. Considered by many to be the first reggae "lovers" album ever, conceived by producer Clement Bushay and reggae singer Carl Bert.
Featuring: The Cimarons, Jackie Parris, Junior English, Dego Sensation. Engineers: Steve Wadey, Clem Bushay and Lee Perry ... Four unreleased tracks from the original versions are included here!
- A1: Brutal Funk - Featuring Mary Pearce X Dj D-Zire
- A2: Up Is Just A Place - Featuring George Clinton X Fred Wesley X Pee Wee Ellis X Omar X Dennis Bovell X Mws
- A3: Freaky Toe - Featuring Charlotte Kelly
- A4: B Side - Featuring Fred Wesley X Mary Pearce X Derek Green X Mws
- A5: Starkiller - Featuring Victoria Hamilton
- B1: Headache - Featuring George Clinton X Niara Scarlett
- B2 2: Cold 2 Hold - Featuring Mws X Charlotte Kelly X Mitt Gamon
- B3: Our Lives - Featuring Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry X Dennis Bovell X Earl 16
- B4: Still Here - Featuring Mws X James Gardiner-Bateman
Smudge All Stars is Richie Stevens' audio intelligence collective. Richie is the son of the late John Stevens, a pioneer of British free jazz, and a gifted drummer, percussionist and producer in his own right. His talents have found him in constant demand, working with everyone from Horace Andy and Joss Stone to Boy George and Damon Albarn. Now, with Smudge All Stars, Richie leads a funk/soul ensemble that draws on his friendships with many leading black British, Jamaican and US musicians.
Smudge All Stars is Richie’s musical vision writ large. This is a party album in the old school P-funk tradition, all instrumentation is recorded live with Stevens calling on the original Horny Horns Fred Wesley and Peewee Ellis to help build a fat brass groove for the authentic P-Funk vibe and George Clinton vocals for the ultimate seal of funk approval.
The 8-track musical extravaganza commences with ‘Brutal Funk’; a rousing psychedelic funk workout that encompasses a delicious groove cooked up by the famed Jamiroquai member DJ D-Zire and the powerful vocals of British soul singer Mary Pearce. ‘Up is Just a Place Feat. George Clinton’ continues the party vibes by bringing none other than the P-Funk master himself together with Mary Pearce, MWS, Derek 'Dr Mouthquake' Green and the decorated British soul singer-songwriter Omar for a full flavoured aural delight. Cue tight rapping, funky beats and scratching alongside slap bass and a slice of synth for good measure.
Other highlights include, ‘Freaky Toe’ which opts for a smoother groove than its predecessors with seductive vocals courtesy of Soul II Soul’s Charlotte Kelly. ‘B Side’ sees Mary Pearce join Derek 'Dr Mouthquake' Green for another upbeat affair, accompanied by the legendary American trombonist Fred Wesley (James Brown, Parliament-Funkadelic) who adds a distinctive touch to the track.
Punk pioneers Crass continue their vinyl reissue series, re-pressing their limited releases by adjacent artists through Crass Records, in association with One Little Independent. The series, including over twenty bands and solo artists recorded at the legendary Southern Studios and produced by Penny Rimbaud, continues with two more historic pieces from the Crass Records catalogue; ‘Barbed Wire Halo’ by Annie Anxiety and ‘Neu Smell’ by Flux of Pink Indians.
They follow records from the likes of Captain Sensible, Omega Tribe, Honey Bane, Jane Gregory, Lack of Knowledge, Sleeping Dogs, Rudimentary Peni and Zounds. First released on 7” vinyl, limiting the sound, the new series has been remastered for 12” by Alex Gordon at Abbey Road Studios, allowing them to be heard as never before. This, plus enlarged replicas of the original covers, brings new gusto to their already radical sound.
New York City musical maverick and performance artist Annie Anxiety, aka Little Annie aka Annie Bandez, began her illustrious career (including work with Adrian Sherwood, Coil, Current 93, and Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry) with Crass. They released her first solo single, 1981’s ‘Barbed Wire Halo’ alongside ‘Cyanide Tears’, an extraordinarily prescient piece of jagged electronics, samples, and skeletal rhythms, led by Annie’s nightmarish vocals.
She tells us; “When creating this single with Penny I hadn’t heard the word ‘avant-guard’ nor could I spell it – I only got explained ‘concretism’ via an interview I did in Berlin regarding some of my work three years ago – My father was a printer so I grew up with sound of printing press and subway train beats and always heard melodies and cross rhythms within those beats – I was just making dance music / disco tunes to my mind and Pen heard those same tunes I was hearing – my first recording, in retrospect I guess, was pretty ‘out there’ at its release, but to us it was dance floor for a club yet to be invented- one day”.
Penny Rimbaud expands; “Annie Anxiety is a total enigma, a passionate voice in the wilderness of consensual reason. Dada in instinct, Monroe in affection, Rambo in inflection, Annie rams it home with divine thunder. An instigator and innovator, she’s the bonkers angel of Yonkers, NYC. With no time to spare, Annie takes to the road with complete conviction, overtaking Kerouac halfway down 5th Avenue. Catch her if you can”.
- A1: Bob Marley - Soul Rebel
- A2: Alpha Blondy - Cocody Rock
- A3: Gregory Isaacs - Babylon Too Rough
- A4: Ken Boothe - Artibella
- A5: Max Romeo - Stop Picking Me
- A6: Sly & Robbie - Night Nurse Feat Simply Red - Radio Mix
- B1: John Holt - Police In Helicopter
- B2: Eek-A-Mouse - Ganja Smuggling
- B3: Don Carlos - Rivers Of Babylon
- B4: Freddy Mcgregor - Big Ship Sailing
- B5: Jacob Miller - Tenement Yard
- B6: The Congos - La La Bam-Bam
- C1: Alton Ellis - I'm Still In Love
- C2: Dennis Brown - Revolution
- C3: Errol Dunkley - Ok Fred
- C4: Groundation, Don Carlo & The Congos - Jah Jah Know
- C5: Black Uhuru - Sinsemilla
- D1: Ini Kamoze - World A Music
- D2: Yelloman - Zungguzungguguzungguzeng
- D3: Lee Scratch Perry & The Upsetters - Soul Fire
- D4: Alborosie - No Cocaine
- D5: Chaka Demus & Pliers - Murder She Wrote
Sedibus "SETI", is a collaboration between Alex Paterson (The Orb) and original 1990 Orb member Andy Falconer who first recorded together on "The Orb"s adventures beyond the ultraworld" in 1991 and The Heavens in 2021. Alex is the forefather of ambient electronic music and has put out 17 albums by The Orb and multiple other releases over the band"s 30 year career. He"s released collaborative albums with David Gilmour of Pink Floyd and Lee "Scratch" Perry.
A four-piece band based in Tokyo.
Initially playing reggae/dub music, the band gradually developed into an innovative fusion of diverse musical influences, such as jazz, soul, psyche pop, new age, and exotica. A sound is based on groove and euphoria, with nostalgic melodies.
They have performed at iconic events in Japan such as Fuji Rock Festival, and also have been looking overseas since they performed in Canada(Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver) in 2019. The new EP "Ramble In The Rainbow"(2024) is their first international release on the US label Peoples Potential Unlimited.
The work shows their musical maturity, drawing inspiration from Sun Ra, Lee "Scratch" Perry, and Yasuaki Shimizu.
Following the success of Eric B & Rakim covers on 45, touching Hip Hop and rare groove fans, Medline explores new horizons. Well known to be free from styles boundaries, the French Chilean multi - instrumentalist unveil a two side Afro Funk killer.
Marked with the "universal power" title on the label, third 7 inch on My Bags catalog, this new 45 shows Medline's abilities to produce high quality music in a wide range of styles. The compositions are produced with a brilliant contrast. The uptempo "Run For Cover" is a huge Afro beat runner with a hardcore feeling while "Azul", is a heavy downtempo soul funk anthem, and shines like a massive solar energy boost.
Medline brings back the 70's West African sound signature, carried by a hot drum and bass couple, leaded by the Farfisa organ and harmonized with a powerful brass section. The rhythm is wild, mastered by dynamical arrangements when the breaks are hitting loudly around. And yes as always Medline is the ONE playing all.
The artistic fate offered beautiful colors and forms to the music. Clément Laurentin's elegant painting "Run For Cover" reminding Bob Marley and Lee Perry's records, baptized the first composition which includes a "Jamaican" surprise. "Azul" (Blue in Spanish) is the main color of Clément's creation which remind the look of the famous azulejos. The link happens without any previous consultation, all was here to be done this way, connecting cultural areas and eras. To end, the acrylic painting on linen canvas is the perfect organic mirror to this new 7 inch.
My Bags is happy to offer this "tratra" (Ivorian pancake), designed with all the elements of a ready to dig holy grail, Soul inspired, Afro beat to the core.
Produced by legendary dub-master/producer Mad Professor, 'Black Attack' is Mutabaruka's first album in 14 years and will be an event in reggae circles
The 14 tracks feature Mutabaruka's incisive lyrics over hard- hitting reggae rhythms from dub versions, including a tribute to reggae legend Lee "Scratch" Perry.
"Black Attack" by Mutabaruka includes the following tracks: "No Church Today", "Dub Is Black", "Black Man Black Man", "One Of Dem Days" and more
The Ganjas Meets Nairobi. The Space Rock of the Chileans together with the Dub of the Argentines. First time on vinyl celebrating 10th anniversary. Sounding laid-back and incisive at once, crisp production and rock sensibilities. The Ganjas are one of the best exponents of Chilean Space Rock and a fundamental-must-listen to understand the new Chilean psychedelic scene of the last decade. They began 25 years ago with long jam -kind -of-playing, with steady drum beats and simple basslines, but adding innovative and colorful lyrics and synths, without never losing the song structure. On the other side of the Andes, the eclectic by nature Nairobi laid the groundwork for a new style in Dub. Since 2009 they had released 3 studio albums and worked with the best legendary Dub producers: Mad Professor, Lee “Scratch” Perry and Sly & Robbie. Touring the same year 2014 in Chile they coincided with The Ganjas at BYM Studios for an unforgettable session that brought this recording, that boasts an intricate rhythm, sumptuous keyboards, and soaring guitars offering elastic grooves, disembodied vocals, and deep bass lines. The album itself revisits the past while also looking to the future. The songs are particularly creative, with the Bob Marley & The Wailers cover ‘The Heathen’ totally revitalized and other passages like ‘Pastor’ and ‘Eagle & Snake’ that travel through an incredible mix of styles, brilliantly blending Trip-Hop, Dub FXs from soundboard, a Brian Jones-esque style slide guitar, and songs like ‘Soul Salvation’ that brings an steady reggae beat with genius saxophones lines from Ignacio Czornogas (King Krule). Mastered by Cem Oral at Jamming Masters (Berlin). AVAILABLE 300 BLACK VINYLS. For fans of: Primal Scream (Echo Dek), Sumo, Dub Syndicate-Murder Tone, Upsetters, Peaking Lights, Peter Tosh-Mama Africa.
- 1: She's Faced The Hardest Time
- 2: Just To Be Close To You
- 3: Original Roll Call
- 4: External Fire
- 5: Goodbye
- 6: Suspicious Minds
- 7: Sweet Inspiration
- 8: If I Follow My Heart (Medley)
- 9: Togetherness
- 10: Swinging My Love (Medley)
Dynamic dancehall singer Anthony Johnson began his career in the mid-1970s, cutting a few sides for Channel One before he joined the group Mystic I who cut some great work for Lee Perry and Linval Thompson before disbanding, leading to the hit material Johnson cut for Jah Thomas as a solo singer. Togetherness dates from 1993, when Johnson was long based in London, but his singing kills remained on par as in his heyday, the album a mix of ballads, pop adaptations and songs of dancehall appeal, the soave production values and one-off vocal style making it popular in Brazil and other territories. A lost gem, ripe for rediscovery!
We’re happy to announce our new 7”, a collaboration between producer Ojah and Jamaican singer Clive Hylton.
The A side contains the track “Always”, featuring Clive Hylton on vocals, who delivers a timeless reggae track. Clive Hylton (a.k.a. Colour Red) is a veteran Jamaican singer who amongst others worked with Lee Perry at Black Ark Studio back in the day.
On the B side we find the track “Always Dub”, a dub version mixed live by Ojah that takes us into a different territory, making the listener appreciate sounds and layers that were half hidden on the vocal version.
We are also releasing a melodica version called “Forever” (ALDBS7018) over this riddim, featuring Nik Torp from The Specials.
Hand-stamped and served in a thick custom reversed kraftliner sleeve.
Produced by Ojah, recorded at Alchemy Dubs Studio, London, U.K.
Vocals and lyrics by Clive Hylton, recorded at Yaad A Fame Studio, Kingston, Jamaica.
Mixed by Oscar Pablos “Ojah" at Alchemy Dubs Studio, London, U.K.
Mastered by Oscar Pablos at AD Mastering, London, 2022.
Graphic design by Victor Castro.
all rights reserved
-Side Project of Jordan Chini aka the artist "Boy Dude".
-Recorded and Mixed in a traditional analog 4-track tape dub style.
-Available on black vinyl and on limited edition glacial clear blue vinyl.
Under the name Count Dubula, LA based multi-instrumentalist, music producer and composer Jordan Chini performs, records, and mixes old-school style dub/reggae in the various traditional styles of his inspirations (like Scientist, King Tubby, and Lee Scratch Perry). With a love for recording live instruments and analog synths, Count Dubula’s rhythms and melodies are recorded to tape, then married to an analog mixer and improvisation-ally mixed, accompanied by a space echo, spring reverb, and hi-pass filter.
-Side Project of Jordan Chini aka the artist "Boy Dude".
-Recorded and Mixed in a traditional analog 4-track tape dub style.
-Available on black vinyl and on limited edition glacial clear blue vinyl.
Under the name Count Dubula, LA based multi-instrumentalist, music producer and composer Jordan Chini performs, records, and mixes old-school style dub/reggae in the various traditional styles of his inspirations (like Scientist, King Tubby, and Lee Scratch Perry). With a love for recording live instruments and analog synths, Count Dubula’s rhythms and melodies are recorded to tape, then married to an analog mixer and improvisation-ally mixed, accompanied by a space echo, spring reverb, and hi-pass filter.
- 1: Bob Marley & The Wailers - One Love
- 1: 2Horace Andy - Ain't No Sunshine
- 1: 3Barrington Levy - Under Mi Sensi
- 1: 4Alton Ellis - It's A Shame
- 1: 5Hollie Cook - Desdemona
- 1: 6Biga*Ranx - Beaucoup
- 1: 7Alborosie - No Cocaine
- 1: 8Lee "Scratch" Perry & The Upsetters - Soul Fire
- 1: 9Tiken Jah Fakoly Feat. Winston Mcanuff - I Can Hear
- 1: 0Black Uhuru - Leaving To Zion
- 1: Gregory Isaacs - Babylon Too Rough
- 1: 2Dillinger - Cool Operator
- 1: 3Jimmy Riley - Sexual Healing
- 2: 1Althea & Donna - Uptown Top Ranking
- 2: Johnny Osbourne - Jahoviah
- 2: 3Max Romeo - Material Man
- 2: 4Marcia Aitken - I'm Still In Love With You
- 2: 5Dennis Brown - Stop The Fussing & Fighting - Brother
- 2: 6Ini Kamoze - World A Music
- 2: 7Winston Mcanuff & Fixi - Garden Of Love
- 2: 8The Wailers - Get Up Stand Up (Dub)
- 2: 9Chaka Demus & Pliers - Murder She Wrote
- 2: 10Sly & Robbie - Inner City Blues
- 2: 11Soom T - Politic Man
- 2: 1Inna De Yard Feat. Keith & Tex - Down The Street
Als echtes kulturelles Referenzmedium vervollständigt Arte seine Vinyl-Sammlung mit einem neuen Band: Arte Reggae! Nach der Crème de la Crème des Jazz, des Soul und des Electro, finden Sie hier alle von Arte ausgewählten Reggae. Mit : Bob Marley & The Wailers, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Winston McAnuff, Tiken Jah Fakoly, Altha & Donna, Alborosie, Biga*Ranx...
- 1: Bob Marley & The Wailers - Sun Is Shining
- 1: 2 Wayne Smith - Under Me Sleng Teng
- 1: 3 Clint Eastwood - Another One Bites The Dust
- 1: 4 Marcia Aitken - I'm Still In Love With You
- 1: 5 Max Romeo - Material Man
- 1: 6 Alborosie - No Cocaine
- 1: 7 Alpha Blondy - Sweet Fanta Diallo
- 1: 8 John Holt - Police In Helicopter
- 1: 9 Horace Andy - Ain't No Sunshine
- 1: 0 Lee "Scratch" Perry & The Upsetters - Throw Some Water
- 1: Culture - Two Sevens Clash
- 1: 2 Biga*Ranx - 7 Days (Feat. Atili)
- 2: 1 Chaka Demus & Pliers - Murder She Wrote
- 2: Sister Nancy - Bam Bam
- 2: 3 Winston Mcanuff & Fixi - Garden Of Love
- 2: 4 The Heptones - Take Me Darling
- 2: 5 Black Uhuru - Sinsemilla
- 2: 6 Gregory Isaacs - Babylon Too Rough
- 2: 7 Freddy Mcgregor - Big Ship
- 2: 8 Althea & Donna - Uptown Top Ranking
- 2: 9 Alton Ellis - It's A Shame
- 2: 10 Inna De Yard Feat. Cedric Myton - Youthman
- 2: 11 Dillinger - Cool Operator
- 2: 1 Dennis Brown - Revolution
- 3: Don Carlos - Rivers Of Babylon
- 3: 4 Johnny Osbourne - Buddy Bye Bye
- 3: 5 Eek-A-Mouse - Ganja Smuggling
- 3: 6 Ini Kamoze - World A Music
- 3: 7 Yellowman - Zungguzungguguzungguzeng
- 3: 8 Tenor Saw - Ring The Alarm
- 3: 9 Soom T - Free As A Bird (Tom Fire Version)
- 3: 10 Beres Hammond & Zap Pow - Last War
- 3: 11 The Abyssinians - Satta Amassa Gana Dub
- 3: 12 Morgan Heritage - Down By The River
- 3: 1 The Wailers - I Shot The Sheriff (Dub)
- 3: 2 The Congos - La La Bam-Bam
* Top notch slice of roots and dub from reggae legend Earl Sixteen, best known for his work with the likes of Lee Perry, Augustus Pablo, Mikey Dread, Leftfield and Dreadzone.
* Earl revisits and updates a track from earlier in his career, featuring two vocal cuts, one dub version and a drum-led nyahbinghi style instrumental workout.
* Production and mixing duties come from the long-established Cultural Warriors crew.
Although both tracks are credited to Joe Gibbs, many believe the A side “People Grudgeful” was sung by The Ethiopians whilst the B side “Pan Ya Machete” was performed by The Pioneers.
“Grudgeful” though does not really sound like The Ethiopians and according to Trojan, both sides were performed by The Pioneers.
Which makes sense for several reasons. Firstly, the sound of the song is indeed more reminiscent of the Pioneers/Joe Gibbs work of that time.
In fact The Ethiopians did not record with Joe Gibbs, with the exception of The Ring which was released in 1972, four years later,
while the Pioneers were routinely involved with Gibbs in 1968.
Last but not least, The Ethiopians had no beef with Lee Scratch Perry whilst The Pioneers songs were clearly incriminated by Scratch in his hit song “People Funny Boy”.
Rare reggae collection originally released in 1975. Featuring guest musicians Ken Boothe, Delroy Washington, Bob Davis, Gene Rondo and former members of the Cimarons. Some of the tracks have been recorded at the Black Arc Studio with engineer Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry. All tracks produced by Clem Bushay.
- 1: Hello
- 2: A Love From Outer Space
- 3: Crack Up
- 4: Timewind
- 5: What's All This Then?
- 6: Snow Joke
- 7: Off Into Space
- 8: And I Say
- 9: Yeti
- 10: Conundrum
- 11: Honeysuckleswallow
- 12: Long Body
- 13: In A Circle
- 14: Fast Ka
- 15: Miles Apart
- 16: Pop
- 17: Mars
- 18: Spook
- 19: Sugarwings
- 20: Back Home
- 21: Down
- 22: Supervixens
- 23: Insect Love
- 24: Sorry
- 25: Catch My Drift
- 26: Challenge
A.R. Kive collates the three most astonishing works from that most miraculous of duos - A.R. Kane - comprising the ‘Up Home’ EP from 1988 that signified the band’s dawning realisation of their own powers and possibilities, their legendary debut LP ‘sixty nine’ (1988) and its kaleidoscopic, prophetic double-LP follow up ‘i’ (1989).
In founder-member Rudy Tambala’s new remastering, the music on these pivotal transmissions from the birth of dream pop, have been reinvigorated and re-infused with a new power, a new depth and intimacy, a new height and immensity. Vivid, timeless and yet always timely whenever they’re recalled, these records still force any listener to realise that despite the habits of retrospective myth-making and the
safe neutering effects of ‘genre’, thirty years have in no way dimmed how resistant and dissident to critical habits of categorisation A.R. Kane always were. Never quite ‘avant-pop’ or ‘shoegaze’ or ‘post-rock’ or any of those sobriquets designed to file and categorise, A.R. Kive is a reminder that those genres had to be coined, had to be invented precisely to contain the astonishing sound of A.R. Kane, because
previous formulations couldn’t come close to their sui generis sound and suggestiveness. This is music that pointed towards futures which a whole generation of artists and sonic explorers would map out. Now beautifully repackaged, remastered and fleshed out with extensive sleeve notes and accompanying materials, ‘A.R. Kive’ reveals that 35 years on it’s still a struggle to defuse the revolutionary and inspirational possibility of A.R. Kane’s music.
A.R. Kane were formed in 1986 by Rudy Tambala and Alex Ayuli, two second-generation immigrants who grew up together in Stratford, East London. From the off the pair were outsiders in the culturally mixed (cockney/Irish/West Indian/Asian) milieu of the East End, with Alex and Rudy’s folks first generation immigrants from Nigeria and Malawi, respectively. The two of them quickly developed and fostered an innate and near-telepathic mutual understanding forged in musical, literary and artistic exploration. Like a lot of second-generation immigrants, they were ferocious autodidacts in all kinds of areas, especially around music and literature. Diving deep into the music of afro-futurist luminaries such as Sun Ra, Miles Davis, Lee Perry and
Hendrix, as well as devouring the explorations of lysergic noise and feedback from contemporaries like Sonic Youth and Butthole Surfers, they also thoroughly immersed themselves in the alternate literary realities of sci-fi and ancient history (the fascination with the arcane that gave the band their name), all to feed their voracious cultural thirsts and intellectual curiosity.
It was seeing the Cocteau Twins performing on Channel 4 show the Tube that spurred A.R. Kane into being - “They had no drummer. They used tapes and technology and Liz Fraser looked completely otherworldly with those big eyes. And the noise coming out of Robin’s guitar! That was the ‘Fuck! We could do that! We could express ourselves like that!’ moment”, recalls Tambala - and through a mix of
confidence, chutzpah, ad hoc almost-mythical live shows and sheer innocent will the duo debuted with the astonishing ‘When You’re Sad’ single for One Little Indian in 1986. Immediately dubbed a ‘black Jesus & Mary Chain’ by a press unsure of WHERE to put a black band clearly immersed in feedback and noise, what was immediately apparent for listeners was just how much more was going on here - a
tapping of dub’s stealth and guile, a resonant umbilicus back to fusion and jazz, the music less a conjuration of past highs than a re-summoning of lost spirits.
The run of singles and EPs that followed picked up increasingly rapt reviews in the press, but it was the ‘Up Home EP’ released in 1988 on their new home, Rough Trade that really suggested something immense was about to break. Simon Reynolds noted the EP was: Their most concentrated slab of iridescent awesomeness and a true pinnacle of an era that abounded with astounding landmarks of guitar-reinvention, A.R. Kane at their most elixir-like.
If anything, the remastered ‘Up Home’ that forms the first part of ‘A.R. Kive’ is even more dazzling, even more startling than it was when it first emerged, and listening now you again wonder not just about how many bands christened ‘shoegaze’ tried to emulate it, but how all of them fell so far short of its lambent, pellucid wonder. This remains intrinsically experimental music but with none of the frowning orthodoxy those words imply. A.R. Kane, thanks to that second generation auto-didacticism were always supremely aware about the interstices of music and magic, but at the same time gloriously free in the way they explored that connection within their own sound, fascinated always with the creation of ‘perfect mistakes’ and the possibilities inherent in informed play.
‘sixty nine’ the group’s debut LP that emerged in 1988 had
critics and listeners struggling to fit language around A.R. Kane’s sound. As a title it was telling - the year of ‘Bitches Brew’, the year of ‘In A Silent Way’, the erotic möbius between two lovers - and as originally coined by the band themselves, ‘dream pop’ (before it became a free-floating signifier of vague import) was entirely apposite for the music A.R. Kane were making. Crafted in a dark small basement studio in which Tambala recalls the duo had “complete freedom - We wanted to go as far out as we could, and in doing so we discovered the point where it stops being music”. There was an irresistibly dreamy, somnambulant, sensual and almost surreal flow to ‘sixty nine’s sound, but also real darkness/dankness, the ruptures of the primordial and the reverberations of the subconscious, within the grooves of remarkable songs like ‘Dizzy’ and ‘Crazy Blue’. Alex’s plangent vocals floated and surged amidst exquisite peals of refracted feedback but crucially there was BASS here, lugubrious and funky and full of dread, sonic pleasure and sonic disturbance crushed together to make music with a center so deep it felt subcutaneous, music constructed from both the accidental and the deliberate, generous enough to dance with both serendipity and chaos. ‘sixty nine’ remains - especially in this remastered iteration - ravishing, revolutionary.
The final part of this ‘A.R. Kive’ contains 1989’s astonishing double-LP ‘i’ which followed up on ‘sixty nine’s promise and saw the duo fully unleash their experimental pop sensibilities over 26 tracks, plunging the A.R. Kane sound into a dazzlingly kaleidoscopic vision of pop experiment and play. Suffused with new digital technologies and combining searingly sweet and danceable pop with perhaps the duo’s strangest and boundary-pushing compositions, the album did exactly what a great double-set should do - indulge the artists sprawling pursuit of their own imaginations but always with a concision and an ear for those moments where pop both transcends and toys with the listeners expectations. Jason Ankeny has noted that “In retrospect, ‘i’ now seems like a crystal ball prophesying virtually every major musical development of the 1990s; from the shimmering techno of ‘A Love from Outer Space’ to the liquid dub of ‘What’s All This Then?’, from the alien drone-pop of ‘Conundrum’ to the sinister shoegazer miasma of ‘Supervixens’ — it’s all here, an underground road map for countless bands to follow.” Perhaps the most overwhelmingly all-encompassing transmission from A.R. Kane, ‘i’ bookended a three year period in which the duo had made some of the most prophetic and revelatory music of the entire decade.
After ‘i’ the duo’s output became more sporadic with Tambala and Ayuli moving in different directions both geographically and musically, with only 1994’s ‘New Clear Child’ a crystalline re-fraction of future and past echoes of jazz, folk and soul, before the duo went their separate ways. Since then, A.R. Kane’s music has endured, not thanks to the usual sepia’d false memories that seem to maintain interest in so much of the musical past, but because those who hear A.R. Kane music and are changed irrevocably, have to share that universe which A.R. Kane opened up, with anyone else who will listen. Far more than other lauded documents of the late 80s it still sounds astonishingly fresh, astonishingly livid and vivid and necessary and NOW.
he Congos possess what all bands look for, that unique distinctive sound that draws the listener in. Alongside the great songs, lead singer Cedric Myton's singing, phasing and falsetto voice makes that just the case.
The Congos were formed by Cedric Myton (b. 1947, St Catherine, Jamaica) around the mid-Seventies when the
Rasta message was central to the reggae sound coming out of Kingston, Jamaica. But he had started out in the
Rocksteady era, when he formed the vocal group 'Tartans', taking lead vocal duties alongside Devon Russell, Prince Lincoln Thompson and Lindbergh Lewis.They cut 'Dance All Night' (1967) and 'Coming On Strong' (1968). The line-Up became The Royal Rasses and from this Cedric moved on to form the Congos on meeting Roydel Johnson, who had previously sang with Ras Michael and the Sons of Negas. Cedric's Rasta roots were firmly in place when he went to work with producer Lee Perry to cut the seminal album 'Heart Of The Congos' at Perry's just built, Black Ark Studios in 1977. Cedric Myton has carried on the mantle, cutting a set of tunes with the help of his good friend Mr Brent Dowe, who had previously sang lead vocals with the Melodians.This is the Dub set to the vocal album released on the Kingston
Sounds label called 'The Congos Feast'(KS008).With such strong songs, rhythms and vocals it always had the chemistry for a great dub set. Hope you agree and enjoy the dub excursion...
* Classic roots / dub track with vocals from reggae legend Earl Sixteen known for his work with the likes of Lee Perry, Augustus Pablo, Mikey Dread, Leftfield and Dreadzone.
* Earl first recorded `Zion City’ with Dreadzone in 1995 which was known as `Zion Youth’.
The cuts on this 7” were mixed by Manasseh in 1997, with strong support coming from the late great Jah Shaka.
* Previously unreleased dubplate vocal cut backed with dub-wise excursion.
- A1: Traffic In The Sky (Lee “Scratch” Perry)
- A2: Wasting Time (Subatomic Sound System)
- A3: No Other Way (Dennis Bovell)
- A4: Tmes Like These (Lee “Scratch” Perry)
- A5: Calm Down (Dennis Bovell)
- A6: Better Together (Nightmares On Wax)
- B1: One Step Ahead (Scientist)
- B2: Breakdown (Nightmares On Wax)
- B3: Turn Your Love (Mad Professor)
- B4: You Can’t Control It (Yaadcore)
- B5: It’s All Underground (Monk)
In March 2020, Jack reached out to Lee “Scratch" Perry to produce a dub remix album based on Jack’s most loved recordings. On 8/29/21 the project was brought to a halt as Scratch departed this physical world. In ‘22 Jack and Subatomic Sound System, Perry’s band of the last decade, connected directly and discovered they had all the pieces to bring Lee “Scratch” Perry’s 3 creations to completion. The LP also features dubs from Dennis Bovell, Scientist, Mad Professor, Nightmares on Wax & more.
Formerly known as James Lascelles’ Quartet, Talking Spirits present a unique blend of world jazz. These highly respected London based session musicians - with a very mixed repertoire - have touched audiences wherever they play. The quartet mixes up world music, folk, jazz and Anglo/Caribbean grooves, inspired by influences from all over the world.
They have honed their skills over the decades working with some of the biggest names in music, including Frank Zappa, Joan Armatrading, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, L Shankar, Ginger Baker, Jeff Beck, Steve Winwood, Incognito, Van Morrison, Billy Ocean, Mick Taylor and Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel.
The new Talking Spirits album ‘Hands’ will be released on Zephyrus Records early June. Tracks feature regular band members James Lascelles (various keys and percussion), Tim Herniman and former bandmates from the legendary Breakfast Band Richard Bailey (drums and percussion) and Kuma Harada (bass and guitar). Guests appearances by Tony Maronie on congas, Didier Malherbe (once of “Gong”) on duduk and sax, and the wonderful Mongolian group Andaunion, for whom James specially wrote Grasslands to feature the haunting morinhuur (horse-hair fiddle) and hoomei or overtone singing.
* Classic roots / dub from 1992 produced by Nick `Manasseh’ and Jeremy `The Equalizer’ Armstrong, with vocals from reggae legend Earl Sixteen known for his work with the likes of Lee Perry, Augustus Pablo, Mikey Dread and Leftfield.
* Originally released on the Riz label, `Natural Roots’ gained popularity in sound system circles, with play from the likes of Jah Shaka. The original 12” cause distress on the collectors market
* Features one previously unreleased mix: `Natural Dub’.
Wiederveröffentlichung eines gefeierten und gesuchten Klassikers des Roots Reggae von 1978, produziert von Augustus Pablo und Hugh Mundell, re-mastered von Kevin Metcalfe! Die Musik wurde eingespielt von Basil "Benbow" Creary, Carlton "Santa" Davis, Wycliffe "Steely" Johnson, Jacob Miller & Leroy "Horse Mouth" Wallace (Drums), Robbie Shakespeare & Leroy Sibbles (Bass), Earl "Chinna" Smith, Geoffrey Chung & Clayton Downie (Guitar), Paul "Pablove Black" Dixon & Augustus Pablo (Organ, Piano, Melodica) und aufgenommen im Channel One Studio (Engineer: Ernest Hookim), Harry J Studio (Engineer: Sylvan Morris), Joe Gibbs Studio (Engineer: Errol "Errol T" Thompson), King Tubby's Studio (Engineer: Phillip "Prince Phillip" Smart), The Black Ark (Engineer: Lee "Scratch" Perry).
Multi Culti co-founder Dreems joins forces with Jacoby for kaleidoscopic sonic wizardry that flows seamlessly from symphonic dream pop to ambient esoterica.
If this album had been produced by ai the prompt would have been: create the perfect mix of daft punk - homework crossed with Brian Wilson - pet sounds containing shades of Moby - play but with the complexity and scope of the avalanches - since i left you, containing a few saucy licks of Nile rogers funk, dainty fragments of French psychedelic library-kitsch, mind-expanding flourishes from the BBC radiophonic workshop, all culminating with a bell-filled percussive piano ballad outro masterpiece produced by Brian Eno and four Tet on 180 mics of LSD after watching sesame street with lee perry.
It’s a record of fantastic imagination, full of surprises. Crack open your head, dive in and enjoy the trip!
Limited edition 7” containing ‘all your time’ and ‘in your mind’.
Easily one of the greatest roots reggae albums of all time, Soul Rebels resulted from the intensive partnership brokered by the group and maverick producer, Lee 'Scratch' Perry. It was the first Wailers 'concept' album, conceived as a long-player based on a rebellious theme, rather than a collection of isolated singles, and the presence of the Barrett brothers in the rhythm section pointed the way for greater glories to come. The Wailers first formed as an unruly five-piece in 1963, with Junior Braithwaite as lead singer and Beverley Kelso an early member, sometimes replaced by Cherry Green. During their long tenure at Studio One, Bob Marley gradually shifted to the lead vocal role and the robust core of Marley, Peter Tosh, and Neville Livingston, aka Bunny Wailer, soon emerged as the mainstays of the group. Perry was involved with the Wailers at Studio One, using their talents for backing vocals on some of his solo work, but the partnership that yielded Soul Rebels was in an entirely different league. The title track, Tosh's anguished "400 Years and "Corner Stone" are legendary for their intense power; "It's Alright" set the template for the later "Night Shift," "My Cup" was an individual barebones reading of James Brown's "I Guess I'll Have To Cry Cry Cry," while the playful "Try Me" and "No Water" are suggestive odes. Tosh's dejected "No Sympathy" and the spirited "Soul Almighty" are other winners and the "Cloud 9" revamp "Rebel's Hop" is another joy. All killer, no filler!
Rootz Lions Band share the love for conscious roots reggae music & are dreadicated to taking the music forward in these times.
Bassplayer Carlos Silva is the founding member of the band. In 2016 he gathered some of the Dutch reggae scene's most experienced musicians, each of them having previously played with top local and international artists - most recently the band have performed with Army, Prince Jamo, Donovan Kingjay, Black Omolo, Iyiapo Tafari, Chezidek and more.
MLK is a singer from Sierra Leone, based in the Netherlands. He performs regularly live with bands and in 2018 released the acclaimed LP 'The World Is In Trouble' with The Breadwinners on the Bionic Dread label.
King Cooper (AKA King Kooper in the Jazz world) from Amsterdam has a long & fascinating career, playing reggae, jazz, funk & soul with the likes of Doe Maar, Sister Sledge, Coopertest & many, many more... proving himself as one the world's top saxophonists.
Hornsman Coyote from Belgrade, Serbia is one of the leading Trombonists in the modern reggae scene and works regularly with top producers & labels internationally, such as, Lee Perry, House Of Riddim, Rolling Lion, Jah Works, Earth Works, Jerry Lions to name but a few. His career started as the front-man for Belgrade Hard-Rock-reggae crossover band, Eyesburn & is a singer songwriter in his own right with a huge catalogue from over 20 years of continued performance & recording.
Plunder was recorded and mixed at Earth Works Studio, Amsterdam
Ground Groove, the third full-length release from the LA-based, Iranian-American producer and DJ, Maral, begins with an invocation: the sprawling, achingly heavy Feedback Jam opens the floodgates of history. Conventional (linear) spacetime collapses, crushed beneath the track’s lumbering 4/4 heartbeat and successive waves of distortion. As each wave recedes, samples trickle forward in the mix — seeking, perhaps, to fill the void. Voices and instruments rise and fall in uncanny reverse. Overlapping, implied melodies flicker into focus, then flit away. Feedback Jam is at once an initiation ritual, and a thesis statement for the record that follows.
Drawing upon a vast personal archive of Iranian folk, classical, and pop recordings (some sourced from mixtapes made by her parents in the eighties/nineties), Maral presents, on Ground Groove, a further refinement of the signature “folk club” sound she developed as a live DJ— a sound she would later codify on Mahur Club (2019) and Push (2020). By collecting, dissecting, and re/presenting sonic fragments from Iran, Maral practices a kind of dance-floor ethnomusicology. The subject of her inquiry: Iranian
culture and contexts, throughout history and in the present. But, crucially, this inquiry is instantiated within and throughout the body of the listener, whether this listener is dancing in the club, or riding the train, nodding along with headphones on.
Maral speaks of being in collaboration with her samples, treating each as a distinct bandmate, often consulting with an artist’s catalog (or even a single recording) as one would a trusted creative partner. In so-doing, Maral claims to seek to transcend the self. In this regard, her output neatly triangulates contemporary dance and heavy music with much of the traditional religious music that she samples. Broadly speaking, each of these idioms addresses a desire —shared by audience and performer alike—to transcend the self through volume, repetition, and movement.
Having, in her youth, studied the Setar under Nader Majd (the founder of Virginia’s Center for Persian Classical Music), Maral cycled through various genres (ex: punk, emo, dub) in her adolescence and early twenties, all the while expanding her knowledge of, and appreciation for, Iran’s diverse musical traditions during regular summer trips to Tehran. In college, Maral taught herself to make beats with a ripped copy of Ableton (which remains her DAW of choice), eventually transitioning to playing and hosting various club nights. Forever abiding by an autodidactic, DIY impulse to create art and foster community, Maral relocated to Los Angeles in 2013, where she quickly immersed herself in the city’s numerous overlapping music scenes.
Collaboration (beyond sampling) has proven an important component of her process, with notable spoken word contributions from the likes of Lee Scratch Perry and Penny Rimbaud, as well as a 2021 Panda Bear collab track (On Your Way), which the Animal Collective founder co-produced. Maral is equally attentive to the visual components of her records (album art, music videos, etc.), drawing upon the work of peers and friends for inspiration.
Indeed, the genesis of Ground Groove can be traced back to an audio-visual collaboration between Maral and the artist Brenna Murphy, originally commissioned for the 2021 Rewire Festival — a project that would eventually serve as the album’s foundation. Tracks eight through eleven on Ground Groove comprise Maral’s half of this installation, with tracks one through seven composed afterwards, inspired by the fruits of Maral and Murphy’s collaboration. Murphy’s visuals will be released alongside Ground Groove as a visual accompaniment. Additionally, Murphy designed the album’s art, directed the video for the lead single (the aforementioned Feedback Jam), and is featured on track six, Shy Night.
Composed largely on Ableton, Ground Groove features more frequent and more prominent live recordings from Maral (guitar, bass, and vocals) than either Push or Mahar Club. The cult favorite Roland MC-909 groovebox rears its head on Mari’s Groove. Mixed by Trayer Tryon (Hundred Waters) and mastered by Daddy Kev, the attention to sonic quality on Ground Groove constitutes another significant step in Maral’s development as a studio artist.
Ground Groove’s eleven tracks are “grooves” in the obvious sense, in that they are each driven by a persistent, propulsive rhythm, but the album’s title may just as well suggest the glacial passage of time—the scope of human history, in which individual voices, like streams, carve paths (impossibly) through earth and stone, winding their way to the vast sea of the present.
Freestyle puts out another reissue 12" in their drive to unearth rare and classic UK funk, soul & boogie records - this time a much needed pressing of the late Candy McKenzie's heavy boogie-funk cover of Patrice Rushen's classic Remind Me. Produced by Candy's late cousin, and seasoned session bass player, John McKenzie (and licensed from the family estate) this was originally released in 1983 - and comes with an excellent dubbed-out 'Different Style' instrumental version on the flip.
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Candy McKenzie (1953-2003) was a North West London-based vocalist from a Guyanese family heavily steeped in musicianship . She began learning the piano at a young age, picking up vocal harmony from her father, a jazz bass player. Her brothers Bunny & Binky, were also celebrated bassists. Candy would marry young in 1970 at the age of 17, though just one year later her brother Binky (who played with the likes of Cream, Alexis Korner & John Mclaughlin in the late 60s) tragically killed her mother and father, along with Candy's husband in an attack at the family home to which Candy was present. Candy was also injured but escaped with her life.
In the years that followed the tragedy Candy, regularly accompanied by her brother Bunny, would find reggae vocal session work - often at the Chalk Farm Studios frequented by many key producers & acts. She found her way onto Aswad's first album and Keith Hudson's legendary Flesh Of My Skin Blood Of My Blood LP - and a little while later on a couple of sessions with Bob Marley for Island, under the supervision of Lee Perry.
The latter two parties took a keen interest in Candy, with Island wisking her away to Jamaica in 1977 to record an album at the legendary Black Ark. Her vocals found their way onto The Congos seminal Heart of the Congos LP, but the album she recorded with Perry was shelved - with just the Black Art holy grail 12" Disco Fits / Breakfast in Bed finding it's way to release at the time.
Back in London, Candy spent the early to mid 80s recording various lovers and funk/soul 12"s, including this fantastic cover of Patrice Rushen's Remind Me, produced by her cousin John. She went on to record singles for labels like Elite & Cooltempo throughout the '80s and early '90s, and appeared as backing vocalist with the likes of Leonard Cohen, Whitney Houston, Elton John and Diana Ross. She passed away in 2003, with her one and only album recorded at the Black Ark finally seeing release on Trojan in 2011.
Candy's cousin John McKenzie got his starts in the music industry in the mid 70s as part of prog group Man and communal festival rockers Global Village Trucking Co., as well as playing with the likes of Annette Peacock and Steve Hillage. His father Mike McKenzie was also a key Carribbean jazz figure in the UK throughout the early 1950s, through to the '60s and '70s. John would become a heavily in-demand session musician - playing with everyone from the Eurhythmics to Bob Dylan - while also finding time to produce this record, alongside a couple of excellent 12"s with Mel Gaynor as Finesse, between 1982 and '83. He would regularly tour the world as a live musician for a huge array of headline acts, appearing on multiple chart hits, and in his later years was a member of the excellent group Ibibio Sound Machine. He lost his battle with cancer in 2020.
This reissue is dedicated to the memory of both John & Candy McKenzie.
"El Pasaje del Aumento" is a collection of syncopated rhythms for hypnotic slow dance. An accident of oppressive atmospheres with a humorous sense of rhythm and composition, which moves between downtempo, African rhythms and dub. With a certain oriental softness, it introduces you into a state of enchantment, spell... a hypnotic and mysterious restlessness, almost uncomfortable. Sentuhlà squeezes his Yamaha Rm1x on this second album, creating rhythms that you would never believe possible with a single synthesizer. He spins, twists and strangles it to the limit, til getting the last drop of frequency and oscillation.
Without too obvious references, it recalls the rhythms of Toulouse Low Trax or Wolf Müller, the experimentation of Muslimgauze, the repetition of Huerco S... But if you ask Sentuhlà himself, he will also mention Fela Kuti, Sun Ra, Can, Cabaret Voltaire, Tom Zé or Lee Scratch Perry...
Sentuhlà is one of the many aliases of musical jack of all trades José Guerrero, a long-standing figure in the already rich underground scene of Valencia. In this solo excursion, he explores the vast possibilities of mechanical repetition, the machine funk of dirtbag rhythms, and proper boogie DIY synth music, sculpting a syncopated sound that is both modern and atavistic. Coming from a deep knowledge and ability to communicate very diverse sounds, slow jams unfold into dance music for clear-eyed lounge lizards for whom sleaze comes not dizzy but focused. Whitened African rhythms beat up no-wave disco pleasure points, managing the hard task of being very cool and nonchalant, but also hot and dedicated.








































