Tu Shung Peng - Wise Stories From Vineyard Town (Arka Productions/Musicast Distribution)

Ras Daniel Ray, lead vocalist ad interim and prominently featured on 'Ray Of Light', seems to have disappeared from view though, and just like on 2007's 'Around Tu Shung Peng' and 2008's 'Trouble Time', Tu Shung Peng once again collaborated with a host of guest vocalists. As the title already indicates, this time Manu and Fabwize even ventured all the way to Jamaica, where they joined forces with Winston 'Sparrow' Martin (Jamaica All Stars, Alpha Boys School). Veterans like Ken Boothe ('Jah Children No Lie'), Bunny & Skully (be sure to check out the great 'Take Us There', sounding like a forgotten classic from the golden nineteen seventies), Natural Ites vocalist Ossie Gad ('Keeping Love Alive') and Bongo, a sixty year old farmer with the impressive 'Ghetto People Struggling' and 'Darksky's Cloud' making his recording debut, provide a vintage vibe, while artists like Omar Perry ('The Order'), Kingstonians Nazzleman & Pesso (the excellent 'Children Love Each Other' is one of the highlights of the album) or Australian soulstress Rachel Claudio ('Long After'), make sure the rest of the album is firmly rooted in the present. The result is an album that doesn't feel the slightest bit French, but that undoubtedly belongs to the best roots productions for 2015.