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"There's no rest for the wicked!" is an old English saying that perfectly applies to Arky Starch. The year has barely begun, yet he's already back with a brand-new 6-track EP. And with a title like Rebel Phase, he immediately grabs our attention!
It had been a few years since Jamaican Jazz Orchestra last made their presence felt, but with this 'All For A Reason' EP, a five-track release, the Flemish ska-jazz ensemble led by guitarist Wouter 'Wowie' Rosseel is making a return... or are they?
With BASBAR, Arky Starch ventures into a Dutch-language project, joining forces with vocalist Jean Fernand.
As tradition dictates, Reggae Geel has unveiled the first wave of names for its upcoming edition this August. And it has to be said, the lineup is already shaping up to be seriously promising!
After the 2017 release of 'Music Never Dies', Lutan Fyah once again joined forces with Zion I Kings and I Grade Records for 'Strength & Resilience'.
With 'Vivants', French band I Woks, built around vocalists Seb and Gé, may already be on their third full-length album, for us, this was our first encounter with this crew from the Savoie region.
The fact Polish producer Moony draws inspiration from the vastness of the universe, with a particular soft spot for the moon, is evident not only from his moniker but also from the titles of his previous releases ('Tales From The Moon', 'Lunar Visions', 'Lunar Cycle'). His latest EP, 'Lunar Odyssey', continues this celestial theme, once again paying tribute to Earth's natural satellite.
Steel Alive, the duo of Pouss and Lucas, who now split their time between France and La Réunion, take strong musical cues from the vibrant world of the circus. The "big top" in the title of this new five-track EP, released on their recently founded Bass Cookers label, refers to the classic circus tent, a fitting choice, given the many circus-themed references found in both the titles and lyrics of the tracks on 'Under The Big Top'.
What a night at VK, with Omar Perry, Joy White, Cedric Myton, and the fantastic French band Easy Riddim Makers. We couldn't have dreamed of a better tribute to Lee 'Scratch' Perry!
With 'Live Salle Pleyel', Tiken Jah Fakoly presents his first new live album in over 15 years.
Carl Meeks is one of a number of Jamaican vocalists who briefly rode the wave of digital dancehall sweeping across Europe in the late 1980s. For 'Legendary', Meeks joined forces with David 'Sensademus' Hanquet, the man behind Belgian imprint Big Bout Ya Records and a longtime fan of Meeks' work.
The Human Rights are a four-piece band from Toronto centred around vocalist Friendlyness, drummer Eric Woolston, bassist Tyler Wagler and keyboardist Bernie Pitters.
We were actually expecting the third instalment in the EP trilogy Ras Teo launched with 'Ion Man' and 'Up Fi Jah', but instead, Ras Teo and Roberto Sánchez surprise us with 'Soul Rebel'.
On May 9th, exactly on the sixty-sixth birthday of Earl Sixteen, 'Concrete Rockers' dropped, making it the perfect birthday gift from Eeyun Purkins and his band of sonic architects, The Co-Operators.
The name Siska might not immediately ring a bell for most of you, but we instantly recognized the unmistakable eyes on the cover of 'Holdin' The Vibe', the album that marks the Marseille-based singer's return to her reggae roots after two solo projects exploring electro and trip-hop. As she herself puts it: "En faisant cet album, j'ai eu l'impression de revenir à la maison, comme une évidence." ("In making this album, I felt like I was coming home; it just made perfect sense.")
'No. 10 Upping Street', Smoke & Mirrors Sound System's tribute to Big Audio Dynamite, has barely hit the shelves, and bandleader John Roy is already back at it with 'Return Of The Numbers', the musical follow-up to 2022's 'Strength In Numbers'.
Three years after the well-received double album 'Eternity', Alpha Blondy returns in full force with 'Rise'.
It had been quite a while since we last heard from Marc Leys, better known to most as MacLes. After his 2018 collaboration with D-Prezzy, the reggae producer from Belgium's Campine region returns, this time joining forces with Warriors From The East, a Tanzanian outfit hailing from Arusha in the far north of the country.
Skanky Combo is a five-piece French band presenting their second full-length album, 'Locked Up In Love'.
As a follow-up to his much-praised 2024 release 'Can A Man Cry', Jah Lil now presents 'Dusty Park Lane', a three-track EP.
Roberto Sánchez's A-Lone Ark Muzik Studio shows no signs of slowing down in 2025, as proven by this trio of near-simultaneous releases, together forming a musical trilogy.
With the release of 'Candle Burning', Groundation adds an unexpected footnote in Belgian reggae history, as the American band, led by Harrison Stafford, recorded the album at the renowned ICP Recording Studios in Ixelles.
On Saturday, August 2nd, Reemah, the crown princess of Virgin Islands reggae, will join Tippy I in the Dub Forest at Reggae Geel; a set we'd like to get you excited for with the interview below!
This is one we've truly been looking forward to: 'Harder Than The Rock' marks the first new album from British reggae pioneers Cimarons in nearly 45 years!
For the first time in nearly 45 (!) years, the Cimarons returned to the studio, resulting in the excellent 'Harder Than The Rock'. The perfect moment to serve you the second part of our interview with founding member and guitarist Locksley Gichie!
The Liquidators are a nine-piece outfit hailing from Lille in northern France, originally formed in 2015 as The Soul Rebels, a one-off backing band for Jamaican rocksteady veteran Freddie Notes. Since then, the group has carved out a niche for themselves with irresistibly catchy ska, rocksteady, and reggae reworkings of pop, rock, and soul classics. Following two five-track Eps, 'The Liquidators' (2017) and 'Get Ready' (2018), they're now back with their long-awaited full-length debut.
In the dub scene, musicians and producers often swear by vintage analog gear and traditional techniques, but that particular "dogma" doesn't apply to Blanc du Blanc.
Less than a year after releasing the acoustic 'Survival Vibration', Clinton Fearon returns with its follow-up: 'Jah Is Love'!
A stylized number seven in a vintage red-gold-green design, according to Peruvian graphic designer Andrea Sifuentes, that's all it took to capture the essence of '7', the seventh studio album by Mellow Mood.
Stranger Cole may be well past eighty, but the veteran singer clearly has no plans of slowing down just yet. For the first time since his 'More Life' EP with The Steadytones back in 2018, he's returned to the studio, this time for 'Royal', a collaborative project with Dutch singer Patsy (Renske De Boer).
For the first time since recording the 'More Life' EP with the Steadytones back in 2018, Jamaican veteran Stranger Cole has returned to the studio for 'Royal', this time alongside Dutch singer Patsy. The perfect opportunity, then, to present you the following interview with the man himself!
The name Flying Vipers might not immediately suggest a reggae band, but this Boston-based American outfit is already on its third full-length release with 'Off World'.
You can already tell from the album cover bursting with colourful flowers: Hawaii and island life in general run like a red thread through 'Faith And Deeds', the new album from Inna Vision.
Jamaican legends reimagining iconic pop and rock tunes in reggae style? It's hardly a new idea, but when the right crew comes together, the result can feel nothing short of timeless. Enter: The Mighty Rootsmen!
It's becoming quite a task to keep track of all the projects coming out of Roberto Sánchez's A-Lone Ark Muzik Studio, especially when many of them feature overlapping musicians.
Despite her iconic status as a female reggae deejay, Sister Nancy's catalogue of full-length releases has stayed notably modest over the decades. Back in 1982, we got both 'The Yellow, The Purple, The Nancy' (produced by Henry 'Junjo' Lawes for Greensleeves) and her debut album 'One, Two' (produced by Winston Riley for Techniques). Now, Mad Professor finally adds a third chapter to that legacy with 'Armageddon'!
Always a pleasure to fill in another missing piece of the global reggae puzzle, and with the two-track 'Good Over Evil' EP from Bosphoroots, Turkey is no longer a blank spot on our reggae map!
Earlier this year, Glen Washington dropped the Willie Lindo produced 'Feeling Irie', which unfortunately flew under our radar. But the veteran singer is already back with its follow-up, 'Just Giving Thanks'.
Dub Shepherds, the Clermont-Ferrand-based duo of Jolly Joseph and Doctor Charty - and arguably France's answer to The Co-Operators - team up with Parisian vocalist Junior Roy for 'Trodding On Showcase'.
Some quick research into the origin of the name of this Dutch ska and early reggae outfit formed by current and former members of The Upsessions and De Hardheid, left this reviewer blushing: a Sybian, it turns out, is nothing less than "a sex machine designed for women in the shape of a saddle, featuring a motor-powered rod with interchangeable rubber attachments to stimulate the genital area, operated via remote control.".
Barely a few months after the release of 'Faith And Deeds', Koa Lopes is back with a dub reimagining of that album: 'Faith And Dubs'.
Just as he did a few years back for 'Vibrations From The Bionic Tabernacle', an album of reimagined tracks from 'Rhythms From The Kitchen Sink' and 'Beating The Doldrums', for 'Dub Over Yonder', Eeyun Purkins this time reworked a selection of cuts from 'Sounds From The Fridge' and 'A Distant Beat'.
These days, reggae cover projects are hardly in short supply. We already introduced you to the album by The Mighty Rootsmen, but producer Ralph Sall was simultaneously involved in 'The Kingston Lions', recorded at Anchor Studios in Kingston, while Germany's Berman Brothers were putting the finishing touches on 'Classic Hits In A Reggae Groove' by Kingston Sound System at Axx Studio in Port Antonio.
If your taste in dub leans toward the adventurous and experimental, then 'Trombone G Skanking' by Dutch trombonist Guus van Diemen deserves your attention.
We mainly knew Fatbabs as the producer behind the late Naâman, taken from us far too soon. But with 'This Love Is Forever', Benjamin Jeanne proves he has since grown into a beatmaker of truly international stature. Teaming up with a wide cast of vocalists from France and the Caribbean, he delivers an album that easily ranks among the very best we've heard this year.
She clearly took her time with it, but five years after the warmly received debut EP 'The ExPerience', Lila Iké finally delivers her much-anticipated full-length debut, 'Treasure Self Love'.
Reducing Junior Murvin to a one-hit wonder would be selling him short, yet it's hard to deny that much of his lasting fame stems from 'Police And Thieves', the iconic track he voiced for Lee 'Scratch' Perry back in 1977.
Omolara Adesigbin, better known to most as Molara, the original lead vocalist of Zion Train, had been off our radar for quite some time. But the German label Echo Beach is now bringing her back into the spotlight with the release of this 'Ore Mi' EP.
For 'Universal Love Showcase', a project spearheaded by French producer Fabrice Allègre aka Frenchie, Jamaican veteran Johnny Osbourne is paired with a handful of vocal guests.
Just as he did for predecessor 'Too Late' (Roots Renegade Records, 2023), Almighty Dread once again made his way to Vinney Ellis's Ellis Studios in Málaga to record 'Kingston City'.
After previous collaborations with Rod Anton, Chezidek, Nai-Jah and Nadia McAnuff, French band The Ligerians have now joined forces with Greek-American singer Christopher Vrenios, better known as Christos DC.
With 'Deh Pon Dem' and 'Deh Pon Dem In Dub', Ras Teo unveils the third instalment in the EP series that kicked off in 2024 with 'Ion Man' and 'Ion Man In Dub'. What we initially announced as a triptych has meanwhile grown into a four-part cycle.
Just shy of fifteen years after her self-titled debut, 'Shy Girl', Hollie Cook's fifth studio album, marks her return to Mr Bongo. While her musical formula may no longer surprise, Cook has almost singlehandedly carried the lovers rock sound into the twenty-first century, and 'Shy Girl' is yet another shining example of that evolution.
To mark the label's 30th anniversary, Echo Beach invited filmmaker, radio presenter, DJ, and musician Don Letts to dig through their catalogue and curate his very own Echo Beach compilation. The result is 'Don Letts, The Rebel Dread @ Echo Beach'. Het resultaat is 'Don Letts, The Rebel Dread @ Echo Beach'.
Halloween is creeping up fast, and right on cue to set the mood for the spooky season comes 'Dancehall Of Horrors', released on the French Tabou1 label.
Four years after 'Royal', which earned him a Grammy nomination back in 2022, Jesse Royal returns with 'No Place Like Home'. For this album, Royal teamed up with producers like Yungg Trip, Sean Alaric and Andre 'Dretegs' Hawthorne, who gave the record a more urban edge than its predecessor.
Naya Rockers, the musical project led by American drummer Nathan Sabanayagam and bassist Nate Edgar, first crossed our path with the release of their 2022 album 'Naya Sound System'. Their latest effort, 'Higher Education', takes things in a slightly different direction: this time it's a benefit album in support of Kingston's Alpha School of Music (formerly known as Alpha Boys' School).
Anyone who knows me a little knows that I have been an unconditional fan of Adrian Sherwood and his label On-U Sound for almost half a century. If Lee Perry was a genius, then so is this studio wizard, with his impressive catalogue as a producer. In all these years, this is only the third record he has released under his own name, as usual in close collaboration with musicians who have often crossed his path: Brian Eno, Doug Wimbish, Keith Le Blanc, Gaudi, Jazzwad... Google their names and you realise that Sherwood operates in a select club.
Zimbabwean reggae? Not quite. As the title of this new compilation on the Analog Africa label suggests, what we have here is actually chigiyo, a genre rooted both in Jamaican reggae and Zimbabwean mbira traditions.
The entire cast of The Harder They Come took to the stage at the Stratford Theatre in London one last time on Thursday to appeal for support for the Hurricane Melissa Relief Fund. A moving finale to a musical that, even more so than the film, is a wonderful tribute to Jamaica.
The title of Alborosie's new full-length not only nods to the fact that it's his ninth studio album, but also serves as a tribute to the king of reggae.
For 'Timeless Bond', Italian outfit De Strangers joined forces with Galas Mbengue - a Senegalese-Italian vocalist based in Turin - and dub producer Buriman from Venice's Moa Anbessa crew.
This is one we'd been eagerly anticipating: 'Welcome To Paradise', the full-length debut from Naomi Cowan.
We're already in the final weeks of 2025, but in Roberto Sanchez's Lone Ark it's business as usual. Under the fairly self-explanatory alias Lone Ark, Sanchez takes on vocal duties himself for this 'Singers & Players' project.
Mr. Ital is the moniker under which Claudio Rooms has been making steady waves for the past few years. After a string of single releases, the reggae crooner from Sint-Niklaas now presents his debut EP 'State Of Mind', a six-track collection that marks a new chapter in his musical journey.
With Upyard, Roberto Sanchez already introduced us to a first Basque reggae band earlier this year, though that project still opted for English as its main language. Agoteak, by contrast, fully embraces Basque.
After previous collaborations with French producer KSD, Breton outfit Stand High Patrol, and Scotland's Mungo's Hi Fi, Italy-born vocalist Marina P, now based in Paris, this time joined forces with Waggle Dance producer Eeyun Purkins and his Co-Operators.
Can it really have been eight years since the release of 'Chronology', Chronixx' acclaimed debut album? Earlier this year, a three-LP '7th Anniversary Edition' of that record hit the shelves, but beyond that, the Spanish Town singer largely remained out of the spotlight. Then, precisely on his birthday, October 10, Chronixx made his triumphant return with 'Exile', a 17-track double album.
'Greensleeves: The First 100 Covers' by Alexander Newman, better known as Al Fingers, first saw the light back in 2010 through Stüssy, though it slipped under our radar at the time. Now, however, there's an updated second edition, published by One Love Books; the same imprint that previously brought us the delightful 'Covers: Retracing Reggae Record Sleeves in London'.
As if Roberto Sanchez weren't already busy enough with all the projects he's handling for A-Lone Productions, he's also working closely with Switzerland's Fruits Records. And right now, it's dub o'clock over there!
After a somewhat difficult period in which COVID-19 and later the health issues of vocalist Komlan threw a spanner in the works, Dub Inc are now fully back on track, with a new European tour and a brand-new album, 'Atlas'!
Senegalese reggae artist Lëk Sèn first caught our attention in 2010, when the French label Makasound released his debut album 'Burn'. We continued to follow him in the years that followed, but after 'Sweet & Tuff' in 2016, we lost track of his work. We're happy to reconnect now with 'Jèem' (Wolof for "to try").
VP Records may have leaned heavily into reissues in recent years, but every now and then that strategy still yields some real gems. Kenneth 'Skengdon' Black's Skengdon label would have celebrated its 40th anniversary this year, and to mark the occasion VP Records is shining a light once again on a number of the label's most iconic releases through digital reissues.
For 'Crowned Eagle', English producer Alpha Steppa once again joins forces with Franco-Nigerian singer-songwriter Nai-Jah.
'Horn N Tentacles' serves as the debut calling card of Igor Pratty aka Dubussy, a producer and multi-instrumentalist hailing from Florence, Italy, his nom de plume, of course, a playful nod to French composer Claude Debussy.
In 2020 Roberto Sanchez already teamed up with Amatah Keo, a France-based vocalist and multi-instrumentalist of Laotian descent, for the single 'Each One Teach One', and with 'Sabaï Di', Laotian for "hello" or "how are you?", we now get a full-length album.
Eesah is the musical alias of Kingston-born Ackime Nathaniel Nephew, who first cut his teeth in the music industry as a sound engineer at the Jah Ova Evil Studio. When the late J.O.E./Lil Joe (Alty Nunes) realized that Ackime could more than hold his own vocally alongside artists like Chronixx, Micah Shemaiah, Hempress Sativa and Masicka - all regulars at the studio - he was given the chance to record his first tunes under the name Jahkime.
Hawaiian-Filipino artist HIRIE (Patricia 'Trish' Jetton) first crossed our path with her debut album, released in 2013 on the US label Roots Musician Records. Follow-ups 'Wandering Soul' (2016), 'Dreamer' (2019) and 'Mood Swing' (2023) somehow slipped past us, but with 'Phases', out now on Easy Star Records, we're happily reconnecting.
After previously shining a spotlight on Skengdon releases by the likes of Tenor Saw, Sugar Minott, Frankie Paul and Winston McAnuff, VP Records now rounds off the celebration with three more albums by Leroy Smart, Echo Minott and Tamlins.
Two years after the release of their debut EP, Brussels outfit Nutshell return with a follow-up in the shape of Nutshell Meets Manjul, a dub EP for which they - you guessed it - joined forces with Manjul.
Yours truly first came across French outfit Obidaya (the phonetic spelling of the Hebrew "obadiah", meaning "servant of the Lord") with the release of their self-titled debut in 2012. After that, however, things went surprisingly quiet around the Parisian quartet. Today, the group consists of Eliès 'Addis' Eddaïkra, Sylvain 'I Fi' Isserlis (Bat Records), Loïc Paulin of Mystical Faya, and Raphael 'Uncle Raph' Baldy (guitarist for Tribe, Marcus Gad's regular backing band), who apparently spent all those years honing their sound. And now, at last, comes this aptly titled 'New Chapter'.
The Skengdon party at VP Records is far from over… We continue with three more iconic releases recorded at Miami's Diamond Studio Centre!
Serbian outfit Soulcraft closed out 2025 with 'Book Of Life, Chapter 1', the first instalment in what is set to become a trilogy of EPs.
For the previous full-length from Stand High Patrol we have to go back to 2020, but the Breton crew certainly hasn't been idle since. Vocalist Pupajim popped up on 'Sounds From The Fridge' by The Co-Operators and Alpha Steppa & Nai-Jah's 'Crowned Eagle', while in 2024 he also took a sidestep as Slim Jim From The Donjon with the instrumental outing 'The Lost Island'. And now, with 'Underground Oasis', there's finally a brand-new album from Stand High Patrol.
Please turn your attention to The Earliers, a French band around drummer Karigan (Clovis Lécureux) and keyboardist Organiks (Antoine Gersch), who with this ten-track self-titled debut EP immediately deliver a statement that truly packs a punch!
We're already at the end of January, high time to properly kick off the reggae year, and we do so in style with 'The Divine Blueprint', the new album by Xana Romeo. It's immediately a double set, as producer Omar 'Jallanzo' Johnson - nicknamed The Dub Wizard for good reason - also delivers a full dub companion.
There's no rest for the wicked, and so the production train at Lone Ark Muzik Studio, helmed by Roberto Sanchez, continues rolling full steam ahead in 2026. Up first are Mountain Tops, a nine-piece outfit from Cantabria in northern Spain, presenting their full-length debut 'Global Warning'.
Dub poetry has always remained something of a fringe phenomenon within reggae - albeit one with a considerable cultural impact - and as such the number of Belgian dub poets can still be counted on one hand. From further back we still recall Jah Free Amos, more recently there was Ras Daan Jah, and now Waasland veteran Ras Double D (Dirk Dekeyser) steps forward with a debut three-track EP.
Following his collaboration with Swiss label Evidence Music for 'Jamaica Jamaica', Micah Shemaiah joins forces with Dutch outfit JahSolidRock for 'Natural Is The Mystic'.
It had been since 2016 that we last checked in with Italian outfit Wicked Dub Division. For 'Jazz My Dub', the trio from Pordenone teamed up with saxophonist Francesco Bearzatti.
On May 11, 2021, Nick Page - better known as Count Dubulah and the driving force behind Dub Colossus - lost his battle with cancer. Yet thanks to his life partner Cristina Moran, aka Dubulette, and bassist/percussionist Toby Mills, we now receive one final and well-deserved tribute in the form of 'Dub Will Keep Us Together'.
We have to admit, we hadn't heard of J'Calm before… Born Jovane Nathaniel Gayle in Chapleton (Clarendon), the young Jamaican artist first made waves on Instagram (over 600,000 followers) and TikTok (1.2 million followers), so we weren't exactly part of his core audience. His real breakthrough came with the 2023 single 'Tempted', which even landed him on Barack Obama's playlist. A debut album, 'NICHE', followed in 2024, but somehow passed us by. With 'Emotions', however, we're more than happy to make up for lost time.
After his French detour for 'Never Stop', released by Irie Ites, Chezidek returns to Tad's Record, the label that also released the well-received 'Hello Africa' back in 2020.
UK-based Jamaican artist Da Fuchaman (Zemroy Thomas) first crossed our radar with his 'Rasta Will Be There' EP back in 2014, followed a year later by the album 'Pappa Jolly', after which we somewhat lost track of him. We reconnect here with 'The Colours Of Life', a 16-track offering.
With new releases from Reggae Workers Of The World and Leah Farmer, the Badasonic Studios in Charleroi are once again brimming with activity!
Antwerp-based Spellbreakers return with 'Revolution', a musical fist aimed at the excesses of our time, with punk playing just as vital a role as reggae.
If you're in the mood for a proper old-school roots album, then 'Fullness', a pan-European collaboration between Marcus I (Marc Ibarz) and aDubta (Andi Bauer), comes highly recommended.
The number of projects experimenting with dub and jazz has become almost impossible to keep track of, and with 'Hidden Sun', 12 Tribes Of Mars - an international Amsterdam-based collective led by saxophonist Andrius Dereviacenko - adds its own chapter to that ever-growing story.
'Woman', the new album by Hempress Sativa, is anything but a casual release, as it stands as a bold and unapologetic ode to female strength in all its forms.
For his fourth full-length, Tomawok headed to the Vox Studio in Montpellier, where he teamed up with Breton duo Daddy and Hypa aka D&H.
There seems to be no slowing down Brother Culture in recent years. Since the release of 'Code Name' in 2018, his first album for Switzerland's Evidence Music, the Brixton MC hasn't looked back. '12 Lights' followed in 2020, and in 2022 the label celebrated his entire career with the compilation '40th Anniversary Collection'. On 'Behold The Lion', it is once again mainly Derrick Sound and Little Lion Sound handling production duties.
Never change a winning team, so for the first time since 2018's 'A Matter Of Time', Protoje once again joined forces with producer Philip 'Winta' James for 'The Art Of Acceptance'.
On Saturday, May 23, Jamaican guitar phenomenon Brushy One String will take the stage at Blues Peer; the perfect opportunity to dig up the interview below from our archives...
French multi-instrumentalist Youthie (Juliette Bourdeix) first crossed our path back in 2019 with 'Nomad Skank', a collaboration with Macca Dread. The 'Nomad Skank Rework' EP followed in 2021, this time alongside Alkemist, but albums like 'The Roots Explorers' (2022), 'Gecko Tones' (2024) and 'Alma De Pajaro' (2025) unfortunately slipped under our radar. All the more reason, then, to happily reconnect with 'Wild Vibes'.
Yours truly has a soft spot for reggae in Catalan, so we were already eagerly anticipating 'Mala Herba Sempra Creix' ("weeds never die"), the new release by flagbearers Rudymentari.
September 6, 2026 marks exactly 120 years since Belgium and Ethiopia signed their first trade treaty; an anniversary we naturally do not wish to let pass unnoticed.Your humble servant has spent the past months buried deep in various Belgian archives, resulting in a fascinating retrospective that we are delighted to share with you here in several instalments.
After 'IN:SIDE', which we described as "the very first COVID-19 concept album" (and which in fact forms a diptych with 2022's 'OUT:SIDE'), comes the ambitious 'SUPERNOVA', for which Runkus joined forces with Bahamian artist Tavares Strachan.
For 'Where My Style Comes From', Daddy Cookiz joined forces with British producer and DJ Nathan Simm, better known as Simma, and fittingly the EP sees release through his SUPERCHIP imprint.
Six years after the much-acclaimed 'Guitar Chant', Kubix returned to the studio for this follow-up.
Three years after 'No Destroyer', Winston Rodney, better known as Burning Spear, returns with 'Call On Me', the first album in his long career on which he decided to invite a host of fellow artists to join him.
An Ethio-jazz album on a reggae platform might seem unexpected at first glance, but once you realize this project was brought to life through Fairfield House - the former residence of Haile Selassie and a place of deep spiritual significance within the Rastafari movement - everything falls neatly into place.
More sad news reached us from Jamaica this weekend, where Conrad Crystal passed away on June 17 after losing his battle with cancer.
For his fifth full-length album, 'Echoes Of Time', Meta Dia once again headed to Real World Studios near Bath, a fact he is keen to underline in closing track 'Divinity', where he sings: "We've been jammin', jammin' in a studio, inna Real World…"
In recent years, Ziggy Marley has increasingly turned his attention to projects for children; mostly in book form, such as 'Pajammin'' (Clarion Books, 2025) or 'Music Is In Everything' (Akashic Books, 2022), but also musically, as on 'Family Time' (2009) and 'More Family Time' (2020).
You were still owed the third and final instalment of our interview with Locksley Gichie of Cimarons (the first two parts were published here earlier). With the band set to perform alongside Roberto Sanchez at Irie Vibes in just a few weeks, we figured there couldn't be a better time to share it!
Capleton made his fans wait no less than 15 years for a new album, but thanks to Swiss label Evidence Music we finally get 'Heights Of Fire'!
Just as he did for 'Downton Sessions', for this 'All Fruits Ripe' Fruits Records producer Mathias Liengme once again dug into the recordings he made between 2015 and 2025 with Jamaican veterans such as Leroy 'Horsemouth' Wallace (drums), Scully Simms (percussion) and Dalton Browne (guitar).
The only vocal guest on Marcus Gad's new album 'For All' is none other than Virgin Islands queen Dezarie! So what better time to share our interview with her?
With each release, Marcus Gad further strengthens an already impressive discography. 'For All' sounds like the work of an artist who radiates ever-growing confidence and effortlessly knows to translate that into strong songs.
We have already reached the second half of 2026, and when it comes to A-Lone Productions, reviewers can easily find themselves hopelessly behind. Fortunately, Roberto Sanchez has focused mainly on 7-inch releases this year. But then there's the unstoppable Ras Teo, who now returns with no fewer than two brand-new full-length albums!
In the first part of this series, we explored the earliest contacts between Belgium and what was then known as Abyssinia. We now move forward to 1924, when Ras Tafari, the future Emperor Haile Selassie, paid his first visit to Belgium.
The ranks of British roots reggae band Black Roots are becoming increasingly depleted. After the Bristol-based band previously had to say goodbye to bassist Derrick King and vocalist Delroy O'Gilvie, we have now received the sad news that co-founder and lead vocalist Errol 'Barkwood' Brown has also passed away.
With her now iconic debut album 'The High Priestess' and singles such as 'The Creator' and 'Prophecy', Aisha has left an indelible mark on the reggae history of the United Kingdom. On Friday 31 July, she will perform alongside Mad Professor at the Dub Forest of Reggae Geel, and as a warm-up, we are delighted to bring you the following interview!
Aza Lineage (Dana Bernard) can certainly be considered one of the most promising new talents on Jamaica's musical firmament, but until now, fans had been waiting for a full-length album. There has been no shortage of singles, and in 2023 she already released 'Kingston To Cali', a six-track EP produced by Natty Megs of California's More Life Productions, but for 'Rebel Daawta' she now joined forces with none other than King Jammy!
For 'Africa My Destiny', The Ligerians have managed to bring together all the musical members of the McAnuff family for a joint project.
In his widely read opinion piece, Dries Talloen displays all the hallmarks of an ageing reggae fan. Things used to be better. Bring back roots and culture. Dub is ours. These are the same old refrains we've heard time and again.
To mark his 45th birthday in style, Pressure Busspipe headed back into the studio, resulting in 'All For A Time', a five-track showcase EP for which Pressure teamed up with Zion I Kings.
For 'Warrior Without Border', his new nine-track EP, Arky Starch says he really let himself experiment with sounds, effects and styles.
You may have already noticed: as of today, Reggae.be looks significantly different. Exactly ten years after the launch of the previous version, we've finally given the site the much-needed makeover it was due!
Over the past few years, Iotosh Poyser has made a name for himself as a songwriter for artists like Koffee ('Gifted'), Protoje ('Third Time's The Charm'), Jesse Royal ('Royal'), Kabaka Pyramid, Chronixx, and more. Now, with his 8-track 'For The People' EP, Iotosh steps into the spotlight as a solo artist.
French producer Owl Trackers (Gaby Demange) first crossed our path thanks to his collaboration with Ksanti on the 2021 'Time Lapse' EP. With 'The Bright Side', he now presents his first full-length solo album.
Dhoko Orchestra is a somewhat enigmatic Serbian collective of musicians led by sound engineer Raško Šantic and Dhoko Records founder Goran Doskovi?, joined for this release by the equally mysterious vocal group Sons Of Magni.
True reggae enthusiasts might remember Manuel Merlot, simply known as Merlot, as the frontman of French reggae band Baobab, active in the 1990s. Merlot has been pursuing a solo career for quite some time now, crafting a repertoire that blends French chanson, crooner jazz and reggae.
Following their 2021 debut album 'The Beachfront', Rawb, the duo comprised of Quentin Robert and Thibault Flory, now presents 'Here And Now', a warm musical call to live in the moment and savor each experience.
After being forced to cancel the promotional tour for their 2020 debut album 'Love Rocket' due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the five musicians of Swiss band Jar retreated to the Mountone Records Studios in Übersee to record its follow-up, 'Rolling Dice'.
To our own surprise, Jahill (not to be confused with the Jamaican artist Jah Lil), a multitalented musician, journalist, producer and more from Paris, who's been leaving his mark on the French reggae scene since the 1990s, had not yet appeared on our radar until now. As an artist, Jahill made a name for himself with his 2014 album 'Paname Skank', but it was in his role as a journalist that he first connected with riddim legends Sly & Robbie. The chemistry was instant, and for 'French Kiss', Jahill was granted free rein to explore the duo's extensive riddim catalog.
Born in Hackney, East London, Afrikan Simba is one of those artists from the UK sound system scene who seems to have been around forever. Yet, 'Mission', produced by Kris Kemist of Reality Shock Records, is surprisingly only his third full-length album.
The last time we caught up with Russian band Lollypop Lorry, for their 2020 release 'Lollypop Lorry Goes Dub', the large-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia hadn't yet taken place. In consequence, before diving into this review of 'Stick By Me', we first had to confront a moral dilemma.
VP Records has been unusually quiet lately, at least when it comes to new releases. Aside from Romain Virgo's 'The Gentle Man', the past year has seen little more than reissues of iconic classics. Thankfully, King Jammy is here to break the silence! In 2022, he treated us to the flu-busting 'Destroys The Virus With Dub', and now he's back with 'King Jammy's Unites the Nations With Dub'.
To celebrate their tenth anniversary in style, Indonesian collective Yella Sky Sound System presents their 'The Global Steppers' EP.
Following last year's 'Roots Meditation', Asha D now presents 'Vivre En Paix', another EP, this time featuring six vocal tracks and five dub versions.
Fans of Dreadsquad have had to exercise some serious patience, but after a seven-year hiatus, the Polish dub producer finally returns with 'Reggae From The Desert'.
Earlier this year, Colah Colah already presented 'I-Frequency', an album he recorded with Brazil based German producer DJ Michael Berth. It seems that the collaboration was a rewarding one, as with 'Steady Meddi Every Day', Colah Colah delivers a follow-up rather quickly.
In 2022, Parisian artist Daman managed to impress with his solo debut 'Life', and now he presents 'Mood Of Solidarity', an EP filled with duets.
On her previous album 'Higher Vibration', Munich-based Zoe Mazah embraced a jazzy rocksteady approach, but with 'Till Then', she shifts towards soulful reggae, new roots and dub, resulting in ten new tracks with love as the central theme.
The name Sly Asher might not ring a bell for everyone, but the Ivorian artist, born Gouamené Gahié Francis, has been making his mark since the mid-1980s. For 'New Vision', he joined forces with Les Vieux Mogos, an outstanding group of musicians led by former Solar System drummer Sam Koné and bassist Lucien Atsé, whom we still remembered from the 2017 album 'Motherland'.
We have to admit, we had no idea that The Dynamics, the French outfit from Lyon that made waves in 2007 with their reggae take on '7 Nation Army' by The White Stripes, were still active, making 'Dragn' Fly' an even more pleasant surprise!
The Salmon is the creative alliance of Jamaican reggae veteran Kiddus I, French multi-instrumentalist and producer Camille Bazbaz, and his fellow countryman, guitarist Jérôme 'Tchiky' Perez. The album's title and the lyrics of its namesake track reference the behaviour of the salmon, a fish that swims upstream and against the current when necessary. And much like the salmon, Kiddus I, Bazbaz, and Tchiky defy musical clichés and conventions on 'The Salmon'. You might have guessed already, this is by no means a straightforward reggae album!
Undoubtedly inspired by the saying: "Variety is the spice of life!", MC, vocalist and dub maker Pupajim took a temporary step back from his work with Stand High Patrol. Under the alias Slim Jim From The Donjon, he retreated to his own imaginary island.
With 'Tempête', Les Guetteurs are already on their fourth full-length album, but for us, this is our first encounter with this French band from Boulogne-Billancourt. Unlike most reggae acts, Les Guetteurs don't draw their spiritual inspiration from Rastafari but instead find it in Christianity, earning them comparisons to American group Christafari.
For Quartiere Coffee, the band from Grosseto in Tuscany, the release of 'La Mia Terra' marks a renewed collaboration with lead vocalist KG Man.
Nagaï is an artist from La Réunion, who delivers her first calling card with this 'Back To My Roots' EP.
Big Audio Dynamite, the British post-punk outfit founded by Don Letts and The Clash guitarist Mick Jones (joined by Greg Roberts, Leo Williams and Dan Donovan, who would later go on to form Dreadzone), would have celebrated its 40th anniversary this year. The perfect occasion for Smoke & Mirrors Sound System to put the band's musical legacy back in the spotlight. For the occasion, they chose to rework 'No. 10 Upping Street', Big Audio Dynamite's second studio album from 1986, which also marked the final musical collaboration between ex-Clash members Mick Jones and Joe Strummer, both of whom handled production duties.
'New Tradition' is the debut album from Tuff Sound, a seven-piece ensemble from Berlin that aims to give a voice to a generation shaped by change.
With 'Te Veel Praat' ("too much talk"), Dimi Dumo delivers a follow-up to his 2021 self-titled reggae debut, this time, explicitly crediting his backing band, Dibandi.
Foreign Dubbers, the duo of Joe Zampiceni and Gibo Butchers from Brescia, a city in northern Italy nestled between Milan and Verona, return with their latest 5-track EP, 'Soul Rebelòt'.
We already introduced you to Yella Sky Sound System from Jakarta, but there's plenty more bubbling under the surface on the Indonesian islands. From Lampung, Sumatra, comes 'Magna Ragon', the debut full-length by Roadblock Dub Collective, the duo of Sam and Iday.
With 'Blooming Part Three', we finally arrive at the concluding chapter of the trilogy promised by Breton band Faygo.
With 'Differently', The Tighters, a French band from Valence led by Swedish expat Andréas 'Ante' Andersson, deliver an impressive calling card.
The Danes of Total Hip Replacement have been skilfully walking the tightrope between pop, soul, reggae, dub and more since their 2018 release 'Wonder Why', and their new album 'Would It Be The Same' is no exception.
Over the past decade, Black Roots has solidified its reputation as one of the most reliable forces in the British roots reggae scene, treating fans to an exceptional album every three years, and their latest offering, 'Roots', is no exception.
One glance at the cover of 'Collision Of An Ancient Mind And A Modern World', once again designed by Ben Alpha's mother, Eve, is enough to recognize this as a new Alpha Steppa album.
U Brown, born Huford Brown, stands as one of the last remaining foundation deejays from the school of the legendary U-Roy. Add the voices of several reggae veterans to the mix, and you're guaranteed musical fireworks.
London reggae pioneers Cimarons seem to be making a true comeback: following the release of 'Harder Than The Rock' earlier this year and a widely praised documentary chronicling the band's unlikely journey, they're now also hard at work on a brand-new album.
In addition to his work as guitarist with The Co-Operators, Sam 'Chip' Huelin is also the driving force behind Run Come Down, the outfit behind this excellent 'Run The Track' album.
Between their 2021 album 'Rien Ne Se Tait' and 'Demain Peut-être', Danakil released the live album 'Danakil Occupe Le Théâtre Fémina', the remix project 'Danakil meets Ondubground Part. 2', and the live version of the same project, 'Danakil meets Ondubground Live', as well as 'Dialogue De Dub', a dub version of their 2008 album 'Dialogue De Sourds', mixed by Manjul and longtime sound engineer Damien 'Bobby' Coutrot.This once again solidifies the reputation of France's hardest-working reggae band, who seem to grow musically stronger with every album.
Following 'Prosperity', their 2022 collaboration with Derajah, Swiss band The 18th Parallel now presents 'Tales Of Reality', recorded with former Raging Fyah frontman Kumar Bent.
With the aptly titled 'Nine', Dreadzone delivers its ninth studio album. But the number nine runs deeper throughout the record. The track list features exactly nine songs, and closing track 'Last Song' clocks in at precisely nine minutes.
Yours truly first discovered Swiss band Cosmic Shuffling with the release of their 2020 debut album, 'Magic Rocket Ship'. Unfortunately, its follow-up, 'Cosmic Quest', didn't reach us, but with 'Lovonauts' Odyssey', the six-piece band from Geneva continues their intergalactic journey through the realms of ska and rocksteady.
Yours truly first got to know Ras Teo through 'Ten Thousand Lions', his outstanding 2019 collaboration with Spanish multi-talent Roberto Sanchez. This was followed in 2021 by the equally acclaimed 'Celestial Rockers', a joint effort with Zion I Kings. True to the saying, "never change a winning team", Ras Teo now presents two double EP releases, 'Ion Man' and its dub version, 'Ion Man In Dub', followed by 'Up Fi Jah' and 'Up Fi Jah Dub'. For these projects, he once again joined forces with David 'Jah David' Goldfine, Laurent 'Tippy I' Alfred, and Roberto Sanchez. These two EPs are the first instalments of what is set to become a trilogy.
Spain-based Mozambican reggae artist Zambeze, born Brasz Aleixo in Sofala, the central province of Mozambique, introduces his solo debut 'Portrait Of A Roots Man'.
Setting aside his appearance on Gentleman's Dub Club's 2015 album 'The Big Smoke', 'The Divine Trinity' is actually our first introduction to the work of Alexander Akiloe Philip Modiano aka Natty. Yet, this latest release already marks the British artist's fourth album.
It had been since 2005's 'World In Trouble', released on the Dutch M Records label, that we last heard from deejay veteran Ranking Joe. Not that he disappeared from the scene entirely, as, in recent years, he made contributions on albums and EPs by artists like The Loving Paupers, Double Tiger, Hempress Sativa and The Grinders, but it seemed like a full-length album of his own was no longer in the cards. However, with 'Top Ranking', Ranking Joe is back, riding over a set of riddims laid down by none other than Sly & Robbie, with the mixing duties handled by Colin 'Bulby' York.
Tad's Record seems on a mission to revalue their back catalogue, as following Ranking Joe's 'Choice Of Color' (aka. 'Tribute To John Lennon'), they are now re-releasing 'Presenting Ranking Trevor', back in 1981 the fourth album from this somewhat underrated deejay.
With 'Message In De Music', George Nooks treats his fans to a new album (though it's not entirely fresh, as this record has been sitting on the shelf for nearly two decades).
Our first encounter with Karim Sanou aka Jahkasa, dates back to 2016 when the France based Burkinabe artist, presented his second album 'Les Enfants Du Pays' and introduced us to his unique style of "balafon-reggae". In our review of that album, we remarked that Tiken Jah Fakoly had found himself a worthy rival in Jahkasa, and it seems Tiken took note, as 'Kakistocratie' is now being released on his Fakoly Production label.
Even though Twan Tee is already on his third full-length album, we only recently became acquainted with this rising star on the French reggae scene through his contribution to Bassajam's 'Real Step', and now with his latest release, 'Outrospection'.
He definitely didn't rush things (and for good reason, but we'll get to that in a moment), but four years after the release of the 'Fight The Fight' EP, Mortimer finally presents 'From Within', his new full-length album. As the title suggests, this isn't exactly an upbeat record to party on, but rather an intimate and personal album that Mortimer describes as: "...an exploration of human duality, capturing both the pain and hope in our everyday lives, balancing themes of emotional struggle and joy.". In the songs on 'From Within', thematically Mortimer shifts between love, his inner demons, racism, and the power of Rastafari.
After previously lending his skills to productions for Mellow Mood, De Strangers, and DubMarta, the Italian polymath Paolo Baldini has also been hard at work on a new solo project.
We'd like to draw your attention to 'Chant Away', the full-length debut from De Strangers, an Italian band hailing from Milan, led by drummer and vocalist Elia Pozzi and keyboardist Emiliano Vegro.
With 'Sulla Rotta Dei Venti' (loosely translated: "on the wind's path"), North East Ska Jazz Orchestra may already be on their fourth full-length album, but for us, it was our first encounter with this lively ensemble from Lignano in Italy's Friuli-Venezia Giulia region near the Slovenian border.
Norris Man (Christopher Campbell) made a powerful debut in 1999 with the solid 'Persistence', and the Greensleeves-distributed 'Home & Away' also remains etched in our memory. However, what followed was a series of more mediocre releases, causing us to lose track of him somewhat. With 'Free Man' on the Tad's Record label, Norris Man makes a powerful comeback.
As a follow-up to last year's 'Matchbox' EP, Christos DC has taken a purely instrumental approach this time around. What's more, he even ventured into experimenting with Chinese instrumentation.
In 2020, Berlin-based artist Jon Moon graced us with the eight-track EP 'Brighter Day', a project that served as both a reckoning with the COVID-19 pandemic and a heartfelt farewell to his music idol, Vaughn Benjamin. With the pandemic period now behind us, it's time to fully embrace life once again. This is reflected in the title of Jon's new EP, 'Live That Life', which features nine tracks (six vocal cuts, two dubs, and one instrumental), and is emphasized in both the title track and 'Strong & Healthy'.
Our first encounter with the Trinidadian Mosiah (Akeil Martin), who relocated to Heidelberg, Germany, dates back to 2017. Since then, things had been relatively quiet, but now Mosiah returns with 'I-Frequency', a full-length album for which he once again collaborates with Selector Tyler of Ragatac Records and his own Mystic Rockaz band.
With an impressive line-up of international and local artists across three stages, this year's edition promises to be the biggest and most diverse in Bomboclat Festival history. Get ready for the hottest dancehall and afrobeats sensation on the Belgian coast!
The Berlin-based band Tooth Of A Lion caught our attention with the poetic lyrics on their 2023 debut EP 'Sonne Von Unten', and now they continue their journey with this three-track 'Echolot' EP.
Although Jerome Smith aka Jah Lil has already been active for over a decade, he is only now releasing his debut album, 'Can A Man Cry'.
Two years after the release of her self-titled EP, Nadia McAnuff returns with 'Shelter From The Storm', a full-length album once again created in collaboration with French band The Ligerians.
If, like us, you thoroughly enjoyed 'A Distant Beat', the album by Joe Yorke & The Co-Operators, then 'Sounds From The Fridge' will definitely be right up your alley!
Five years after the release of his debut album 'Masquerades', French-Nigerian Nai-Jah (Mahakwe Wadike) returns with 'Democrazy', a title that certainly resonates in light of the parliamentary elections in various European countries and the ever-advancing far-right.
This time, no dub version of his latest album 'Destiny', but instead, one of Alborosie's 2008 debut album, 'Soul Pirate', bringing his musical journey full circle.
Here's another one we've been eagerly anticipating: 'Ganja Man', a collaboration between Jamaican roots veteran Linval Thompson and the French label Irie Ites Records.
If you're still craving more Linval Thompson after 'Ganja Man' from Irie Ites Records, we can definitely recommend 'Marijuana Sessions In Dub' as well.
Just as he did in the past with 'Digital Kingston Session Vol. 1 & 2' and 'Mexico Sessions', Manudigital has now compiled the sessions he recorded in the United Kingdom with artists such as Brother Culture, Shumba Youth, Daddy Freddy, and Liam Bailey, resulting is this 8-track 'Digital UK Session' EP!
With 'From Then 'Til Now', multi-instrumentalist, producer, and driving force behind Fruits Records, Matthias Liengme, continues to build upon the musical foundations he laid with the 2015 self-titled album of The Inspirators (the project featuring Leroy 'Horsemouth' Wallace, Earl 'Chinna' Smith, Lloyd Parks, and Anthony 'Sangie' Davis) and 2022s 'Downtown Sessions' by The 18th Parallel.
In all honesty, we have to admit we'd never heard of Colonel Maxwell, but in France, he's considered one of the absolute pioneers of the local ragga scene. Maxwell took his first steps into the music world back in the late 1980s, when the first sound systems emerged in Paris. During a stay in Waterhouse, Kingston, in the late 1990s, he developed his own digital rub-a-dub style, reminiscent of greats from that era like Tenor Saw, Nitty Gritty, and King Kong. But it's only now, many years later and thanks to a chance meeting with producer Sky from Abendigo Records, that a first full-length album is finally seeing the light of day.
For last year's release 'Full Victory', Colah Colah joined forces with American expat Kyle B., now residing in China. However, Colah Colah's networking skills are relentless, and 'I-Frequency' is yet another collaboration, this time with German producer DJ Michael Berth.
Jamaican producer Jonathan Holness aka Zion Head, who relocated to France, first appeared on our radar with the release of his 'Jah Watching' EP in 2022. Now, he presents his follow-up, 'Mount Zion', a full-length album that stands out not only for its excellent guest list but also for Zion Head's vocals, which occasionally bear a strong resemblance to Daweh Congo (something that didn't immediately catch our attention on that first EP).
Yours truly first became acquainted with Subajah, a Martinique native who relocated to London, through his debut EP 'Voice Of Freedom' released in 2014. In 2017, the excellent full-length album 'Architect' followed, and now Subajah is back with 'Lion'.
A few years back, Jamaican veteran Sylford Walker, much like Prince Alla, found musical refuge at the Sunvibes Music label of his cousin, Jamaican expatriate Leon Cameron, now based in Texas in the US. After Sunvibes Music already presented us with 'Time Has Come' in 2014, the label is now returns with its successor, 'Good Encouragement'.
The relationship between O.B.F. and Iration Steppas dates back to 2004 when Iration Steppas played an O.B.F. dubplate, 'Babylon Tremble', during a dance. Over the years, their friendship has grown ever stronger, and in 2022, Dubquake Records released a full documentary on Iration Steppas titled 'Ina Vanguard Style: A Documentary On Iration Steppas'. Ultimately, Mark Iration, Dennis Rootical, and Rico O.B.F. decided to retreat to the studio together to work on a collaborative project. The result is 'Revelation Time', a solid piece of UK steppers with occasional nods to the past.
Last year, Marie Bogaert aka MariJah, already gave us a taste of her musical talent with the release of her 'Take Care' EP, a collaboration with Jah Embassy's Jahmbassador, and now, she presents 'Giving Thanks', her full-length debut recorded with backing band The Root Sense.
After releasing his first three albums on Kris Kemist's Reality Shock Records label, Solo Banton appears ready for change, as for 'In This Time', he has teamed up with the French label Irie Ites Records.
Things are getting lively in Ghent, as AARDPEER joins the ranks, offering a local counterpart to the jazz-dub stylings of Kosmo Sound.
Yours truly might never become an unconditional fan of Monica Tavares, better known as Mo'Kalamity - something in her vocal tone simply doesn't quite resonate - but that doesn't diminish the fact the French-Cape Verdean singer, with 'Shine' already presenting her fifth studio album, has become a solid presence in the European reggae scene.
Until last year, the Edna Manley College of The Visual and Performing Arts in Kingston was led by a Belgian, who still teaches there to this day.
In 2022, we still saw the release of 'Jah Children,' a collaboration with American collective Zion I Kings. However, for 'Roots Foundation', Earl Sixteen once again teamed up with the Dutch quality label JahSolidRock, headed by Marc Baronner and Ras Denco.
The tastiest raw food pizza, then off to the studio. First, Mining Gold with Jacky French and Dre JA, then Tuff Gong.
On 'Survival Vibration', an all-acoustic project with every instrument played by Clinton Fearon himself, the roots reggae veteran reflects on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Visiting Inna De Yard, promotion at Dubwise Cafe, and live on radio with Ron Muschette.
San Diego based band Tribal Seeds has long been a powerhouse in the American reggae scene, yet their breakthrough in Europe has remained elusive. In 2018, Baco Records made an attempt with the reissue of the 'Roots Party' EP (expanded into a sort of 'Best Of' compilation for the European release), and now, with 'Ancient Blood', the band, led by brothers Steven Rene Jacobo (lyrics, vocals and guitar) and Tony-Ray Jacobo (keyboards, producer), finally presents a new full-length album.
From Negril to Kingston: warmer, busier, pricier… And porridge for breakfast!
Jah Shakespear, accompanied by our marketing man Thomas De Beule, journeyed to Jamaica to promote the English edition of the book 'The Rasta Revelation'. It always feels a bit like a homecoming…
We discovered the French band Alam in 2017 through the release of their album 'Sounds Of Freedom', a delightful blend of reggae with influences from soul, rock, pop, and hip-hop. The COVID-19 pandemic brought about a few years of forced silence, but now the band led by Marie Biguereau returns with 'Rise', venturing more into the digital realm (as can be heard in opener 'Love Revolution').
The ambience at Green Grown, a leading cannabis retailer in Belgium, set the stage for an unforgettable reggae concert featuring the renowned dancehall star, Charly Black. With over 600 legal cannabis products available across their 5 stores in Antwerp, Deurne, Mechelen, Leuven and Bruges (being the latest opened in February 2024), the venue provided a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere, reminiscent of Jamaica itself.
Ever since his 'Coup De Geule' album in 2004, Tiken Jah Fakoly has been incorporating ever more traditional West African elements into the instrumentation of his music. It almost seemed inevitable that he would eventually fully embrace his roots. The result is the intimate, beautifully crafted 'Acoustic'.
'Bob Marley: One Love' threatens to fall between two stools: too smooth for the reggae massive, too rasta for the rest. But for those who go along with the natural mystic of the story, a mesmerising experience awaits.
As the regular voice for The Roots Corner Soundsystem, Brussels-based vocalist Arnaud Bastin aka Babbajah needs no introduction in the sound system scene.
Train To Roots' previous album already dates back to 2017, and with the emphatically titled 'Ancora Qui' ("still here"), the Sardinian band not only presents a new long player but also emphasizes that they are still alive and kicking!
Marta Riccardi aka DubMarta, is an Italian bassist and vocalist who divides her time between London and Naples. In the past, she collaborated with artists like Earl Sixteen, Dennis Alcapone, Earl Zero, and Ranking Joe, but with 'Island Wave', she now present a first nine track solo EP.
Predecessor 'Take It Ovaw' from 2020 may have slipped past us, but with 'Éruption De L'être', French wordsmith Devi Reed is back in full force!
Bassajam is a collective centered around Santo, hailing from Lorient in Brittany, France. Having made a name for himself in the French sound system circuit since 2004, Santo successfully shifted to livestreams during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. In 2021, he founded his own label, Bassajam Records, and, alongside guitarist Edwin Cardot (Vanzo, Lidiop…) and keyboardist Bastien 'Fayce' Belmokadem (Pierpoljak, Meta Dia, Mo'Kalamity…), ventured into the studio for a full album project, resulting in seven infectious riddims, with two versions of each track featured on 'Real Step'.
A year after On-U Sound's memorable 40th anniversary celebration, Adrian Sherwood demonstrated a spectacularly innovative sound experience. Welcome to the binaural future of dub.
Its' been a long time since we heard a dub poet's voice, or dubjay as John Sinclair also sometimes calls himself. He was the first poet in the 1980s to pair his militant lyrics with dancehall riddims.
No other book has taught me as much about the history of reggae music as this biography by David Katz. Because Lee Perry was one of the founding fathers of the genre and collaborated with just about every relevant artist of the golden years.
Groundation has an excellent new album out with 'One Rock' and is finally touring Europe again after three years. High time to catch up with Harrisson Stafford, singer, brain and founder of the band.
What a night, at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, London. The indestructible Horace Andy, the primal dub of Creation Rebel, the futuristic nyahbinghi of African Head Charge, the funk dub of Tackhead, the rebel sounds of Mark Stewart & The Mafia... And all of that ingeniously mixed by the master himself, Adrian Sherwood. Without a doubt one of the best and most overwhelming concerts (festivals?) we have experienced in the past half century.
With the release of their 2019 freely downloadable single compilation 'Sampler One', we already hinted a first studio album from Germany's Rootz Radicals would soon follow. We can only suspect COVID-19 disrupted those plans and instead the band now presents 'Live & Direct', a live session, recorded in Freiraum Dachau, a completely empty concert hall in Dachau near Munich.
'Realize' is the second album by Niceness, an eight-piece American band from Telluride, a well-known ski resort in the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado.
Savage Wave is a one-man project centered around singer-songwriter, musician and producer Rémy Duprat, hailing from Mont de Marsan in the French department of Landes.
With 'Center Of Gravity', Hamburg-based Korean-German producer Dennis Mudie aka JahYu, presents a second full-length album on Ben Alpha's Steppas Records label.
Just six months after the release of 'Illuminate', the first Zion Train album in some five years, Neil Perch now also presents this dub version.
As far as we know, with the aptly titled 'IN:SIDE', Runkus presents the very first COVID-19 concept album.
Canario (native of the Canary Islands) Dactah Chando ushers in 2021 with 'XXI', already his eighth studio album.
After previously rereleasing pretty much Vivian Jackson aka Yabby You's entire backcatalog, this time Pressure Sounds comes with the jewel in the crown: 'Conquering Lion', an iconic reggae album you can safely consider a 'Best Of' Yabby You's work.
It's been close to four years since we last heard from Californian band Burnt, but if you thought the whole COVID-19 pandemic put a brake on the band's creativity, you'll be in for a surprise. If predecessor 'Majestic Walrus' still counted 20 tracks, then for 'Reaching For The Sun', they raised the bar even higher and came up with no less than 27 new tracks.
Long Arm Rex, a five-piece reggae band hailing from Boston on the East Coast of the United States, has been making waves since 2014. With their latest offering, 'Welcome Home', a new 6-track EP, they continue to carve their path in the music scene.
iGL and Alecho is the electro-dub project of Athenian duo Konstantinos and Alexandra, who with 'From A Droplet' present a first 6 track EP.
On the eve of 2020, we're still presented with a true instrumental jazzy reggae gem by much in demand French guitarist Xavier Bègue aka Kubix, who with 'Guitar Chant' earns himself a spot somewhere between Jamaican veteran Ernest Ranglin, American jazz guitarist George Benson and English Pink Floyd guitarist Steve Gilmour!
Just a few months after we got to know Shanti Powa frontman Berise thanks to his collaboration with Wicked and Bonny, the man is now presenting a solo album of his own.
With 'Back A Yard', Alborosie does the same for Wailing Souls as he did for The Tamlins in with 2010's 'Re-Birth': breathing new life into the career of a "forgotten glory" from Jamaican music history.
Yours truly got to know New York-based Subatomic Sound System back in 2017 thanks to the release of 'Super Ape Returns To Conquer', their more than excellent collaboration with Lee 'Scratch' Perry. For this 'Babylon Soon Fall' EP, producer Emch joined forces with Jamaican veteran Robert 'Screechy Dan' Stephens, also based in New York.
Ze-Ion is the pseudonym of Joseph Zizzo, a singer-songwriter from Lake Zurich near Chicago.
In terms of reggae, 2020 has become a bit of a Clive Hunt year. Earlier this year there was already the 'Note To Self', a co-production wit Jah9, and now VP Records is ending the year with 'Blue Lizzard', a gem of an instrumental album.
A few months after we introduced you - albeit twenty years after the facts - to Open Season, the veterans of the Swiss ska and rocksteady scene, we now turn to Cosmic Shuffling, a six-piece band from Geneva, with 'Magic Rocket Ship'presenting a first full-length album.
Their debut EP, 2015's 'Revelate', unfortunately never reached us, but thanks to Easy Star Records we can now introduce you to The Late Ones, a trio with mixed Samoan-Afro-American roots, like labelmates New Kingston, consisting of members of the same family (brothers Tui and Tau Avei and their cousin Josh Brunson).
With 'At Rub-A-Dub School', French sound engineer and beatmaker Ben Dubstation wanted to attempt a return to the authentic rub-a-dub sound of the 1980s.
Five years after recording the excellent 'Never Played A 45' for Peckings - as far as yours truly is concerned, still an absolute highlight in the man's extensive discography - British veteran Macka B returns to the label for this 'Gentrification' EP.
Yours truly got to know Croatian Brain Holidays in 2018, thanks to the release of their 'System Error' album. The Croatians now return with 'Jamaican Connection', a title referring to a long cherised dream of the band members which finally became a reality earlier this year: performing and recording in the home country of reggae, Jamaica!
'Sound System To The Top' is a solo project by Mercy (Olivier Delbos), selector with Bhale Bacce Crew (Hindi for "dear children" or "good children"), a sound system collective from Chartres, in France.
The story of Mystically starts in 2007, when three singers from two different bands found each other after a concert aboard the Guinguette Pirate, a Parisian concert boat disguised as a pirate ship.
As was the case in 2019, Dub-O-Phonic concludes 2020 with a release from American DJ and MC Roy Waterford aka R-Juna.
During their international tours, the members of Dub Inc always make the effort to give one of their songs an acoustic makeover. In 2017, the French band also started filming those acoustic street sessions and post the clips on their YouTube channel. The videos were such a success that Dub Inc now also wanted to collect the acoustic versions of those songs on one album, resulting in 'Acoustic'.
Arky Starch keeps turning out releases at a steady pace... A first EP in August of this year, a few months later followed by a full-length album (and a collaboration with the Cypriot Dub-O-Phonic label), and singles by Micky B ('Power Abuse') and Ragga Yves. With the latter, Starch already recorded the COVID-19 anthem 'Wash Your Hands' in November of this year, now followed by this 6 track (4 vocal cuts and 2 dubs) 'Give It A Walk' EP.
Yours truly got to know Berliner Jon Moon in 2018 thanks to the release of his full-length debut 'Trust'. Moon now returns with this 'Brighter Day' EP.
Thanks to Sista Livity & Sista Moni's 'Only Love' album, we already got a first taste of the production work of the Spanish Roquetes-based Good Over Evil (a municipality in the south of the Spanish province of Tarragona) a few months ago, and for 'Courage' they now joined forces with Raszor Brankata, a Swiss based Ghanaian.
We still vividly remember 'Sharp & Ready', Jay Spaker aka Double Tiger's 2017 solo debut, as one of the absolute revelations of that year. However, in the meantime a lot has changed in Double Tiger's life and this aptly titled 'The Journey' sounds remarkably different from its predecessor.
TravelerZ, a French trio that is the sum of producer Synthetic One and vocalist siblings Thomas and Janiss Anton, already recorded a number of collaborations with Tours based ODG or Original Dub Gathering, but for this 3 track 'Among The Stars' EP, joined forces with Culture Dub Records from Poitiers.
Now we're nearing the end of 2020, with 'Small Town Dub, Part One', a collaboration with producer Heinz Dub Culture of Dub Culture Studio, Roots Unity's Uta Maruanaya, currently the most prolific reggae and dub producer in the Netherlands, still adds a last-minute release.
With the release of 2017's 'Live My Life Again', Perfect Giddimani said goodbye to the album format. However, that decision by no means meant thing remained quiet around the Jamaican boboshanti artist, as he kept turning out single realeases and one riddim compilations as hotcakes. But with 'Dumplin Shop', a collaboration with the French Soulnation Band from Nantes, there's now suddenly another 6 track EP.
We'd never heard of the man before, but in his own country, Brittany-born Romain Thorez aka Mystikal Man has been active for over ten years, often supported by no more than two turntables, but still managing to build a solid live reputation. For 'Back To The Roots', Mystikal Man collaborated with Irie Ites and Jibé 'Cody Jahrett' Hueber of Skankman Studio in the Breton village of Domalain.
Innavibe was founded in Lyon in 2016 by duo Remy 'Reym' Sabattier (vocals) and Lionel Rivière (riddims), following their 2017 debut EP 'Innavibe' with 'Le Sens'. For this project, the band joined forces with Grégory 'Zigo' Mavridorakis and Benjamin 'Ben' Jouve (drummer and sound engineer with Dub Inc and backing band Dub Akom).
If we don't count 2015's 'Dub Showcase At Ariwa' EP, the last time Luciano presented his fans with a new long player was with 2014's 'Zion Awake'. For 'The Answer', The Messenger teamed up with German Oneness Records (Moritz von Korff and Benjamin Zecher - production, and Umberto Echo - mixing and mastering).
Even though it had already been since 2017 that we'd seen an album release by Berlin MC Longfingah, Hagen Rockahr, as the man's known in real life, still regularly appeared on releases of befriended artists and producers. But with 'The Longfingah Attack' we're finally presented with a new EP.
High & I is the alter ego of Chris Nottingham, a dub producer from Middlesbrough, England.
With 'Venti', Italian for "twenty", but also for "winds", Italian producer Pablo Raster puts his twenty-year musical career in the spotlight, but at the same time points out the "winds" have changed a lot this year.
Two years after 'Bass Attack' and following countless tours that took him to all corners of the world, French beatmaker, producer and bassist Manudigital returns with 'Dub Trotter', a 10 track EP entirely recorded whilst on the road.
After the success of 2018's 'Code Name', a further collaboration had to follow, so Brother Culture and Swiss Evidence Music now present successor '12 Lights'.
This 'Chapter One: The Sons Of Freedom' EP may be Musical Roots' first calling card, but the members of this band from Valenciennes, Tournai, Lille and Soumain certainly aren't rookies, but seasoned musicians, all with their own musical background.
From 1999 to 2011 'The Biggest Ragga Dancehall Anthems' compilation was a popular annual fixture on the Greensleeves label's roster. With the popularity of the genre dwindling, the series died a silent death, but VP Records now came up with a nice spin on the original in the form of 'Dancehall Anthems'.
Yours truly got to know Danish band Total Hip Replacement two years ago thanks to the release of their long player debut 'Wonder Why', featuring a blend of reggae with influences from funk, soul, jazz, pop and even gnawa. For no less than two years, the band laboured on this successor, featuring contributions from some twenty guest musicians!
A dose of solid UK steppers all the way from Mexico? Why not! Introducing: producer Massaia DUBkillah aka. Elex, a producer from Queretaro, the capital of the eponymous state in central Mexico, venturing into vocal work for the very first time with this 6 track 'Revolutionary Sound Army' EP.
The Pressure Sounds label ends this year of despair with a tribute to Bunny 'Striker' Lee, who passed away in October, and does so in style with a collection of rare and unreleased tracks perfectly capturing the vibe in a Jamaican studio, including false starts and background chatter.
A collaboration between Willi Williams and Roberto Sanchez? A scintillating combination, to say the least, and 'Glory To The King' has become one of the absolute roots gems of 2020.
After last year's 'Best Of' compilation 'Best Yet: Celebrating A Decade Of Vision', Inna Vision is back with '2020 Vision', a new long-player, definitely rating as one of his best releases to date.
Maybe the name Suckarie doesn't immediately ring a bell, but if we mention that this is Stephen Suckarie, vocalist and guitarist with Jamaican-American family project New Kingston, most of you will probably know who we're talking about. With 'When The Trumpet Sounds' Suckarie now also explores a solo career, resulting in an ecclectic collection of songs with love in all its facets as a common thread.
For more than three years Ras Muhamad, the Indonesian standard-bearer of reggae, worked on this successor to 2014's 'Salam', and on the album he deals with the stereotyping of Asians, explains what it means to be an Asian Muslim, and looks back on his own experiences as a reggae musician of Asian descent in the years following the release of 'Salam'.
A while ago we already presented 'The Living Stream, Chapter One', the collaboration between Jamaican vocalist Nga Han and Dutch producer Uta Maruanaya. We're still eagerly awaiting a possible successor, but in the meantime, Nga Han returns with 'Emergence', an album he recorded in the same period with Belgian producer and multi-instrumentalist Steve 'Kingston Echo' Michielsen.
If, despite everything, you're still in search of some Christmas spirit, look no further because saxophone veteran Dean Fraser is ready to treat you to a 'Nyabinghi Christmas'.
After his collaboration with German saxophonist Samson Benji for the 'Brass Echo Chamber' EP, this time Stefanosis joined forces with Hendrik Remmers of Soulfyah Productions from Norderney, Germany.
Things are moving fast for Arky Starch, as barely three months after picking up his bass guitar again and starting to play around on his computer for debut EP 'Dub Faith', he's already presenting this full-fledged 'Soul Sensi' album.
As usual VP Records presented their annual 'Reggae Gold' compilation this summer, but in the absence of a normal summer, yours truly unfortunately lost track of the release, so we're now reviewing the it together with the new edition of 'Strictly The Best', the label's end-of-year compilation.
Although Kevin Tranché aka Little Kev, hailing from Bauvin near Lille, has been active in the French reggae circuit since 2012 (including as a toaster with Iguana Soundsystem), he is only now presenting this 7 track 'Made In Chez Moi' EP.
The title of 'Way To Zion I', the collaborative project of Polish producer Gabriel Ufir aka dub_cmd, based near Hull in the UK, and Osaka's Sister Maki, already promised a sequel, and long we didn't have to wait, as the duo already returns with 'Way To Zion II'.
A few months after the release of Rapha Pico & The Noble Chanters' 'Continue The Glory', with 'The Glory Of Dub', producer Uta Maruanaya now presents this dub version of the EP.
With 'The Arch', Scottish-Indian Sumati Bhardwaj, better known to the general public as Soom T, after a series of more ecclectic albums, finally returns to the digital raggamuffin of her debut long player 'Ode 2 A Carrot' (Jahtari, 2010).
For his new album Arkaingelle (born Roxroy Mykal Younge and just like Blackamoore hailing from Guyana) for the second time joined forces with American Zion I Kings.
It had been since 2014's (!) 'Love Situation' that Tarrus Riley last treated his fans to a new long-player, but with this twelve track 'Healing', completely written and recorded during the current COVID-19 pandemic, he now finally returns with a new album.
We'd apparently lost sight of Breton trio Stand High Patrol, as after the release of their 2015 'A Matter Of Scale' album, the hip-hop flavored 'The Shift' followed in 2017, and 2018 saw the release of 'Summer On Mars', a collaboration with Italian vocalist Marina P, influenced by the Bristol triphop scene.
The name Arky Starch may not immediately ring a bell, but behind that pseudonym definitely hides a veteran of the Belgian reggae scene.
We were first introduced to the vocal capabilities of Paris-based Marina P thanks to her collaboration with French producer KSD for his 2018 'Bite The Dust' EP. Her biggest hit, however, remains the 2007 'Divorce À L'italienne', her first collaboration with the Scots of Mungo's Hi Fi. That first collaboration quickly grew into a fruitful working relationship, both on stage and in the studio, which has lasted for over ten years, and is now celebrated with the release of this 'Soul Radio' album.
This 'Energy' EP is the solo debut of Birmingham based Michael 'Juggla' Madden, best known for his work with German Noiseshaper and as MC for Birmingham based Overproof Sound System.
The Californians of Rebelution already released a dub version of their 2012 'Peace Of Mind' album and on albums like 'Courage To Grow' and 'Bright Side Of Life' a single dub could also be found, but, as the title suggests, with 'Dub Collection' they have been a bit more ambitious.
It may have escaped most of you in this annus horribilis, but in 2020 the Theremin celebrated its centenary anniversary. Theremin enthusiast Gaudi (born Daniele Gaudi in Bologna, Italy) didn't want to let that anniversary pass unnoticed, and from his London Metatron Studio he joined forces with top producers like Mad Professor, Adrian Sherwood, Scientist, Dennis Bovell and Prince Fatty. The result is '100 Years Of Theremin (The Dub Chapter)'.
Join the SKALLOWEEN Worldwide Virtual Tour and Watch Party! The Skatalites are recording their SKALLOWEEN Worldwide Virtual Tour show at Sony Hall in NYC on Friday, October 30th and have created a very special watch-party event just for their European fans.
For 'Lollypop Lorry Goes Dub', the successor to 2018's 'Ural Station', the Russians of Lollypop Lorry started experimenting with jazz and dub.
With the title of his new long-player Protoje simultaneously creates a link with predecessor 'A Matter Of Time' and pays homage to the work of French author Marcel Proust, who between 1908 and 1922 wrote the cycle of novels 'À La Recherche Du Temps Perdu'. For faithful fans of Protoje's work, 'In Search Of Lost Time' will undoubtedly sound like the logical sequel to predecessors like 'Ancient Future' and the aforementioned 'A Matter Of Time', but for true reggae purists this album might be just a bridge too far.
What does a band, that has literally built its reputation concert by concert thanks to an almost incessant touring schedule, do when suddenly being confronted with the limitations of a COVID-19 pandemic? For the London based Skints, the answer was clear: just release a rock-solid live album!
COVID-19 pandemic or not, if there's one reggae artist who hasn't despaired this year, it has to be Chezidek, as with 'Hello Africa' he's already presenting his second long-time player in less than six months.
It may sound somewhat contradictory, but after 2012's 'Croisades', 'Chapter One' is in fact Tony Nephtali second long player to date.
A year after the release of their 'Sun Is Dub' EP, Argentinian twins Mauro and Federico Salina return with successor 'Now'.
In the last months Ben King's Amsterdam Earth Works Studio was still located at its original location at the Nijverheidslaan 28 in Weesp, the studio was clearly running to capacity with Roots Unity producer Uta Maruanaya working overtime. After his collaboration with Jamaican vocalist Nga Han, he also took on the challenge of producing the debut album of The Higher Notes and a dub release by The RAW Rhythm Section.
Three years after the release of their long player debut 'Kiss, Cuddle & Torture: Volume 1', hip London collective The Hempolics returns with successor 'Kiss, Cuddle & Torture: Volume 2', this time not released on Shark Free Records but on their own Zee Zee Records label.
With this reissue of 'Revelation Time', 17 North Parade/VP Records provides the umpteenth version of this Max Romeo classic.
For 'Daily Hustle', the long player debut of Trentino, South-Tirol based Italian producers Maggu Mair and Paul Kofler aka Wicked and Bonny (the driving forces behind Botheration HiFi sound system), joined forces with Berise, front man of Italian band Shanti Powa.
Achinech Productions, the label that introduced us to Bahamian singer Csavi a few months ago, now presents 'Mundo Loco', the reggae debut of Lot Acosta, a singer-songwriter from San Andres, one of the most picturesque villages in Tenerife.
Two years after the original release of 'About Time' by Bristol-based band Laid Blak, Sugar Shack Records is now releasing this 'Deluxe Edition'.
After his collaboration with Belgian producer Kingston Echo (Steve Michielsen), Nga Han still lingered in Europe for a while. During an Earl Sixteen concert in Rotterdam, somewhere towards the end of September of last year, he bumped into Dutch producer Uta Maruanaya of Roots Unity. The chemistry was palpable and a collaboration seemed inevitable. At the beginning of 2020 the duo headed to Amsterdam's Earth Works Studio (completing their work at Uta's own Roots Unity Studio in Tiel), resulting in 'The Living Stream, Chapter One', an album title already holding the promise of more material to follow at a future date.
Earlier this year we didn't hide our excitement when the Tad's Record label surprised us with the release of the 'World War' EP, a collection of 4 singles Richie Spice recorded in recent years. Disregarding 2012's acoustic 'Soothing Sounds', we already have to go back all the way to 2011 to find Spice's last long player release, but with 'Together We Stand', on the trusted VP Records label, he now finally returns with a new album. Of course, after such a long absence, the big question is: does Spice still have what it takes?
Has it really been six years since the release of 'Wild', the long-played debut of Geneva-based sound system collective O.B.F.? Of course, there was also the impressive album by dub poet Nazamba, two albums with English MC Charlie P, and a lot of 12inch releases, but now O.B.F. finally presents 'Signz', a project which started about two years ago with the idea was
As records sleeves immediately telling the whole story of an album go, Groundation's 'The Next Generation Live' - the first live registration in the band's twenty years of existence - can definitely count. These are live recordings made during the Italian leg of the 2018 European promo tour for the release of the album 'The Next Generation', and also meant to introduce the new band around front man Harrison Stafford to the public.
With the DBC3 project, Dub Barn Collective from York in the north of England, heralds a new chapter.
The immediate reason for the foundation of Steady Social Club was the production of the very first Polish rocksteady album; a mission in which they definitely succeeded with 'Take One'.
About a year after the release of 'Moonsteppa', his debut EP for Dub-O-Phonic, and 'Deeper Understanding', a collaboration with SistaSara that same year, UK-based producer Gabriel Ufir aka dub_cmd returns to the Cypriot label for 'Way To Zion I', the first part of what should eventually become a diptych.
With this package consisting of 'Black Ark In Dub' and 'Black Ark Vol. 2', 17 North Parade and VP Records present re-releases of two cult classics from the rich catalogue of the enfant terrible of reggae, Lee 'Scratch' Perry.
After previous collaborations with, among others, Rod Anton, Nai-Jah and Joe Pilgrim, The Ligerians now joined forces with Chezidek for 'Timeless'.
Just 35 years after the release of 1986's 'Rising Sun', and twenty years after the premature departure of the Jamaican king of melodica, Greensleeves Records presents 'Ancient Harmonies', a compilation of four consecutive albums recorded between 1986 and 1990.
If you think of French acoustic reggae, it's hard not to think of Tryo, and it's that band that LNP Roots Family mentions as their main source of inspiration. By the way the "family" part in the band name is to be taken literally, as this is a trio consisting of brothers and sister David 'Dnom' - vocals, Mat 'O'lyrics' - vocals and guitar, and Leytis Giordano - vocals and guitar (completed with Moon aka Mdezoen - composer and producer), and the letters LNP stand for Love aNd Peace.
Two years after their debut album 'One', Moja, the French band around Nantes Based singer Marine 'Mamatya' Annic, returns with 'Home'.
Disregarding 2016's 'Versions', an album full of remixes of Zion Train songs by a bunch of befriended producers, it's been five years since Zion Train chief Neil Perch rejoiced his fans with a new long-player. For 'Illuminate' Perch invited no less than nine different guest vocalists to the studio and collaborated with renowned musicians like Paolo Baldini (bass), Don Fe (flute) and Gianni Denitto (sax).
In 2014 Rapha Pico convincingly won the BeneluxXXL Reggae Contest, in 2016 followed by the release of the well-received 5-track 'Get Ready' EP. A title filled with anticipation, yet after that release things around the Amsterdam based Martinikan quieted down again. After the release of 'Get Ready' Rapha had become disenchanted with what he described as: "...a fast food production way of making music", and decided to retreat to the jungle of Costa Rica to re-energize (see also 'Feel No Pain', his contribution on Bobby Hustle's 'Wolaba Vibes: The Costa Rica Sessions' EP from that same period).
With the release of each new album, Pura Vida seems to venture more and more outside the boundaries of reggae and dub, and that's certainly true on 'Praying For The Angels'.
For 'Kundalini Awaken', Polish singer-songwriter and front woman of the formation Zebra Dub, Shamanika (born Natalia Norko), joined forces with the Polish based Italian producer Pablo Raster.
After backing a number of different artists in the past, Spirit Revolution, a band from the region of Colmar in northeastern France, released their debut album with 2011's 'Time Has Come'., which was immediately named "révélation de l'année" ("revelation of the year") by Reggae.fr, already making the band dream of a successor. In the meantime, original vocalists Fyah Max and Natty Singa quit the band, so for 'The Message', the now four-piece band (Robin Schmitt - bass, Romain Pierré - keyboards, Arnaud Geschigkt - guitar and Vincent Pierré - drums) finally joined forces with William Martin aka Sugardaddy, a veteran from Antigua.
If last year most reggae fans were still eagerly looking forward to the release of Koffee's debut EP 'Rapture', we now turn to her peer Alecia Grey aka Lila Iké, who's also finally rejoicing her fans with a first EP.
Super Natural Selection is a Dutch band with members from Arnhem, Nijmegen and Wageningen, and has already been active since 2002. For 'Rasta Live', their third long-player, finally taking the band back to the studio after more than five years, Super Natural Selection joined forces with producer Rekesh Dukaloo and opted to record all songs in 432 Hz, the so-called "frequency of the universe" (in her book 'Von Intervallen, Tonleitern, Tönen und dem Kammerton', German-American violinist Maria Renold presented 432 Hz as an ideal frequency, which in the book she also relates to various numerical values occurring in the universe and in nature).
The 5 track 'Feel No Pain' EP is our first introduction to the work of Ed Rome, a Jack of all trades (and former front man with Ska-formation The BiG) operating from his own Slam Door Studios in Billericay in the English county of Essex.
Manlio Panza, better known as Manlio Calafrocampano (a contraction of Calabria, Africa and Campania, referring to the part of Italy where his roots lie) may not be a stranger in his own country anymore, for yours truly 'Mentalita', following 2010's 'Consapevoleza' (still available as a free download) and 2012's 'Sogno', was our first acquaintance with the work of this Italian artist from Naples.
Alpheus may have made a name for himself with 'Quality Time', recorded at Studio One in 1999, but when asked about his favorite producer, the London based singer will undoubtedly answer: "Roberto Sanchez!".
Blakkamoore is the alter ego of Wayne Sharne Henry, a Guyanan who moved to Brooklyn, New York, who previously used the alias Jahdan Blakkamoore and started his musical career simply as Jah Dan.
Positive Thursdays In DUB is a musical project around Polish radio maker, DJ and musician Rafal Konert. Positive Thursdays started out as a weekly radio show on Student Radio Bit at the University of Lower Silesia in Wroclaw back in 2005, then still called Positive Wednesdays. When the show moved to local station Radio LUZ in 2006, the broadcasting day changed and it was renamed Positive Thursdays. In 2011, presenter Rafal Konert decided to expand his radio program with a live component, first a DJ-act, but in the meantime grown into the eight-piece Positive Thursdays In DUB.
Still founded under the name S.I.S. Vibrations (a play on words with "vibrations sans issues" or "vibrations without problems"), SMAD is the alter ego of Thomas Ben Ita, a singer-songwriter from the French city of Clermont-Ferrand. At first SMAD still performed solo - like on the 2014 album 'Généalogiquement Roots' or 2018's 'Demain' EP - these days Thomas is joined by brothers Simon 'Slim' and Alexis 'Selecta Z' Raynaud (both founders of Root's Trip, a converted caravan used to promote reggae culture and music by showing video reports, photos and drawings) and graphic designer and photographer Yoan 'Yok's' Delannoy, together turning the SMAD's live sets into real audiovisual experiences. With 'Indépendant', SMAD is now also musically making a new start (as illustrated in the lyrics of 'Nouvel Album').
It's been a long time since we've heard from Patate Records. However, the Parisian record shop of the same name still manages to keep its head above water, and the label itself also stayed afloat and mainly started to focus on vinyl reissues. Patate Records has always been a hallmark for the better roots and dub classics, and 'Pass Up The Chalice: The Blackbeard Years 1978-83', a compilation of work by the prematurely departed Barry Brown, is no exception.
Csavi (real name Shavon Mitchell) was born a member of a musical family in the Bahamas and learned to play the piano at the age of five. Csavi's (pronounced "savvy", meaning smart or cunning) undeniable passion for music eventually earned her a Bachelor's Degree in Performing Arts, after which she further developed her skills as a producer, sound engineer, singer-songwriter, musical advisor and voice-over artist.
With his 'Enter A Space' EP, released early last year, French-New Caledonian artist Marcus Gad briefly explored new musical horizons, but for 'Rhythm Of Serenity' he returns to his true love: the reggae sound of the Virgin Islands.
On 'Tribute To Jackie Mittoo', The Shakin' Jamaican, a Canadian trio around Toronto based Jamaican guitarist Shane 'Shaky J' Forrest, does exactly what it says on the tin.
Three years after his collaboration with French label Irie Ites Records, Mark Wonder returns with successor 'Remz Of The Dragon Slayer'. For this project, the singer from Saint Andrew, once again joined forces with German Oneness Records, after an earlier collaboration for 'Working Wonders' in 2012, and that resulted in an absolute gem of a long-player, which unfortunately is only available in digital format.
After Spellbreakers, the Antwerp reggae scene welcomes some more fresh blood in the form of Jungle Roots, a young nine-piece formation citing The Wailers, King Tubby and Steel Pulse as musical influences. As a first calling card the band also presents an untitled 6 track EP full of deep roots with jazzy influences (the latter, mostly the input of horn section Ymre Denis - saxophone, Lennart Henderickx - trumpet, and Seba Colson - trumpet, all students at the Antwerp conservatory).
Jah Seal, born Ronan Lynch, is an author, musician, producer and historian from the Irish capital Dublin, who for 'Intergalactic Detective Agency' once again joined forces with Berlin based producer Alldub, a work and friendship relationship that has lasted for more than two decades now.
International Ivorian reggae stars like Alpha Blondy and Tiken Jah Fakoly need no further introduction, but of course Ivorian reggae scene is home to a whole host of talented artists. It's therefore with great pleasure that we introduce Masinga Root, who delivers his solo debut with 'Good Vibes'.
A Prophet is seldom honored in his own country, and that certainly applies to Seagulls, a three-piece Ostend formation consisting of brothers Sil (vocals, guitar and harmonica), Ward (drums, backing vocals, slide guitar) and Bavo Meeus (bass, backing vocals), who with 'Regg 'N Roll' are already presenting their second EP.
The story behind this 'Wake Up Community' by Bristolian Dallas, immediately reminded yours truly of that of 'Joshua To Jashwha: 30 Years In The Wilderness', the 2012 debut album of his late fellow townsman Jashwha Moses. Just like Moses, after the 1984 release of 'Peacemaker', a first 12inch single, Dallas, born Dennis McCalla, had to wait more than thirty years for this first long-player to manifest.
Three years after the release of their 'Brother Jones' EP, Lyon based band The High Reeds return with 'Stand Firm', for which they joined forces with fellow townsman and the French answer to Lee 'Scratch' Perry, dub wizard Pilah.
With a band name like Proyecto Secreto of course you always run the risk of staying under the radar, but in all honesty, yours truly wasn't involved in music journalism yet back in 2003, so the release of their debut album 'Bruce Lee Is Back' completely passed us by. A whopping seventeen (!) years later the Ghent based formation returns with 'Alto', joining forces with Dave Hillyard (saxophonist with The Slackers, Stubborn All-Stars and bandleader of his own David Hillyard & The Rocksteady Seven) who produced the album, his band mate with The Slackers and Stubborn All-Stars Vic Ruggiero (who can be heard in 'Guilty', the only vocal track in the track list) and Victor Rice who, together with Hillyard, took care of the mix.
Three years after the release of his highly enjoyable 'Kingston Connection' EP, Brummie producer and sound engineer Joe Simpson aka Sticky Joe returns with 'Kingston Express presents The Foot Of The Mountain', the most ambitious project on his Kingston Express label to date.
Fans of a good solid bass sound, energetic tunes and militant lyrics, should definitely check out 'Tuff Like Iron', the second album by French soundman and producer Iron Dubz.
With 'Rocksteady', Open Season celebrates its twentieth anniversary, finally allowing us to get to know this eight-piece band from Bern in Switzerland.
As the title suggests, on 'Note To Self', her third long player to date, Jah9 goes on a journey of introspection.
After a series of albums that stayed a bit under the radar, in 2017 Lutan Fyah once again caught our attention with 'Music Never Dies', for which he joined forces with I Grade Records' Laurent 'Tippy I' Alfred, a more than successful effort we even dared describe as a comeback album. With the release of this 8 track 'Touch Di Road' EP on the German Oneness Records label, the singer from Spanish Town maintains the same level.
German-Iranian Ima Ghafouri aka TriXstar may have been in the music business for over a decade now, but apart from the 2013 5-track 'New Era' EP, only a handful of singles were released so far.
Confusing release, this 'King Tubby's Prophecies Of Dub'… Not only does this album bear almost the same title as earlier release 'King Tubby's Prophecy Of Dub', apart from that King Tubby is clearly mentioned in the title, but the album was actually produced by Pat Kelly and he did not use backing tracks produced by Yabby You, but riddims by Bunny Lee.
Studying Japanese and an avid fan of enka, a form of sentimental ballad music developed in the postwar era stylistically comparable to American country music or Portuguese fado, immediately explaining the title of this new album, Dutch artist JoJo Gladstone proves to have a passion for Japanese culture as well as reggae.
With this re-release of 'In America', back in 2003 Victor Rice's second solo album, Belgian label Badasonic Records presents a first vinyl version of this modern classic.
This 'Brass Echo Chamber' EP originally appeared back in 2010 on the now defunct Corsican Springline Records label, but never got the attention it deserved and soon disappeared from the radar again. However, thanks to Dub-O-Phonic label boss Savvas Thomas, the album is now given a deserved second chance.
Christos DC is the pseudonym of Christopher Vrenios, the son of two professional opera singers from Washington D.C. (immediately explaining the last part of his stage name). Christopher being of Greek descent, also meant his grandmother affectionately called him Christos ever since he was a toddler.
Fans of Protoje will undoubtedly already be familiar with Mortimer (born Mortimer McPherson), as the Kingston-based singer who grew up in rural Whitehall, Saint Elizabeth, lent his voice to both 'Protection' from 'Ancient Future' and 'Truths & Rights' from successor 'A Matter Of Time'. Mortimer's debut effort, 2014s 'Message Music', produced by Jay Crazie Records and distributed by VPal, remained somewhat under the radar, but for 'Fight The Fight' he teamed up with Protoje producer Phillip 'Winta' James and the result is definitely worth hearing.
What ever happened to Richie Spice? There was a period when the man dropped one successful hit album after another, but 'Soothing Sounds', his last long-player to date, an acoustic compilation of some of his best-known hits, already dates back to 2012.
After his American outing as David Lion for 2017's Sugar Cane Records production 'Mandala', things around Nigerian-Italian reggae artist David Andrew Ferri, better known as Lion D, quieted down, but with this 5 track 'Born In Captivity' EP he now returns to his old buddies of Bizzarri Records.
'Soultry Sound' is the production debut of Cynthya 'Soultry Dubs' from Long Beach, California, who started her musical career as a keyboard player with reggae soul band The Divine Crime.
Greg Roy is a Jamaican artist, originally from Montego Bay, who moved to Boston in the United States. Before focusing on a solo career, for a while Greg fronted Duppy Conquerors, an American Bob Marley tribute band. Meanwhile, two previous solo albums (2015's 'Moving On' and last year's 'Ooh La La') have been released and now there's 'Tomorrow', a long-player we would describe as a straightforward new roots album.
Barely four months after its release, 'Universal' now gets its dub counterpart with 'Universal Dub'.
Almost four years after the release of 'Holy Cow', family project Dub Dynasty is back with 'Gideon', a title referring to the current geopolitical situation and the threat of the climate crisis.
For their latest release of 2019, the Cypriot Dub-O-Phonic label crossed the Atlantic Ocean to collaborate with R-Juna, a DJ, MC and producer from Bloomington, Indiana.
Last year Radikal Vibration, a collective of four beat makers from Geneva, was already responsible for the music of Brother Culture's 'Jump Pon It' from his successful 'Code Name' album released on Evidence Music. The unmistakable chemistry between Radikal Vibration and Brother Culture was reason enough for the Swiss label to give the green light for an album produced entirely by Radikal Vibration and the result is 'Abaddown'.
After Nazamba's impressive dub poetry debut earlier this year, the Duquake Records label of French O.B.F. once again surprises with 'From Mi Born', taking us back to the early years of English MC Charlie P.
Even though Mystical Faya already released two long players (2013s 'Never Give Up' and 2016s 'Sleeping Souls'), and with last year's 'Chill Sessions', an album full of soul, funk, electro and jazz, even sidestepped from reggae altogether, we only got to know the band from Besançon in the east of France thanks to the contribution of front man Mystic Loïc on 'Together', Faygo's second long-player released earlier this year and now this 'Born Again' EP.
For the production of 'Borderline', the successor to their 2016 long-player debut 'Seed', the members of The Young Tree, a six-piece reggae band founded in 2015 in Udine, Italy, joined forces with Africa Unite veteran Madaski.
'High Volume' may be the first album Saime, born as Andrea Saitta in Enna, a town in central Sicily, has recorded with the aid of backing band The Cool Rulers, the man has already been active for quite some time.
Five years after the well-received 'The Sound', Pressure Busspipe and I Grade's Laurent 'Tippy I' Alfred took back to the studio for 'Rebel With A Cause'.
Junior Natural, a reggae artist from Uppsala, Sweden, was born as Teodor Lindström, but got his nickname because he proved to be a musical prodigy from a very young age.
Australia will probably never become a real reggae nation, but with Zennith, an Aboriginal band around brothers Astro and Aden Brim, Down Under is taking a step in the right direction.
With 'Love Is All I Bring' Trojan Records creates an impressive all-female diptych. The title is a bit misleading, because this compilation certainly doesn't only contain love tunes, but a selection of just under 50 (!) tracks that were recorded over the past decades, often in the margins, by women who played a pioneering role in the ska-, rocksteady-, lovers rock- and roots-scene.
The approaching end of the year for the VP-label traditionally means the release of their 'Strictly The Best' compilation, a means of taking stock of the past year in reggae and dancehall. This year VP Records celebrates its 40th anniversary, but 'Strictly The Best' is commemorating an anniversary of its own, as the longest running series of the label (after last year once again conceived as a double-CD package) has reached its 60th edition!
On this successor to last year's 'Mad World' EP, there's no longer any mention of The Dragon Tribe, Sofiana 'Yoha' Bichet's regular backing band, as for 'Resilience' Yoha joined forces with Official Staff, a four-piece band from Rouen, and left the final mix to veteran Godwin Logie in London.
After all the releases in English, it's a real relief to bump into a French band wholeheartedly opting for the language of Molière. With 'Nouvel'R' (pronounced "nouvel air") Raspigaous, a band around singer-songwriter Lionel 'Léo' Achenza from Marseille, starts a new chapter.
Heavy Roots is a collective of producers, composers and beat makers from Valencia, Spain, led by Daniel 'Gio' Aguado. For 'Tiempo Roots' they compiled 11 of their productions and invited a bunch of well-known names from Europe, the United States and Jamaica to deliver the vocals.
Sunvibes Music, the label that in 2017 presented 'Time Has Come', a new album by Sylford Walker, is now releasing 'Stand Firm', an excellent showcase EP by Prince Alla (spelled Allah here).
Blind Reverendo is the alter ego of Barcelona-based Italian singer-songwriter Mario Rivoiro. For once, you can even take that name quite literally, as Mario lost his sight when he was eight years old. However, Rivoiro never resigned himself to his faith and went on to study music, learn to play percussion, guitar and piano and eventually carved out a path in music.
Today Yaniss Odua may be a sounding name in the French reggae scene, but in the early 2000s the man was still an unknown migrant from Martinique who was trying to gain a foothold in Europe.
Faygo (the phonetic notation of "Fa a-e go?", Sranantongo for "How are you?") is a six-piece band from the Breton town of Rennes drawing inspiration from the work of American band Groundation and the Jamaican veterans of The Gladiators, and with 'Together' are presenting their second album.
Even though we've become quite familiar with the American reggae scene, this 'World On Fire', already Stick Figure's seventh album, is our first introduction to this singer-songwriter from Duxbury in Massachusetts, who has been operating from San Diego in California for a long time now, and is extremely popular in his own country.
This year VP Records is celebrating its fortieth anniversary and as a proverbial birthday cake they are now presenting this 'Down In Jamaica: 40 Years Of VP Records' box.
Dawtas Of Aya is a Brazilian women's trio consisting of dub poet Carol Afreekana, singer Regiane Cordeiro and singjay Sistah Mari; three strong black women who saturate their songs with a powerful pan-African lyricism.
A few months after the Dub-O-Phonic label introduced us to the Argentineans of The Dubbstyle, we return to the cradle of tango for 'MKD', an EP by Munay Ki Dub, a trio from Traslasierra in the province of Cordoba in central Argentina.
Just under five years after the release of their well-received debut album 'Encounters', Jamaican Jazz Orchestra returns with 'Rain Walk', an album that may sound even more sophisticated and mature than its predecessor.
Dutch Saxophonist Thomas Streutgers came pretty close to giving up on his alter ego Tommy Tornado. Rude Rich & The High Notes, the band that had backed him on his first two albums, had disbanded and Thomas had his hands full with The Busquitos, the jazz-comedy act playing up to 120 shows a year. Fortunately, some persistent fans kept pushing and in 2014 Thomas found a new backing band in The Clerks, a seven-piece crew from Cologne.
Has it really been seven years since Solo Banton rejoiced us with a new long player? The English deejay returns in full force with 'Old Raggamuffin', for which he once again joined forces with Reality Shock producer Kris Kemist.
In 2009 Jamaican veteran Stranger Cole was invited to be the voice over for the documentary 'Rocksteady: The Roots Of Reggae', but his last musical achievement, the 'Morning Train', produced by Jah Shaka, already dates back to 2006. Together with German band The Steadytones (who also shared the stage with Keith & Tex, Doreen Shaffer and Dawn Penn), Stranger now presents this 6 track 'More Life' EP.
With 'Millions', French band Dub Inc presents its seventh album, a successor to 2016's 'So What' and one of the most impressive releases in their more than twenty-year career!
Had it been up to English author J.R.R. Tolkien, this new Johnny den Artiest EP would probably have been called 'The Return Of The King', but in King Johnny's universe that simply becomes 'Gij' ("you").
With 'Flying Island', the Universal Egg label is finally presenting an album release by another artist than Zion Train themselves again. Jungle Weed aka Dub Trotter, is the alter ego of Jules Deville, a dub producer and globetrotter from Toulouse in the south of France.
Just five years after he returned to VP Records with 'The Cure' and with his insults to sound system selectors and deejays and accompanying bragging about his lush lifestyle still fresh in our minds, Siccature Alcock aka Jah Cure still seams ignorant to the meaning of the term modesty. The cover picture of 'Royal Soldier' depicts Cure adorned with a "golden" crown, seated on a throne with a somewhat arrogant smirk on his face, and in intro 'On The Move' he proclaims: "I'm on the verge of making history, ain't nobody stopping me!".
Yours truly already crossed paths with Russian MC/vocalist Tenor Youthman on releases by DJ Vadim, Dreadsquad and Alpha Steppa, but 'G.O.D.S.', a collaborative effort with German producer and riddim builder King Toppa, is the first time we're presented with a full-fledged album by his hand.
'Stalowatt' is not only the title of an LP that Cornel Campbell recorded in 1976 for producer Bunny 'Striker' Lee, it's also the Jamaican corruption of the English "stalwart". The perfect description for Campbell who's been part of the Jamaican music industry since he was eleven, when trombonist Rico Rodriguez coaxed him along to Studio One and where he voiced his first single 'My Treasure'.
With the release of 'The Best of Joshua To Jashwha 1978-2019', Sugar Shack Records comes full circle and not only literally but also symbolically, as Jashwha Moses passed away in July of this year after a short battle with cancer just after he'd finally overcome his long struggle to become a full-fledged citizen of the United Kingdom.
Akae Beka will probably never release as many albums as Midnite, but still, this is already the ninth release since Vaughn Benjamin founded the band in 2015 and his second collaboration with Zion I Kings, a crew of musicians and producers made up of members from Zion High Productions, I Grade Records and Lustre Kings Productions, who also worked with Midnite before.
Exactly five years after 'Easy To Love', reggae crooner Maxi Priest returns with 'It All Comes Back To Love', for which this time he handed the reins to his buddy and colleague Shaggy.
'David Stone' is the long-player debut of Rohan Palomino aka Nga Han, a Jamaican singer-songwriter from Saint Ann who, through his studies, ended up in California in 2007; the beginning of a fruitful collaboration with producer Max Rivera aka Roots Natty of Roots Natty Records.
Waiting for their debut album to be released sometime in the spring of next year, Rootz Radicals are already presenting this 'Sampler One', a downloadable compilation free of charge featuring 13 of their already released singles.
The story behind 'Soul From Dubdown: Darker Than Blue' starts as early as 2001 with 'Darker Than Blue: Soul From Jamdown', a compilation on the now defunct Blood and Fire label that zoomed in on the great influence of American soul in Jamaican music, as proven by songs like Ken Boothe's 'Is It Because I'm Black?', Alton Ellis' 'It's A Shame', Delroy Wilson's 'Get Ready' or 'Baltimore' by The Tamlins, all covers of American soul classics.
Just under a year after the release of his 'Ease Off' EP, Kologne now presents the full-length album 'A New Chapter' for which he recycled 5 tracks from the aforementioned EP and supplemented them with 9 "new" songs recorded between 2007 and 2018.
With a musical career spanning more than 5 decades, Clinton Fearon has nothing left to prove. Still, the Jamaican veteran spent more time than usual on 'History Say'.
It's been almost 10 years since Jamaica's favorite crooner Gregory Isaacs passed away after a short battle with lung cancer. "High time to dust off another Cool Ruler classic!", the people at 17 North Parade/VP Records must have thought.
'Life Designs', the as yet unpublished debut of Delroy Brown aka Vysionaer was still produced by Calibud, but for "successor" 'Soldier', the artist from Balaclava in Saint Elizabeth joined forces with Al.Ta.Fa.An Records producer Anthony Senior.
JahRiffe is the musical alter ego of Barriffe MacKenzie, a Jamaican-American singer-songwriter, reiki instructor and lecturer from Boston. After 2005's 'Rastafari Love' and 2013's 'Check Your Timing', 'Reflection' is already JahRiffe's third album and turns out to be a real treat for the ears.
'Passenger' is the second album by Project 432, a five-piece band from Denver, Colorado.
Sugar Shack Records has a tradition of also releasing a dub version of the vocal albums they turn out, and for 'Judgement Day', last year's album by Capital Letters featuring JB, the label decided to call on Chris Potter aka Compendulum for the task.
Since London-based Japanese saxophone sensation Megumi Mesaku started busking in the London metro and last year a video of one of those improvised street sessions (a saxophone improvisation of Lester Sterling's 'Pup-A-Lick', a song from 'Rock-steady Explosion' by Byron Lee And The Dragonaires) ended up on social media, in no time she grew into an internet sensation, and with 'Saxy Rocksteady', produced in collaboration with Mafia & Fluxy, she now presents a second instrumental solo album.
It might not have been easy for Max Romeo to produce a successor to 2016s critically acclaimed 'Horror Zone', but with 'Words From The Brave', the Jamaican veteran succeeds with flying colors!
SistaSara (Sara Fuga) already gave us a foretaste of 'Universal' album with her 'Space Stepper' EP, released earlier this year and with 'Illusions Space Stepper' already containing a dub version of vocal cut 'Illusions Of Time' featuring on this new album.
For the 8 track 'Sound Deliverance' EP, producer Pablo Raster joined forces with Serbian trombone player/vocalist Hornsman Coyote.
Fifteen years after their last album, 2004's excellent 'African Holocaust', Steel Pulse finally returned to the studio for 'Mass Manipulation'.
Inna Vision has been in the business for ten years and is celebrating that anniversary with 'Best Yet: Celebrating A Decade Of Vision', a compilation album containing 15 of his greatest hits.
With this 6 track 'Unforgettable' EP, Krist Kemist of British label Reality Shock Records provides up-and-coming Jamaican talent Damon Palmer aka Iyashine with a first calling card.
With this 6 track 'Nah Give Up', Lille in the north of France based Max'1 And The Rootsmaker presents a first EP.
Swiss band Najavibes may have been active for over twenty years, but because during that time they were mainly active as a backing band for veterans like Lee 'Scratch' Perry, Cedric 'Congo' Myton, B.B. 'Gaylads' Seaton or Prince Alla, this 'Same Sun' is only their second album to date, released just less than ten years after 2011 debut effort 'Musical Road'.
RADIO77 is the brainchild of New York veteran DJ Joey Radio, who, with this project, for which he collaborated with, among others, Dubmatix, successfully attempted to mix dub with new wave influences.
Ras Teo (real name Teo Hartoonian) is a reggae artist from Los Angeles who grew up in Sweden. Over the years he's collaborated with heavyweights from the scene like Yami Bolo, Pablo Gad, Sizzla, Prince Alla and Fred Locks. For 'Ten Thousand Lions' Teo joined forces with Spanish producer and multi-instrumentalist Roberto Sanchez for a magnum opus consisting of twelve vocal cuts and as many dubs (available as double-LP or digital download).
Nice discovery this 'Bridges', the second album by UCee, born Ussama Soleman in the German town of Regensburg in Bavaria, but of Tunisian-Egyptian descent.
With a wonderfully naive title like 'Swimming Lessons' it might seem as if The Skints wanted to surprise us with a breezy summer album, and the track list certainly leaves room for lighter subjects, but the British band wouldn't be themselves if their songs weren't full of razor-sharp social critique either.
With 'Walls Of Jerusalem', the Pressure Sounds label revives one of the classics from the catalogue of Vivian Jackson aka Yabby You.
dub_cmd (pronounced dub command) is the alter ego of Polish dub producer Gabriel Ufir, who migrated to the United Kingdom when he was eighteen and now lives somewhere near Hull on the British east coast.
For 'Only Love' Sista Livity and Sista Moni joined forces with production house, studio and sound system Good Over Evil.
For 'Timeless', Marcia Griffiths returned to the place where it all started: the legendary Studio One!
In many ways 'Roots O'clock' is the logical successor to 'The Magic Touch', because Emeterians once again joined forces with English label Stingray Records.
We've lost count on how many debut EP's Roots Musician Records producer E.N. Young has been worked on to date, but, in any case, introducing the world to new American reggae talent seems to have become one of his musical missions. This time it's Rootikal Yard's turn, a band from Ontario, a small town about 50 kilometers east of Los Angeles.
Apart for the two 12inch releases 'Something Special' and 'Won't Suffer' it had already been since 2016 that Resonators took the studio last, but for 'Live At Electric', accompanied by dub master Darren 'Jamtone' Mathers, they headed to Brighton Electric Studios to give a number of tracks from their repertoire a revamp.
The name Errol 'Don' Mais may not immediately ring a bell, but in the late 1970s this Jamaican producer ran his own Roots Tradition label from Greenwich Town or Greenwich Farm in Kingston.
If on predecessor 'Rastrumentals', Digistep and DJ Stryda were still exploring the musical legacy of Charles, Digistep's father, for 'Shady Grove' the focus has shifted firmly back onto their home town of Bristol. In 10 tracks the duo honors places and figures that held or still hold a special meaning in the musical (read: reggae) history of the city or for them personally.
It doesn't happen very often, but on rare occasions the wildest reggae dreams can come true. 'The Final Battle' started with an ambitious idea by Argentinean percussionist and producer Hernan Sforzini, who dreamed of letting Sly & Robbie and the remaining members of the equally legendary Roots Radics play it out against one other in a final ultimate clash.
If you're still looking for the ideal soundtrack for the Yoga On Dub sessions Jah9 has been promoting worldwide for several years now, 'Yoga In Dub' by German producer, sound engineer and multi-instrumentalist Felix Wolter aka Dubvisionist comes highly recommended.
'Forever' is the new 4 track EP by Project Out Of Bounds, a seven-piece band from San Diego.
Seikos is a nine-piece band founded in Sant Feliu de Llobregat, a municipality near Barcelona back in 2014. Alternating between Spanish and Catalan, the band presents a solid festive mix of ska-punk and reggae.
Dub Silence, a seven piece band with members hailing from Annemasse, Chambery and Lyon, may be the umpteenth French reggae band, but they managed to captivate us from the very first note with their debut album 'Anomalie'.
With 'Le Monde Est Chaud', a title referring both to the literal warming up of the earth and the ecological disasters that come with it, and to the current global political climate in which one conflict follows another, Tiken Jah Fakoly returns to his roots.
The fact you can record a reggae version of just about every song in every genre is should be common knowledge by now, and for 'Reggae Style' the Wagram label collected no less than 64 reggae versions (or 24 if you opt for the LP version of this compilation) of well-known hits from soul, pop and rock history.
It seems that for a good portion of dub-poetry you have to be in Switzerland these days. Earlier this year, Fruits Records already presented the excellent 'I've Seen', a new album by Jamaican veteran Oku Onuora, and now Dubquake Records, the label of French producers O.B.F., which also has roots in Geneva, Switzerland, is releasing this self-titled debut by George Scott aka Nazamba, an up-and-coming talent from Clarendon in Jamaica.
Yours truly got to know Seattle based artist Bobby Hustle thanks to his 2015 'It's The Hustle' album. During a short promotional tour for that album in Costa Rica in 2016, the day after a performance in Puerto Viejo, Bobby was stopped by the local police who subsequently found a considerable amount of marijuana in the singer's car and promptly arrested Hustle.
Even in Latin America dub is being produced nowadays, as proven by Argentinean brothers Mauro and Federico Salina who are presenting their second release as The Dubbstyle with this 'Sun Is Dub' EP.
It had already been since 2015 that we'd last heard from Jurgen Orville Seedorf aka Joggo, but with this 'Love Ova War' EP, the Dutchman proves he hasn't lost any of his feathers yet.
Since 2014's 'The Skankin' Cat', the Japanese maneki neko (literally translated: "beckoning cat", and considered a protective or good luck charm modeled on the Japanese cat) has been a signboard for French dub duo Mahom. Joris and Toinou have become a regular fixture in the French dub scene and with this new album crown themselves 'King Cat' (a big nod to 'King Kong', see album cover, included).
The treasure trove of forgotten or never released reggae records seems to be almost endless and this time it's Trojan Records who came across a gem that had been gathering dust for decades. We're talking about 'Pretty Africa', an album Desmond Dekker and his Aces recorded back in 1973 for producers Bruce White and Tony Cousins, but that never saw the light of day.
Compared to the influx of European productions, the situation in Jamaica remains pretty quiet where dub releases are concerned. With this 'Tads Hi-Power Dub', the Tad's Record label is now trying to change that.
Berlin Boom Orchestra is a nine-piece German reggae band around singer and MC Filou, lyrically mainly sticking to the language of Goethe.
Campine band MoodCollector is preparing itself and us for a sultry summer with the release of this new 4 track EP.
After having previously experimented with reggae interpretations of French chanson ('Il Est Cinq Heures, Kingston S'éveille'), hip-hop classics (the 'Hip Hop Reggae Series' releases) or soundtracks of famous Hollywood films ('Hollywoo Dub'), for 'Classical Dub', French producer Thomas Blanchot aka Mato created a series of dub interpretations of compositions from the canon of classical music.
Yours truly got to know French-Nigerian Mahakwe Wadike aka Nai-Jah last year thanks to 'The Great Elephant', his excellent collaboration with English producer Alpha Steppa. But Nai-Jah (reggae-patois for Nigeria) also seems to be the pseudonym for the band supporting Wadike.
Another chapter in Lee Perry's side story, but a chapter that seamlessly connects to the albums Scratch made with Adrian Sherwood in the past.
For 'Music Is Our Business' VP Records compiled twenty tracks Cocoa Tea recorded over the years for producer Bobby 'Digital' Dixon's Digital B label.
Dominik Haas, better known as Jahcoustix, didn't decide to name his newest album 'Reunion' for no reason, as for this album he once again joined forces with Oneness Records producer and current Dub Inc bass player Moritz Von Korff and sound wizard Umberto Echo, with whom he recorded his debut album 'Souljahstice' in 2003 and 'Grounded' in 2006.
It's becoming a habit for yours truly to combine holidays in the south with a reggae festival. Last summer we were guests at the twenty-fifth edition of Rototom Sunsplash, and for the second time in three years we link little brother IDG to hiking and diving in Spain. After the first edition in 2016, then still in Barcelona, we attended the fourth edition of International Dub Gathering during the past Easter weekend, now near Alicante. But those who thought they would spend the Semana Santa under the Spanish sun, were in for a disappointment.
Following the release of 'Hungry', the collaboration between Dub Gideon and Mister Kali, Rebel Sound Records now decided to re-release 'Step Fast', the latter's 2010 debut album.
This self-titled 'The Zebulonites' EP is the first calling card by the five-piece reggae band of the same name hailing from Long Beach, Long Island.
This seven track 'Inna Word' EP is the beginning of what should hopefully become a fruitful collaboration between Rebel Sound Records and Oakley, California based singer Ione Angeles.
The Roots Ark, a project started in 2016 from the collaboration of French composer and multi-instrumentalist Greg Dandelot with a number of musicians who earned their spurs in the jazz scene (Marianne Jagut and Marine Annic - backing vocals, Mathieu Lagraula - guitar, Abdourahmane Cissé - keys, Emmanuel Biraut - drums, for this album joined by guest musicians Aurélien Bucco - trumpet, Stephane Atrous - saxophone, Nicolas Chassay - saxophone, Paul Babin - trombone and Gabor Turi - percussion).
On July 10th, a documentary by Peter Webber (director of, among others, 'The Girl With The Pearl Earring') on the Inna De Yard project will be released, and we got the distinct impression we should rather consider this new Inna De Yard album as the soundtrack of that film.
With this 'Pursuit Of Balance' EP, Hermit Dubz, operating from his Hermit Cave studios in Birmingham, serves us four new instrumentals and as many solid dub-versions.
Filentre is a reggae artist from Montpellier in the south of France, but for 'Inou Wali' ("thank you" in Susu, a language mainly spoken in Guinea-Conakry and Sierra Leone) he took to Manjul's Humble Ark studio in Bamako, where he was joined by the musicians of Ivorian band Siman Roots.
After all these years, the father of Jamaican dub poetry has taken to the studio again and, with the help of a Swiss band, made a record that withstands the comparison to his classic album 'Pressure Drop' (1984).
There certainly hasn't been any shortage of new Belgian reggae projects lately. Camel's Drop is a band around bass player Wim 'Fadda' Stevens, his two sons Roel 'Sticksman' Stevens (drums) and Polle 'Docta Riddim' Stevens (keys), and vocalists Dhazed Fyah, Skyblasters veteran Prince Far Out and Dora 'Little Miss Sweets' Turay (providing a female touch), with 'We Nah Gonna Wait' presenting a first album.
We don't have to think long about the most anticipated reggae release of 2019. At the beginning of last year Mikayla Simpson, better known as Koffee, blasted on the reggae scene like an unstoppable meteor with 'Raggamuffin', and now there's finally this first five track EP.
With 'In Spiritus Dub' by Neapolitan band Almamegretta we're serving you another healthy dose of highly original Italian dub.
'Life Is In The Blood' is already Danny I's third album for I Grade Records producer Laurent 'Tippy I' Alfred, but was our first real introduction to the work of this Christiansted, US Virgin Islands born vocalist.
Dub Colossus, Nick 'Dubulah' Page's pet project, had gone quiet in recent years. For serious reasons it seems: Page had to deal with serious health issues and furthermore decided to finance the new album himself by setting up a crowdfunding campaign.
Just when we learned that Dutch reggae formation The Dubbeez were calling it a day, we stumbled upon 'Moengo', the long-playing debut of Surinamese-Dutch Samora Souprayen.
There isn't a music genre around which paid more attention to criticizing the racist and inhuman apartheid regime in South Africa than reggae!
Nowhere in Jamaica Africa feels closer than in the autonomous villages of the Maroons, descendants of fugitive slaves. In Accompong we followed in the footsteps of Cudjo and Nanny, the first black heroes of the island.
On this 'Enter A Space' EP, Marcus Gad seems to have lost his band Tribe, instead joining forces with Parisian beat maker Clement 'Tamal' Thouard.
'Local Uprising' is the second EP the five-piece band of the same name from Oahu, Hawaii recorded for E.N. Young's Roots Musician Records label.
High above Ocho Rios, a Jamaican rastaman and a Swiss reggae fan run The Lion House, one of the most beautiful, comfortable and atmospheric guesthouses on the island. In the bar sounds a playlist we could have put together ourselves.
Six years after their appropriately titled debut EP 'Revelation', Brussels based One Root with 'Soldiers Of Love', a title we (certainly in a Belgian context) thus far only associated with a very bad 1987 Eurosong contribution by Liliane Saint-Pierre, present a first full-fledged album.
FC Apatride UTD, our favorite Marxist Serbian reggae football club, is back with a new concept album entitled 'Third Worldism', this time focusing on: "...the implications of unequal exchange and mechanisms of structural imperialism leading to global polarization, inspired by writings of Marxist political economists and contemporary struggles of the global south.".
For 'Rootical Sojourn', Serbian trombonist Nemanja Koji?, better known as Hornsman Coyote, once again joined forces with London-based Palestinian composer, multi-instrumentalist and producer Felix Russ Abu aka Dub Caravan, after they already collaborated together a first time in 2013 for 'Breathe Of Peace'.
Once again this year's Easter weekend is dedicated to International Dub Gathering, the annual dub and sound system meeting in Southern Spain, and Rototom Sunsplash's little brother. The festival's lineup again features renowned names from the likes of Channel One, King Earthquake and Iration Steppas, but also a lot of acts waiting to be discovered like Adala featuring King Siva & Kikinho, or Sanga Mama Africa, as well as some misfits like Kode9 and The Bug.
With 'La Clé', Walloon band Babelsouk provides us with an excellent sequel to their 2016 debut effort 'Charlykingston'.
Philipp Greter is a Swiss sound engineer from Lucerne and has been the producer and keyboard player of Swiss dub combo Dub Spencer & Trance Hill for many years now.
Anyone who has already attended a Hollie Cook concert will undoubtedly have seen General Roots at work, but the band also stands its ground on its own as they prove with last year's 'Showcase' EP, of which a dub version is now also released.
For a number of years now, Alborosie always provided us with a dub version of his most recent album, but for last year's release of 'Unbreakable', an album for which he collaborated with The Wailers United, he breaks with this tradition.
Just over six months after the release of their debut EP 'Who Feels It Knows It', Spellbreakers return with a new maxi-single. The four track EP is titled 'Well Runs Dry' and once again counts 2 vocal cuts and as many dubs.
VP Records decided to push back the release date of 'Strictly The Best 58 & 59' to the new year, the hit compilations to the new year, so the release could also kick off the festivities surrounding the 40th anniversary of the VP label.
If we ignore 'Mozart Vibration', their 2016 reggae experiment with the oeuvre of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, this appropriately titled 'Way Down The Road' is the first new Panache Culture album since 2003's 'Le Discours'!
Hopefully we won't have to introduce Dutch-Surinamese singer Kenny B anymore. In 2015 the man scored a great radio hit with 'Parijs', a song everyone between Amsterdam and Paris should have heard at least once in the meantime. Kenny's untitled Dutch debut soon followed, together with a documentary about Kenneth Bron's uncommon life path, a collaboration with the veterans of Dutch reggae, Doe Maar ('5446 Is Mijn Nummer', a Dutch version of Toots & The Maytals' reggae classic ' 54-46 Was My Number') and a participation in the Dutch television show 'Beste Zangers'. Calling Kenny a well-known Dutchman is a serious understatement.
No idea if the members of Gentleman's Dub Club were influenced by the new Netflix-reboot of the classic sci-fi television series 'Lost In Space', but looking at the cover design of the album, that might well have been the case.
Roots Musician Records starts the year with 'Ancient Fire', the debut EP of Buddahfly, a seven-piece band from Boston, Massachusetts, on the east coast of the United States.
Mister Kali, a household name in New Mexico's reggae scene for years now, for the occasion joined forces with Texan production company Dub Gideon, and also called on local buddies Dre Estrada aka Dre Z Melodi and Ras Elijah Tafari for some vocal support.
Omar Perry's 'New Dawn' may be barely six months old, but with 'Living In The Jungle' he's already providing us with a successor! For this release, available as a double 12inch or digital download, and counting 5 vocal cuts and as many dubs more an EP rather than a full-fledged album, Perry joined forces with UK based Roots Renegade Records of producer Vinny 'Satta' Ellis (with the exception of 'Liberation', which was produced by the Alfriston, East Sussex based Finn MacAirt aka King Bracket).
For our first American release of the New Year, we're heading to Cleveland, Ohio, home of Gingermon, the alter-ego of singer-songwriter Tim Gandee, presenting his second album with 'Baked To Perfection'.
Yours truly got to know Italian-Nigerian Sarah Fugue aka SistaSara back in 2017 thanks to her self-released 'Creation' album. For 'Space Stepper' she joined forces with the Cypriot Dub-O-Phonic label, and this 5 track EP is meant as a foretaste for her soon to be released 'Universal' album.
Our last album review for this year is for 'Jahbar I Dehya', the long-playing debut of Jahbar I.
For once, their 'Strictly The Best' compilation will only be released in the new year, so Greensleeves/VP Records ends 2018 with 'Step Forward Youth', zooming in on the relationship between punk and reggae.
This last release for 2018 on producer E.N. Young's Roots Musician Records label is once again a debut EP, this time by MoZaiq, a six-piece formation from La Quinta, a city in the Coachella Valley (see also Burnt), who describe themselves as: "...a group of broken guys joined to create beautiful art through music.".
The last Dub-O-Phonic release for this year is by label veteran DubRaJah, who with this 'Nilotic' EP continues along the path he'd already taken with 2014s 'Enkag' and 2017s 'Reprise'.
Just before the end of the year, the Italian La Tempesta Dischi label still spoils us with 'Large Dub', a dub version of the new album by Italian formation Mellow Mood, which was released in April of this year.
After the release of his 2015 'Truth & Substance' EP, things around Trinidadian singer Verse iTal (Stefan Wilson) seemed to quiet down again, but this '100% Roots' album proves that we certainly shouldn't write him off yet.
Their 2015 'Good Time' EP, our first encounter with the Parisians of Natural Mighty, did not really leave a lasting impression at the time, but with this new album the French band clearly seems to have found a second wind.
During the recording of their 2015 release 'Wolverhampton' the then recently reunited Capital Letters split again and the vocal contributions of lead vocalist Danny 'Teacher' McKenzie were even removed last minute just before the album hit the shelves. For this successor Sugar Shock Records wanted to avoid all possible confusion and controversy, so the cover neatly states: Capital Letters featuring JB.
Four years after his comeback album 'Journey', Brummie reggae legend Black Symbol returns with 'Behold', an album for which he got assistance from Steel Pulse vocalist/keyboard player Selwyn Brown and sound engineers Angus Jones and Wooligan.
Musically speaking, for the time being Texas may still mostly be known as the Mecca of country and Tejano music, but the American state is also home to a budding reggae scene. Only a few months ago, the Roots Musician Records label presented 'Not Afraid', Th3rd Coast Roots' debut EP, and now E.N. Young does the same for Proof Of Life, a six-piece band from Corpus Christi.
We're always happy to be able to introduce a new artist from the stable of MacLes Music Factory, and this time that's D-Prezzy (real name Karrol Anthony Hamber), a Belgium-based Jamaican from Spanish Town.
The Driftaways are a band from St. Louis, Missouri, the so-called Midwest of the United States. The band started out as a trio in 2011, but in recent years has expanded into a full-fledged six-piece outfit, present their second album with 'Gas Money'.
British roots institute Black Roots seems to have been reduced from a quintet to a quartet (vocalist Charles Bryan aka Delroy O'Gilvie is no longer part of the line-up), but don't let that spoil the fun, as with 'Take It' the band prove they're still a force to be reckoned with!
Still looking for the ideal soundtrack to get through Christmas? Swiss project Dub Spencer & Trance Hill is happy to help out with 'Christmas In Dub'!
After in recent years re-releases of British band Talisman's early work appeared on sister label Bristol Archive Records, and the band has clearly found a second wind with 2013s 'I-Surrection' and its 2017 successor 'Don't Play With Fyah', Sugar Shack Records now presents the career spanning compilation album 'Nothing Change: The Best Of Talisman 1977-2018'.
For yours truly 'About Time' was the first introduction to Laid Blak, a project around DJ Bunjy and MC Joe Peng, but in fact this is already the second album by this Bristol based band.
Introducing: Princess Kazayah (real name Shanelle Mitchell), an American of Jamaican descent from Evanston near Chicago, with 'Princess Kazayah meets BriZion Inna Dub Stylee' presenting her debut EP.
Four years after the acclaimed 'Back On The Controls', English producer Daniel Boyle (see also Max Romeo's 'Horror Zone') and the enfant terrible of reggae Lee 'Scratch' Perry took back to the studio for what would become 'The Black Album'.
Bongo White is a project around the Toulouse based singer-songwriter of the same name (real name Damien Dernoncourt), who, after a first Guadeloupe-recorded EP in 2010 and his 2016 debut album 'Pourquoi Le Monde Tourne Carré', now presents this successor.
Even though Jamaican genres like ska, rocksteady, reggae and dub are beginning to take hold in the former Eastern bloc, Mother Russia is still lagging behind. Lollypop Lorry, an eight-piece band from Yekaterinburg, the administrative center of the the Ural Federal District, was founded in 2008 and with this aptly titled 'Ural Station' presents a new long player.
The fact last year Dub-O-Phonic decided to release 'Sky Warrior Dub', the unreleased debut album by London duo Foshan Roots, also resulted in Brad Turner and Tom Dewey deciding to revive the project that had been dormant for five years.
Yours truly has been an unconditional fan of Danakil vocalist Natty Jean since the release of 'Santa Yalla', his 2012 solo debut. And with this successor he was effortlessly able to blow us away yet again!
American reggae artist of Saint Lucian descent Taj Weekes describes 'To All My Relations' as: "...a socio-political journey of self-discovery.", and we couldn't agree more.
The independent French label Baco Records is organizing a competition allowing you to submit your own version on one of their riddims and end up on a new one riddim album.
For the successor of the 2015s 'Zero', the Sardinians of Forelock & Arawak got their inspiration from the crown prince of reggae, Dennis Brown.
French band Zenzile has been one of the strongholds of French live dub for years now. For their '5 + 1' series, the five-piece band from Angers each time invites a guest vocalist.
Still looking for some dub to fill the dark autumn days? Then this 'Creation' EP, with matching autumn leave on the cover, might be something for you!
As far as this 30 year anniversary interview with Neil Perch is concerned, the Zion Train has reached its destination, but be sure not to miss Neil's birthday party at De Casino!
Buy a ticket and jump aboard the Zion Train for part 2 of the the collective's thirty-year history!
You don't have to look too far to imagine where Tomawok drew inspiration from for his new 'Eek a Wok' EP. Apart from the title, there's the cover image, not a Tomawok in Indian headdress and war paint, but with a Mexican sombrero and poncho; a nod to record sleeves on which Eek-A-Mouse was dressed similarly.
Yours truly got to know Kologne, formerly Singing Cologne, as a guest vocalist on UK releases of Alpha Steppa and Dub Dynasty, but in fact the man, born Oral Kirk Brown, hails from Linstead in the Jamaican parish of Saint Catherine.
On Friday November 9th Neil Perch will celebrate Zion Train's 30th anniversary at De Casino in Sint-Niklaas. It already promises to be a great night, but a career spanning three decades also deserves a retrospective of what was and a preview to what might still lie ahead. In part 1 of this extensive interview: the earliest incarnations of the train, determining musical influences in Neil's career, but also the impending Brexit and the possible damaging effect it will have!
After the death of the legendary drummer Count Ossie in 1975, Sam Clayton stepped forward as the spiritual leader of Mystic Revelation of Rastafari. In the 90s and 2000s he led the company to the biggest venues and festivals in Europe, Japan and America. Brother Sam was one of the few rasta's who personally visited Haile Selassie in Ethiopia.
Little Harry, nicknamed 'The Youngest Veteron', may have started deejaying in 1979, apart from 'DJ Clash Volume 2', a 1983 combination-album with the late Billy Boyo, his output was limited to hit singles like 'Anarexol Body', 'Long Time Ago' and 'Jessat Promotion'. Until now that is, because since Little Harry joined forces with Swiss High Smile Hifi (producer Icky Top and selectors Kebilli and Pappa Irie), things suddenly gained momentum.
The first collaboration between French musician Fixi (real name François-Xavier Bossard) and Jamaican veteran vocalist Winston McAnuff already dates back to 2007, when they joined forces for 'Paris Rockin', an album with Java, the band Fixi was then still a member of. In 2013 this was followed by 'A New Day', a long player we then classified as "very innovative", but could generally still be classified as a reggae album. Where 'Big Brothers' is concerned, that's certainly not the case anymore.
Is Badasonic Records on its way to becoming the Belgian answer to the American Daptone Records label (Charles Barkley, The Frightnrs, Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings...)?
It had been six years already since Jamaican crooner Beres Hammond spoiled his fans with a new album, but 'Never Ending', the title of his new opus, leaves no doubt: good old Beres is far from done yet!
Judging from the sleeve image of this third album by veteran collective Kingston All Stars, one might expect a solid revolutionary album, but that look turns out to be slightly deceiving.
With 'Dubcatcher 3: Flames Up', Russian producer DJ Vadim creates a third episode in the adventures of his reggae superhero creation.
Can we gradually call Onesty the most successful Belgian reggae artist ever? Not in record sales perhaps (Pura Vida?) but as a regular on the international live circuit. She has toured with Black Uhuru and Lady G and opened for Sanchez and Romain Virgo at Valentine's Affair in the UK. She's been living in Jamaica with her daughter Jahmie for five years now and has found shelter there with Marcia Simpson (Duckie's wife, Black Uhuru) and Ajang Music. Those who follow our Tina (Sureda) on Facebook know that she's regularly being invited for radio and TV interviews. In the homeland of reggae, Onesty is at least the best established Belgian reggae artist ever.
Yours truly had already heard nothing but good things about French producer and beat maker Manudigital (real name Emmanuel Heron), but 'Digital Pixel', his debut album from 2016 had eluded us and we hadn't had the opportunity to see him play live either. The release of his brand new 'Bass Attack' album therefor seemed the ideal opportunity to get to know this French phenomenon.
The fact Jamaica (and in the broader sense the Jamaican diaspora) is still brimming with musical talent, is once again demonstrated by Kingston-based producer and singer-songwriter Demo Delgado with the excellent compilation 'Rastafari Guide I', featuring mostly little known artists like Mr. SupriZe, Talio, Ilano and Demo Delgado himself ('Live And Learn'), but also Soul Syndicate legend Tony Chin, who delivers an excellent version of Ken Boothe's 'The Girl I Left Behind'.
Since 2016, the legendary Jamaican Studio One label joined forces with American Yep Roc Records, and this already resulted in re-releases of records by The Wailers, Freddie McGregor and Freddie McKay, now followed by the iconic 'Ska Authentic'.
If you missed Protoje's performance at Reggae Geel this summer, you can still catch him on Friday October 26th when he'll be presenting his new album 'A Matter Of Time' (currently at number 1 in the Global Reggae Charts Album Charts) at Théâtre National in Brussels as part of the annual Festival des Libertés. to get you in the mood, a conversation we had with the man about this unusual reggae album.
As a successor to '3rd Kingdom', English producer Alpha Steppa opted to collaborate with French-Nigerian singer-songwriter Nai-Jah.
As the title suggests, for this album, the Polish based Italian producer Pablo Raster drew inspiration from well-known ('Puss In Boots', 'Alice In Wonderland', 'Peter Pan') and lesser known ('The Fox and the Grapes' and 'The Cricket and the Ants', both fables attributed to the Greek poet Aesop) fairy tales and fables.
Veteran MC Brother Culture and Swiss producer team Evidence Music (Etienne Maitre and Nicolas Maitre from Derrick Sound, and Nicolas Meury from Little Lion Sound) got to know each other in 2013 and their collaborations have already resulted in a number of successful singles like 'Dreadlocks Thing', 'Heal Them' and 'New Generation'. Those singles were now bundled together with a series of new tracks for 'Code Name', an album tailored to the current sound system generation.
What a trip it is every time, a concert by Akae Beka (formerly Midnite). You don't even have to understand Vaughn Benjamin to get carried away on his spiritual quest.
Almost 20 years after his demise, Dennis Brown remains an inexhaustible source of inspiration in the reggae genre. In 2016 VP Records already presented 'We Remember Dennis Brown', a double album full of Dennis Brown covers, and for 'Tracks Of Life', King Jammy also had a whole range of artists (from famous names like Damian Marley, Agent Sasco, Protoje, Dre Island, Romain Virgo and Alborosie, to newcomers like Aza Lineage, Projexx and Baby G) get creative with some of D-Brown's greatest classics.
For 'Curricular Style' Gonzo and Inna Vision joined forces, but that collaboration didn't result in an entirely new album, as with 'Bad Girl' and 'Show You Love' the track list also includes two tracks from Gonzo's 2017 'Round The Clock' EP, 'So High' already featured on Inna Vision's recent 'Link Up' album, 'Roots It Up' is a song from 'Red', Gonzo's solo 2014 solo debut, and 'Change The World' is a cover of the eponymous 1996 song by Eric Clapton.
After three years of absence, during which the individual band members were involved in all kinds of side projects, Groundation is finally returns! But as the album title indicates 'The Next Generation', this is a completely new version of the band. Apart from front man Harrison Stafford there isn't a trace of the rest of the old Groundation anymore.
The reggae scene is filled with so-called connoisseurs, who when you tell them about the most obscure reggae record ever made, will still claim that they've known it for years and even got the original version in their collection somewhere. Yours truly doesn't fit that category, but gladly so, as discovering "new" tunes and artists is still half the fun for a real music fanatic.
For their latest re-release, Japanese Dub Store Records turned their attention to 'Dub Planet Orbit 1', a lesser known album by British band Matumbi that was released in 1980 on their own Extinguish Records label.
To be honest, the name Estelle didn't ring any bells with yours truly, but in the r&b scene, the British singer of Senegalese-Grenadian descent has been a familiar face since 2008's 'Shine' was released on John Legend's Homeschool label and she then went on to win a Grammy for world hit 'American Boy', a duet with Kanye West.
In the mid 70s Joseph Hookim brought together Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare in his brand new 16-track studio. Reggae became rockers, the distant forerunner of the steppers that dominate the dub scene today.
In recent years we've seen an almost continuous stream of reggae releases from the United States, but in Canada things remained rather quiet. However, with 'Table For Four', Montreal based band FoOlish, is intent on changing this.
After a few years of hard work and extensive touring, The Drop, the band around vocalist Daniel 'Dandelion' Collier (Hempolics) and guitarist Leon King, finally releases 'Last Stand', their more than convincing debut effort.
Since the right-wing government of Matteo Salvini took office in Italy, the constant stream of crowded rickety boats full of African migrants has partly shifted from the Italian coasts to the southern Spanish Costas; a fact not escaping Madrid based jack-of-all-trades and founder of Spanish reggae band Cañaman, Ras Kuko.
After 2009's 'Movin' On', 2013's 'The Taxi Sessions', and the four-track 'Heart Mind & Soul' EP from 2015, Bitty McLean joined forces with riddim tandem Sly & Robbie and their Taxi Gang (Mikey Chung and Dougie Bryan - guitar, Robbie Lyn and Lenky Marsden - keyboards, Guillaume 'Stepper' Briard - horns and Uziah 'Sticky' Thompson - percussion) for the fourth time in a row.
With The Dubwegians' 'South Of The River Clyde', Dub-O-Phonic is re-releasing an EP by the Scottish duo Gary Lamont and Richy Clark, which originally saw the light back in 2011, but unjustly suffered from a lack of attention.
He's definitely left his years as Prince Mohammed behind him, and in the past decades George Nooks may have shown himself to be a gifted gospel singer, but until further notice the man also remains one of the best lovers rock crooners in Jamaica, as he proves yet again with 'For You'.
At first glance Kings And Comrades may sound like yet another Rebelution clone, but musically the band sounds a lot less poppy and more rootsy than the aforementioned icons of Californian surf-reggae.
On August 4th of this year the Cypriot village of Pomos hosted the Reggae Sunjam festival for the third time, and just like last year, the organization provided a downloadable accompanying soundtrack that can serve as a souvenir, but also holds its grounds as a regular compilation.
'Upright And Splendid' seals the partnership between UK based Greek Jack of all trades I-mitri and the Dutch Rainbow Coalition (Tim Baumgarten of Slimmah Sound and Roots Tribe).
Boston-based Mighty Casey is active as a rapper, author and journalist, and gained fame as the man behind 'White Girls', a 2003 cult classic in the hip-hop genre (actually a parody on Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five's 'White Lines'), which became a worldwide hit when it ended up on the soundtrack of 'White Chicks', a 2004 comedy starring Marlon and Shawn Wayans.
We'd honestly lost sight of Guyanese reggae artist Natural Black, but with 'Eyes Ah Look', recorded for Walter 'Wally' Fraser's Vizion Sounds label in Guyana, Mortimer Softley proves he's still standing strong.
Jamaican dub poets like Mutabaruka, Yasus Afari, Jean Binta Breeze or Oku Onuora no longer need any introduction. Slightly lesser known to the international public is D.Y.C.R. (real name Delroy Chandler).
'Key To The Universe', 'Axum' and 'Some Dread' form a musical triptych that was created thanks to the collaboration between American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and sound engineer Fikir Amlak, English sound system King Alpha and the American Akashic Records label of Mike B.
This first compilation album on Reggaewise may be considered the musical calling card of the Greek label specializing in giving lesser known Greek reggae and dub producers a chance.
The sleeve design of 'Be Love', already Thrive's fourth album to date, may suggest that this is an ambient meditation album, the Santa Cruz, California based band is in fact a reggae trio.
The Manor is the alter ego of Brad Turner, half of London duo Foshan Roots, with 'Walk with Jah' releasing his first solo effort.
The autumn of last year already saw the release of 'Melodies Of D.E.B.', Dean Fraser's tribute to Dennis Brown, and now Jamaica's hardest working saxophonist returns with this 6-track 'Love Has Found Its Way' EP.
'Invincible', the predecessor of 'Pharaoh' still appeared on the French Khanti Records label, but for this album Ackboo decided to take matters completely in his own hands and financed the whole project running a successful crowdfunding campaign eventually earning him no less than 12000 euros.
Moune (pronounced "moon") was born as Milan Guedec in the city of Périgueux, in the French Dordogne region. Moune started practicing the guitar in 2008, discovered electronic music a few years later, and after experimenting with genres like hip-hop, house, trance, glitch-hop and electro-swing, he finally lost his heart to dub.
Since the demise of Jamaican crooner Gregory Isaacs in 2010, Tad's Records has regularly published compilations of his work. The origin of the tracks on these compilations isn't always clear and for 'Gregory Isaac's At African Museum' we definitely had to do some musical research.
The cover of 'Not Afraid' might suggest a disco or funk album from the nineteen seventies or eighties, but in reality it's the debut EP of Th3rd Coast Roots, a five-piece band from Houston, Texas.
'B.O.E.M.' is the debut effort of an Italian formation by the same name hailing from Emilia Romagna. That being said however, we can't really tell you much more about this band, except that it was founded by bass player and songwriter Enrico Massari and that the whole album was recorded in just three days.
Dubkasm's Stryda and Digistep worked on 'Rastrumentals' for no less than seven years, with recordings alternating between Bristol, Brixton and São Paulo.
This 6-track 'Bite The Dust' EP is the result of a collaboration between French bass music producer KSD and Italian singer Marina P.
In recent decades several solid Johnny Clarke compilations have seen the light - there was 1991's 'Authorised Rockers' in Virgin's Front Line series, 1998's 'Dreader Dread' on Blood & Fire and 2002's 'A Ruffer Version - Johnny Clarke At King Tubby's 1974-78' on Trojan Records - but with 'Creation Rebel', 17 North Parade/VP Records now bundles 30 of the man's best tracks on two discs or LP's.
After her appearances in 2011 and 2015, Etana will once again grace the stage at Reggae Geel. Hence we would like to publish this interview from 2015 (before her controversial statement about Trump in 2016, which she has taken back since and apologized for to her fans).
Yours truly and Rebelution will probably never be a match… 'Falling Into Place', the 2016 predecessor to this album we already described as: "…love reggae for teens.", and for 'Free Rein', the Californian quartet has given itself complete "free rein" to experiment with genres like r&b, rock, jazz and even some Americana in 'Healing'.
When presenting a new album, 'Breaking News' is of course far from a bad title. Even though If Dezarie can deservedly be regarded as the queen of the Virgin Island reggae, Reemah (real name Juliette Vanterpool) can definitely claim the title of crown princess.
'Elevate' is the second long player by Canadian one-man project Brian Bataille aka Roots NoiR. Always more of an amateur of classic rock, Brian only discovered the reggae genre in 1990, thanks to a mix-tape full of Wailers songs from the band's Lee Perry period. Bataille was so inspired by what he heard, he promptly started writing himself.
For 'Sounds Almighty', this time English producer Al 'Breadwinner' Redfern invited jazz saxophonist Nat Birchall to his Manchester based Bakery Studio.
With Antwerp based Spellbreakers, a six-piece formation around flamboyant Belgian-Brazilian vocalist and visual artist Juli Jupter, Belgium welcomes an interesting new reggae band.
On the new EP/12inch of West Flanders based Dub-Up Records, Spellbreaker's front woman Juli Jupter also makes an appearance. The label is an initiative of Dub-Up HiFi, the Kortrijk based sound system founded in 2016 by Lucas 'Dubgrow' Despriet and Sam 'Sam Wise' Ducasteele aka Jah Frequency.
A mere two weeks to go before the big 40th anniversary celabrations at Reggae Geel. One of the performance we're definitely looking forward to this year is that of Samory I, who already blew us away in Turnhout earlier this year. We'll already get you guys in the right mindset with the following conversation we had with Samory...
In 2013, New Zealand Maori reggae band Katchafire introduced itself to the rest of the world with 'Best So Far', a compilation of their best work to date. Since then the band has toured extensively, but recording-wise things remained quiet.
For the successor to his highly successful 2015 'Ancient Future' album, Protoje once again joined forces with producer Phillip 'Winta' James, but anyone expecting a similar album will be sadly disappointed.
We're a mere two weeks away from the annual roots and dub gathering in Kortemark called Irie Vibes, so to get you in the mood already we're introducing one of this years artists, the charming Black Omolo!
The PathHeights are Jamaican-German singer-songwriter and producer duo Akosua Aset and Aumuna.
After Japanese label Dub Store Records in 2016 released 'Solomonic Singles 1 & 2', two singles anthologies of Bunny Wailer's Solomonic releases; they are now presenting a reissue of 'Dubd'sco Vol. 1'.
Since their formation in 2005, San Diego based band Tribal Seeds, has steadily been building a name for themselves in the US, but Europe hasn't quite followed suit yet. French label Baco Records wants to change this with the release of 'Roots Party'.
The past few months, American producer, singer-songwriter and musician E.N. Young's Imperial Sound Recording Studio has been buzzing with activity, as with 'Forest Wilderness' E.N. not only recorded a new album of his own, but he also immediately produced 'Link Up', the new long player by Hawaiian Inna Vision.
Reggae Workers Of The World or RWW is a collaboration between Slackers keyboard player Vic Ruggiero, Aggrolites vocalist/guitarist Jesse Wagner and Badasonics multi-instrumentalist Nico Leonard (also ex-Caroloregians and Moon Invaders).
Just as Chronixx's debut album 'Chronology' took quite some time to manifest, Kabaka Pyramid's fans also had to be patient before this 'Kontraband' finally saw the light of day.
Afro-Latino, the Limburg based wold music festival, is this year celebrating it's twentieth edition, making it the perfect location for Inner Circle aka The Fatman Riddim Section, to come and celebrate their fifty years in the music business. High time for a sit down with brothers Roger and Ian Lewis!
'Let's Get Started' was Tetrack's Augustus Pablo produced long-player debut.
The biggest reggae festival in Europe this year will take place for the 25th time, and to celebrate this in style Rototom Sunsplash welcomes innumerable artists from all over the world, too many to mention, still we tried to make a selection.
For 'Unbreakable', with which the Shengen Don puts his twenty-five-year reggae career in the spotlight, Alborosie joined forces with The Wailers.
This six-track 'Dred Reggae' EP is a re-release of the 2013 debut EP by Cypriot (dub-) producer Med Dred, a name that also featured on 'XXVIII', Haji Mike's new album.
Brain Holidays is a nine-piece formation founded in Zagreb in 2000, with 'System Error', released in 2017, already presenting its third long player.
It had already been since the 'Be Cool' EP, his 2015 collaboration with Sly & Robbie, that we'd heard something from Omar Perry. 'Be Cool' was only released digitally, and Omar's 20111 'The Journey' album had also failed to cause much of a stir. That's probably why in France, where Perry still enjoys great popularity, as far as this 'New Dawn' is concerned, there's even talk of a comeback album.
Banana Zvuk are Luka Barbic and Ivan Juri?, a DJ/producer duo from Split in Croatia. Both were already active as hip-hop MCs with local bands like TBF and St!llness, but shared a passion for reggae. 'Split Banana' is the duo's 7-track debut EP, for which they collaborated with a variety of vocalists, ranging from Tenor Fly over The Ragga Twins to Skarra Mucci, Rafael, Blackout JA and Lutan Fyah.
Yoha And The Dragon Tribe is a ten-piece formation from Macon and Dijon around brother and sister Sofiana 'Yoha' Bichet (vocals, guitar, flute and percussion) and Anissa Bichet (vocals, piano, melodica and flute) who, according to their own words, are just as much influenced by soul, blues, classical music and Indian influences as they are by reggae.
In 2016 we got to know Serbian band Soulcraft as the backing band of vocalist/trombonist Hornsman Coyote. That collaboration seems to have come to an end, so for 'Reggae On A Mission' the Serbs joined forces with Guyanese vocalist Ras Mc Bean.
Vanupié is a French singer-songwriter who was born in Annecy, but grew up in Gif-sur-Yvette between Essonne and Paris. As the son of a guitar playing father, he caught the music virus at an early age and in 2006 Vanupié - a corruption of "va-nu-pieds" (French for pauper, literally "someone without shoes"), a nickname the singer earned for often playing barefoot - started his musical career as a street musician in the Paris Métro, drawing on a repertoire of reggae, soul, pop and electro and resolutely choosing English as his language of choice.
Skaparapid is a Spanish ska-punk formation founded in 1993 at the Kasal Popular, the headquarters of the Valencian squatters' movement Movimiento Okupa , who, with their anti-militaristic and anti-fascist repertoire ('Kolors') and the combination of the male and female voices of Josep, Dani and Carmen, mainly enjoyed popularity in Spain and Latin America. In 2007 the band members decided to call it a day, but recently the old itch to play together flared up again and now there is this 'Revolta' (Valencian for "revolt", in the sense of an uprising, but in this case also "rise from the ashes" or "returning"), a compilation album with twenty of the band's most popular songs and their fans' favorites.
As a resident of the state of California, Ziggy Marley has had the "privilege" of experiencing the new Trump era first hand, and with 'Rebellion Rises' declares himself ready for the revolution.
Back in 1996 Greensleeves reissued 'Linval Meets The Space Invaders' with 'Linval presents Space Invaders', an iconic 1981 dub album for which Linval Thompson drew inspiration from the world of computer games and science fiction. For the occasion, the ten original dub tracks were supplemented with a second disc with an equal number of vocal cuts over the same riddims, and the label now does the same for 'Dub Landing Vol. 1 & 2', two albums released after the great success of 'Linval Meets The Space Invaders' on the Starlight Records label of brothers Desmond and Ben Up and their cousin Popsy, who're still running their record business of the same name in Harlesden, in the north of London.
We already knew the Sardinians of Train To Roots, but apparently there are more reggae bands active on the Italian island. Take Riptiders for example, a six-piece band from Tempio Pausania in the far north of the island, who, with the appropriately titled 'Vol. 1' make their long player debut.
Exactly twenty-eight years ago, Cypriot Haji Mike took his first steps in the music business with the release of his first 12inch 'As'ta /Modern Day Mankas' (Kebab Kulture Music, 1990). Back then Haji's sound was still a mix of hip-hop, ragga and Greek Cypriot instrumentation, but meanwhile it's somewhere between reggae and dub poetry.
For 'BMN Ska & Rock Steady: Always Together 1964 - 1968' the Japanese Dub Store Records this time compiled a number of ska and rocksteady releases by early Jamaican producer Ronnie Nasralla.
Ten years after 'Puraman' Bregt De Boever invited legendary Jamaican vocal trio The Congos - meanwhile supplemented by fourth man Kenroy Fyffe - to his Lost Ark Studio for the first time for 'We Nah Give Up', the first release on his own Lost Ark Music label, Poddington Krank got them to stop off at Mare Altar (Maria-Aalter) once more for successor 'Morning Star'.
For previous albums, Colah Colah had always colaborated with Dutch producer Basco Sound, but for 'Mission' he decided to change tack and joined forces with Austrian House of Riddim.
Brave Heart is one of those Jamaican talents unjustly having hard time making it on the international stage, but perhaps things will finally change with the release of 'Simple Love'.
With 'Zap Pow Again', the legendary Jamaican band proudly announces its resurrection.
Amateurs of the digital eighties sound of producers like King Jammy, Steely & Clevie, Gussie Clarke and Bobby Digital pay attention, because this new compilation on Kris Kemist's Reality Shock Records label is right up your alley!
4 Dub Vibes is a collective of producers and selectors from Larisa, a city in the central part of Greece, presenting a first self-produced EP.
New Town Kings is an eight-piece band from New Town, a neighbourhood in Colchester, a small town in the county of Essex in the east of England. We didn't know the band yet, but with 'Reach Out' New Town Kings certainly aren't newcomers.
After 'Essence Of Life' his tasty solo EP from last year, ex-The Banyan front man Devi Reed travelled to Cuba for 'Ragga Libre'.
A bit of a borderline case this 'Fire Inside' by The Sunvizors, a French five-piece band from Vannes in Brittany, as this is far from a straightforward reggae album.
The first record of Creation Rebel was released in 1978. Forty years later the band performed on a Belgian stage for the first time. Mixing of course was their spiritual father: Adrian Sherwood. Rarely has On-U Sound sounded so mighty, and dub so powerful.
Total Hip Replacement is a five-piece band from Aarhus in the North-East of Denmark. The quintet was formed in 2013, already released two earlier Dennis Ahlgren produced Eps (2015s 'Keep The Fire Alive' and 2016s 'A New Generation' from) and for their long player debut once again joined forces with the producer.
This aptly titled 'Chapter 1' is the debut EP by Ras Dave, an MC, DJ and radio host from Denver, Colorado, who honed his craft as a member of several local reggae bands and with 'The Ras Dave Show' even hosted his own broadcast on Randy's Reggae Radio for a while.
'Skarra Mucci & The One Love Family' could just as well have been titled 'Skarra Mucci & Friends', as for this compilation, the Europe-based Jamaican selected some of the best combination tunes he recorded over the past few years, supplemented with a handful new recordings.
This mini EP (two vocal cuts and as many dubs) is the calling card of Anja Nigovi? aka Anja G and Dr.obi; the first a new vocal talent from Zagreb, and Dr.obi a well-known Croatian sound engineer and producer.
'Virtual Lines' is the second collaboration of French producers Maïs and Sin, two strong holders of the Strasbourg based Antipod Records label.
With 'Studio Reggae Bash Vol. II' French band Booboo'zzz All Stars continues where it left off with the excellent cover album they still blew us away with last year.
Daddy Cookiz, one half of Walloon duo Atomic Spliff, has just presented the first edition of what should become a series of 'Live Sessions'; an ideal moment to exchange thoughts about Atomic Splif and, of course, the new 'Live Sessions'!
Yusimi Yusimi is the alter ego of Beres Barnett, front man of The Sounds Of Riddim, a six-piece reggae band from Atlanta, Georgia, looking to Black Uhuru and Dennis Brown for inspiration.
The title already says it all, for 'Soul Constitution' the Japanese Dub Store Records compiled a series of instrumentals and dubs Wailers-bass player Aston 'Family Man' Barrett recorded between 1971 and 1981. Most of the tracks on this compilation could already be found on 'Cobra Style: Productions From The Wailers Musical Director' and 'Family Man In Dub', two 1999 compilations released on the American Heartbeat Records label.
Black Ship, interesting name for a reggae band, especially when you know the ship's crew are 6 Caucasian Parisians, who with this 6 track 'On The Sea' EP - each of the six tracks representing part of a boat trip - are presenting their studio debut.
With 'Large' Italian reggae twins Mellow Mood treat their fans to their first album since the release of diptych 'Twinz' and '2 The World', the band's provisional masterpiece from 2014/2015.
Jhemel Fraser aka Ras Fraser Jr. is the son of Jamaican reggae veteran Phillip Fraser, with 'Journey To Greatness' presenting his long player debut.
After 2011s 'From Creation' and 2014s 'Good Prevails', 'Light Of Day' is already the third collaboration between Alpheus and Spanish producer Roberto Sanchez.
'One' is the debut album by Moja, a band from Nantes around singer Marine 'Mamatya' Annic.
These days producer Phil Pratt puts most of his time in running his Scandal Take Away restaurant in Harlesden, but the man still has a lot of musical treasures hidden away in his attic! Take 'The War Is On Dub Style' for example, a highly sought after collector's item amongst vinyl collectors, originally released on the Sunshot somewhere in the early nineteen eighties.
With 'True Love' we finally get served some East Coast reggae again, as Buddha Council is a five piece band from Virginia Beach in the eponymous state.
For this 3 track 'Africa Call' EP, Rasta Ambassador IQulah Rastafari joined forces with South African band Azania.
With 'Africa Call', a collaborative project with the South-African Azania band, Rasta ambassador IQulah just dropped a killer EP; the ideal opportunity for an in-depth interview...
After the excellent 2015 long player 'Intuitions', Joe Pilgrim & The Ligerians return with this possibly even more impressive sounding 'Step Out' EP.
Apparently Etana's contract with VP Records has come to an end, so this new album appears on the Jamaican Tad's Record label of Tad Dawkins.
For 'Ghetto Cycle' the French O.B.F. Sound System joined forces with English MC Charlie P.
Some more freshly squeezed Californian surf-reggae anyone? Pacific Grown is a four-piece band from Salinas with this 5 track 'Start From Scratch' presenting its debut-EP.
Yours truly got to know Bournemouth-based British band Dubheart about four years ago with the release of their 'Mental Slavery' EP and dub counterpart 'Mental Slavery Dub'. For this 'Cool Under Pressure' album, the five piece band opted for the showcase format, with 7 vocal cuts each time followed by a dub version.
Dean Fraser may be one of the most in demand and therefore busiest musicians in Jamaica, he only records solo albums on a very irregular basis, making 'Melodies Of D.E.B.' his first new long player since 2005s 'Plays Reggae Songs Of Praise'.
Romain Virgo is madly in love and wants everyone to known, as his new album 'Lovesick' is one big collection of love and break up tunes.
Soom T has never made a secret of the fact she's a devout Christian, but with the title of this new opus, 'Born Again', and some of the songs in the track list ('Life Story', 'Stand My Sister', 'Me Away', 'Joy Is Mine'...) she now seems ready to take her faith to a musical level.
Ricky Persaud Jr. is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer from New Jersey with roots spread over just about the entire Caribbean, from the Virgin Islands over St. Vincent & The Grenadines to Guyana and Barbados, and is what you could call a musical child prodigy, as he already took his first drum lessons at the Newark School of the Arts at the tender age of four.
Back in 2012 I-Octane heavily r&b infused debut effort 'Crying To The Nation' had a hard time convincing yours truly, 2014 successor 'My Journey' from was completely ruined by Auto-Tune, and with 'Love & Life' the singer from Sandy Beach in Clarendon seems to persist in his ways.
The Roots Engine is an eight piece band from the French capital with 'Perpetual Travel' presenting its second long player. Vocal linchpins of the band are Guillaume and Enora, and it's especially the latter that turns out to have one hell of a voice and on top of that also plays a mean flute.
In the end Hempress Sativa won't be performing at Unity, but the concert date in VK was moved to Labour Day!
Yours truly got to know Ryon, a band from the South West of France, two years ago when they released their acclaimed album debut 'Rêver'. On that album we were mostly struck by two things: firstly, the fact we were finally dealing with a French band putting the language of Molière first again, and second, that even though musically the songs on 'Rêver' were beyond reproach, the content of the tracks clearly outweighed the music. For successor 'Zéphyr', the band fortunately left this recipe unaltered.
With this 'Each One Teach One - Deluxe Edition', split into a remixed and remastered version of 'Each One Teach One', the band's 2001 second album, and the brand new dub version 'Each One Dub One', Groundation finally resurfaces.
Alphanso Henclewood is a Jamaican producer from Greenwich Farm who's been running his Montego Records label since the nineteen seventies and learned the tricks of the trade in studios like Tuff Gong, Channel One and Dynamics.
City Kay, the London based band around vocalist Jay Pharaoh, already gave us a preview of this new album in November of last year with the release of the 'Mad Men' EP. The 4 tracks from that EP ('Mad Men', 'Man Cultivation Struggle', 'Run For Your Soul' and the duet with Johnny Osbourne 'Throw Away Your Guns'), also feature in the track list of 'Strange Things'. We already determined the four songs on the EP sounded a lot more eclectic than the tracks on predecessor 'Daystar', and the band seems to have baptized that sound, a mix of ambient, electro, pop, hip-hop and new roots, as "abstract roots".
Eighties icon King Kong never really went away - in 2005 there was the hugely successful 'Rumble Jungle Life', recorded for Massive B, in 2012 followed by the King Shiloh produced 'Ethiopian Dream', and finally 'In The Old Capital', a 5 track EP released just last year - but as far as this excellent release by French label Irie Ites Records is concerned, we'd really go as far as to call it a comeback album.
This second part in the 'Reggae Anthology' diptych around producer Bobby 'Digital' Dixon picks up where the first box left off.
Especially for International Women's Day, British producer Steve Vibronics presents 'Woman On A Mission', a compilation for which he exclusively invited female vocalists.
We would have preferred to have been able to present you our view on this sixth volume in the annual 'Songs For Reggae Lovers' series running up to Valentine's day, but unfortunately we could only get our hands on the double compilation album now. However, true love has no expiration date, so this collection should still serve its purpose. Unlike the previous edition, the first disc doesn't feature new releases and the second a series of classics, but what binds the tracks on 'Songs For Reggae Lovers 6', is the fact this time all tracks selected are duets, each time with a male and female vocalist (as the cover image kind of illustrates).
Just over a year ago London based acoustic jazz-dub project Aketi Ray already gave us a taste of what was to follow with their 'Mirror/Reflect & Rise' EP, a joint effort with Alpha & Omega. No trace of 'Reflect & Rise' on 'From Ever Since', but 'Mirror' is well and truly featured in the track list, and what becomes clear from opener 'Ephemeral', is the fact 'From Ever Since' definitely sounds jazzier than the aforementioned EP.
Dub Store Records has earned itself a reputation for their high quality reissues of rare gems from ska, rocksteady, reggae and dub history. 'Concrete Jungle Dub', originally released on Dennis Harris' London based Concrete Dub label in 1976, is still considered to be one of the rarest (reportedly only a mere 300 copies were put into circulation) LP's in that last category!
For their 'Reggae Anthology' around producer Bobby 'Digital' Dixon, 17 North Parade/VP Records really took out all the stops, resulting in not one but two boxes, each containing 40 (!) productions from Digital's archives.
After spending more than a decade in the shadow of her brother, Chilean reggae artist Quique Neira, as a backing vocalist, Italia 'Talulah' Neira now ventures into the spotlight herself with 'Mujer' ("woman").
Berlin's ROHS! Records is an initiative of Andrea Porcu, a Sardinian producer who, after a stay in Belgium ended up in the German capital.
Andy Garcia aka AD-Roots is a new talent in the Spanish reggae scene, until now mainly making a name for himself MC-ing in the Spanish sound system for sounds like Raggatack (Girona) and Suruma Sound System (Barcelona).
Alam is a band around vocalist Marie Biguereau from the Gironde region in Southwest France. In Indonesian band name Alam translates as "nature", in Arabic as "the world", and in the Tagalog-dialect of the Philippines as "to know".
Sangue Bi defines himself as a ragga dancehall artist. He's partly right. However, even if his new album 'Adouna' meets all the criteria of the genre, Sangue Bi, stands out because of his originality: a phrasing that belongs to him, and him alone; creating his own corner between African reggae and ragga/dancehall music.
South African artist Crosby spent a week in the French city of Lille for a musical venture with hip-hop crew Scratchattic: reggae meets hip-hop. That's how I got to know Crosby and quickly realized he had great potential and a recently released album of good quality. I really had to speak to him and share this interview with you.
Pablo Raster is an Italian dub maker from Spoleto, a town located between Perugia and Rome, who's been in the game for nearly two decades now.
Yet another Californian reggae band? Indeed, Common Kings are a quartet hailing from Orange County but with shared roots in the South Pacific.
For 'None A Jah Jah Children' Greensleeves Records bundled 'Rastafari' and 'Kibir-Am-Lak', two iconic albums Ras Michael & The Sons Of Negus recorded in 1975 and 1977 for producer Tommy Cowan.
Jah Schulz (real name Michael Fiedler), a musician and producer from Stuttgart, might well be the new German dub revelation.
JoJo Gladstone is the alter ego of Jouke Yspeerd, a Dutch producer and vocalist who borrowed his stage name from his great idol Gladstone 'Gladdy' Anderson (best known as keyboardist with Roots Radics at the time when they were mainly working for Channel One).
Yours truly got to know Païaka, a French band from Clermont, back in 2015 thanks to their debut album 'Alive Anyway'. For this sequel, they joined forces with French-English singer-songwriter and producer Flox (Florian Gratton), and that collaboration definitely resulted in a slightly different sound than the one we heard on debut 'Alive Anyway' (when we still compared the band to Groundation).
Even though we do utmost to keep up with relevant releases out there, occasionally there still the odd one that manages to slip through the net. As was the case, for example, with 'This Applies', Cian Finn's 2015 long player debut.
Hempress Sativa now also presents an impressive dub version of her long player debut 'Unconquerebel' for which the singer joined forces with dub veteran Hopeton 'Scientist' Overton Brown.
For the successor to 2015's widely acclaimed 'Original Dread', Micah Shemaiah opted to join forces with Swiss label Evidence Music.
Of course many of you will know Irie Lion as the name of the Dutch reggae-calendar, a website that was launched many years ago as a one-man project by the too early departed Maddoc, but apparently it's also the name of an eight piece band from Vilvoorde that was formed about seven years ago.
For her third long player Hollie Cook no longer collaborated with Prince Fatty, but decided to join forces with producer Martin Glover, better known as Youth, the former bassist of British post-punk band Killing Joke, and she also signed with renowned American indie label Merge Records.
There's a French proverb that reads: "Il faut reculer pour mieux sauter!", which translates as: "Sometimes you need to take a step back to return even stronger!". And that's exactly what Stefaan Colman, better known as Collieman, has done.
One of the many Alpharians featured in 'Alpha Boys' School: Cradle Of Jamaican Music', the new book by Adam Reeves and Heather Augustyn on the history and legacy of the now legendary Jamaican institution, is Owen Gray. With a carreer spanning more than five decades, the man is a living history book of Jamaican music history.
Kosmo Sound, a seven piece band from Ghent, describes itself as a "dub inspired project".
Yours truly got to know French dub master Romain Weeding aka Weeding Dub back in 2015 thanks to 'Still Looking For'. Counting no less than 20 tracks, divided into 11 vocal cuts and 9 dubs, successor 'Another Night Another Day' is released as a double album.
It's almost a musical given: if you stay in the reggae business long enough, sooner or later you'll inevitably bump into riddim twins Sly & Robbie.
Last year Dutch reggae revelation The Dubbeez already presented a first self-produced 5 track EP, but for their long player debut 'Peace, Love & Dub' they signed with V2 and Tuff Gong and took to the Anchor and Tuff Gong Studios in Jamaica.
For 'One Love Vibration' French-Cape Verdean Mo'Kalamity this once left her regular backing band The Wizards behind and travelled to Jamaica to collaborate with the legendary riddim twins Sly & Robbie.
Henricci is a San Francisco based Nigerian singer. Even though he also makes a living as an artist painter, music has always remained his true passion.
Young Berliner Jon Moon (born Jon Nymoen) was born, as it were, for a musical career. Already at the tender age of five, Jon learned to play the piano, but a few years later switched to the drums. Meanwhile, Moon earned a degree in music production, and thanks to a long stay in South Africa developed a passion for reggae and Rastafari.
Payoh SoulRebel is a young Madrid based singer who started his musical career as a member of the Jazzin' Reggae Band, but now makes his solo debut with 'What A Vibe'.
In 2015 French dub duo Mahom already joined forces with Flower Coast Records a first time for 'Skankin' Session #1', a 4 track release targeting the sound system scene and now there's sequel 'Skankin' Session #2'.
As we did in 2017 we open the reggae year with a re-release on the Pressure Sounds label, and, just like last year, they opted for a Lloyd Parks production.
Last year there was 'No Beginning No End', a collaboration with Irish-Surinamese MC Ras Tinny, now followed by 'One By One'.
Dub-O-Phonic ends the year with a new initiative, as the Cypriot netlabel is planning to revive the catalogue of Springline Records, an English reggae and dub label that was active between 2003 and 2012.
With albums by Exile Di Brave and Leah Rosier, and riddim production 'World Of Righteousness Riddim' ('Don't Judge' is a dubby instrumental of Robina Souilljee's eponymous version over that riddim), 2017 has been a prolific year for Black Star Foundation, and multi-instrumentalist, sound engineer and producer Eelco Kastermans aka Asher-E had a major hand in all of those projects.
Eden Fight (real name Bruno Gripacus) is a former member of Guadeloupian Karukera Sound System, but has been living in Paris for quite some time now, working on a solo career.
In 2018 Alboroseie long player debut 'Soul Pirate' will be exactly 10 years old, and to mark the occasion the Italo-Jamaican now selected a number of the biggest hits from that album ('Herbalist', 'Kingston Town', 'Police'...) and rerecorded them acoustically for 'Soul Pirate Acoustic' (an album that might just as well have been called 'Alborosie Unplugged', but that name has undoubtedly already been trademarked).
For this 'New Narrative' EP, Randy Valentine joined forces with producer-duo's Javier 'King I-Vier' Cierra and Adolfo 'Jah Yzer' Communal from San Francisco based Royal Order Music, and Dan Grossman and Michael Gore from Loud City Music in Seattle.
As an appetizer for their upcoming 'Strange Things' album, planned for release in March of next year, six-piece London formation City Kay presents this 4 track 'Mad Men' EP.
It had been a while since Kris Kemist treated us to a new long player, but finally there's now 'Up Deh' by Speng Bond, a Brummie MC, active with sounds like Jungleman, Quaker City, Turbotronic, King Earthquake and Now Generation, ever since the nineteen seventies.
VP Records traditionally ends the music year with the release of their Strictly The Best compilation and this year is no different.
For 'Narrative' Jamaican Canadian Wayneford Omara Levy aka Exco Levi joined forces with German producer duo Silly Walks Discotheque.
'The World Is In Trouble' is the fruit of a collaboration between Manchester-based producer and multi-instrumentalist Al Breadwinner and Sierra Leonean Dutchman Mohamed Lamin Kamara aka M.L.K. (also front man of Amsterdam based band Flavour Coalition).
The release of this more than aptly titled 'Journey Of Life' by Jamaican based Frenchman Charles Blanvillain aka Charly B, was preceded by a true annus horribilis for the singer.
For many years now, Saint Eustachian Strawl (Curtis Arnaud) has been a stalwart of the Dutch reggae scene, and for 'A Luta Continua' (loosely translated: "the fight continues", the battle cry of Samora Machel, leader of FRELIMO, or Frente de Libertação the Moçambique, during the Mozambican war for independence) he joined forces with Pacha Mama, a sound system crew from Den Bosch, with this album also celebrating the first release on their Pacha Mama Music label.
Vocal trio The Melodians, known from rocksteady hits like 'Sweet Sensation', 'Rivers Of Babylon', 'Expo 67' or 'You Don't Need Me', hopefully won't need an introduction?
In 2012 producer Marek Bogdanski aka Dreadsquad, who can be considered the Polish equivalent of Dubmatix, presented the first volume in his 'The Riddim Machine' series.
With 'The Black Star Tracks', her third long player to date, Amsterdam based singer Leah Rosier realized one of her dreams, as part of the songs were recorded in Jamaica, where she collaborated with Firehouse Crew.
About a month ago Chapter Two Records released Ken Boothe's excellent 'Inna De Yard' album; an ideal opportunity to exchange thoughts with this living Jamaican music legend.
On December 8th vzw Big Youths is bringing none other than 'The Poor People Defender' aka 'The Living Fire' aka Chuck Fenda to Ostend for another edition of Kingston Reggae Club @ Club Nice.It will undoubtedly turn into a hell of a party and to put you guys in the spirit already, here's a short interview we did with Chuck a while back...
Earlier this year, Krak In Dub already presented a taster of 'Amazonite' with the release of an eponymous 4 track EP. For the album version, Federico Trujillo aka Krak in Dub's long player debut, a further 11 tracks, an interlude ('Seen Interlude '), and a jungle/dub version of opener 'Some People' were added.
Dub Pistols, the London based band around charismatic front man and former DJ Barry Ashworth, this year celebrates its twentieth anniversary, or as they like to put it themselves: "Twenty years of unhinged lunacy!", and to celebrate that milestone they're now also presenting this new long player.
The Tuff Lions are a young eight-piece band from the Toulouse region in France, citing, among others, The Gladiators and Israel Vibration, but also Rootz Underground and Chronixx as their main sources of inspiration.
Pablo Anthony, it could have been the name of a Jamaican reggae veteran, but turns out to be the alter ego of Pablo Antonio, a young lion of French-Chilean descent hailing from the outskirts of Paris.
Ousco Cisse, originating from Diabaly in northern Mali, started his musical career back in 1996 when, together with three friends, he formed SMOD (an acronym of the first letters of the band members' first names: Sam, Mouzy, Donsky and Ousco).
For this 'Sing With God' EP, Sean-Michael Francis, better known as Royal Blu, a singer from Saint Catherine in Jamaica, joined forces with German producer and videographer Foresta.
This 'Good Vibes' is, in fact, nothing more than a reissue of the 1997 Blood and Fire compilation of the same name.
Yours truly, got to know Promise No Promises back in 2013 thanks to 'Surely', a version over the Puff Puff riddim, a production by New Sound Records and Belgian producer Marc Leys (MacLes Music Factory Productions), and now comes the Antigua based Guyanese (real name Kobla Mentor) finally also presents his first solo effort!
Following 'Merritone Rock Steady 1 & 2', Dub Store Records now presents this third part in the series (and a fourth album has also already scheduled).
If you're not averse to a bit of instrumental ska and rocksteady, why not give Victor Rice's 'Smoke' a try?
With 'Redman International Dancehall 1985-1989', Dub Store Records presents an excellent compilation of digital hits from the catalogue of producer Hugh 'Redman' James.
For this successor to 2014's 'Red', an album that we described as being: "...a very solid album and among the best reggae albums we've heard this year.", Ryan Gonzales aka Gonzo joined forces with Hawaiian band Inna Vision.
Trinidadian reggae artist Mosiah (born Akeil Martin) first received international attention with 'Reggae Sweet', released earlier this year and a tribute to reggae greats like Gregory Isaacs, Peter Tosh, Bob Marley and Dennis Brown, but also to the power of the genre itself.
For 'Faithful', Edem Agbottah aka Kwamevi, an American of Ghanaian descent from Dallas, joined forces with Roots Musician Records producer E.N. Young.
Ruff Selectors is a project around American-Nigerian Michael Oyo aka Teacher Mike, who for 'Roots In My Soul' collaborated with Ivorian singer and producer Jungle King.
For the first time in nearly a decade, Nigerien singer Salim Jah Peter, who can rightfully call himself one of Africa's reggae veterans, presents a new album with 'Nature'.
If you like your dub dark and cold like the Scandinavian winters, then definitely check out these two EP's by Danish producer 2000F (2000F is the post code of Frederiksberg, a suburb of Copenhagen, and the birthplace of Frederick Börket-Smith).
Sunny After Moon is an up-and-coming band from Louvain mixing reggae, ska, gypsy music (see 'Balkan Booby'), funk and even a hint of disco ('Discorientation') into a festive and danceable blend.
The title of this new Train To Roots long player says it all, as 'Declaration N.6' is the sixth album by the Sardinian reggae band.
Highly French Dub is a young four piece band from the French capital. David, Louis and Maxime have known each other since their school days and always shared a passion for dub. Shining example for the band is High Tone from Lyon.
We kind of lost track of this Serbian band after their Makasound days, but if you love a solid piece of reggae with some serious content, FC Apatride Utd's 'Roots History Book' will definitely be up your alley.
Keishera James was born in Kingston, but grew up in Brooklyn, New York. James began her professional career as a model, but once the music virus hits you it's hard to shed and a number of serendipitous encounters with Atlantic Records mogul Ahmet Ertegun, singer Pati Labelle, and writer Maya Angelou, convinced Keishera to embrace her real passion. Earlier this year she already presented the 6 track 'Body Language' EP, now followed by this full-fledged 'It's Me Keishera' album.
Rubi Dubman is the alter ego of Ruben Silva, a Portuguese reggae artist from Figueira da Foz, with this 'Balance And Respect' EP presenting his debut effort.
We're fast approaching the end of the year, the moment for Star Wars fanatics to start looking forward to another instalment of the space epic. In the meantime amateurs of reggae and dub can already enjoy 'I'm Your Fader', an EP with a solid nod to the franchise.
R.B.H. Crew (the initials stand for Reggae Beat Hungry) is a six-piece French band from Agen near Toulouse, with 'Origines' presenting a first debut-EP.
Music succeeds where politics failed (in the period 1972-1980 Jamaican Prime Minister Michael Manley and Cuban President Fidel Castro maintained very close relationships), that's how one could summarize 'Mista Savona presents Havana meets Kingston'.
Just like New Kingston from New York, London based band Royal Sounds is also a family project consisting of brothers Ajani Mckenzie (bass/keys) and Gyasi Crosdale (guitar) and their cousin Hannibal (vocals), supplemented with Ras Sempah (vocals).
Eight-piece band Soldiers Of Jah Army celebrates its twentieth anniversary this year and marks the occasion with a new long player.
In the new line-up of Inna De Yard, the piano sound of veteran player Robbie Lyn definitely stands out. Awaiting what will undoubtedly be another great concert at the Théâtre National in Brussels on October 28th, please already enjoy this conversation we had with Robbie.
Who thought the Inna The Yard revival would be limited to the earlier this year released 'Inna The Yard: The Soul Of Jamaica', was wrong, as with this long player by veteran Ken Boothe, Chapter Two Records now also presents a first new solo project in the series.
With 'Health Is Wealth', British-Jamaican reggae veteran Macka B finally presents the ideal soundtrack to the various 'Medical Mondays' and 'Wha Me Eat Wednesdays' clips he's been posting on his Facebook-page on a weekly basis for quite some time now. If we add the singer recently launched his own 'Wha Me Eat Superfood Range' and the picture is complete.
SistaSara is the alter ego of Italian-Nigerian producer and vocalist Sara Fuga. Sara was born in Venice, in 2003 moved to London, but these days lives and works in Oakland, California.
Seven years German Peace Development Crew needed to come up with a successor to 2010's 'Inner Journey'.
The Simpkin Project is a band from Hunting Beach, California around keyboardist/producer Shawn Taylor and guitarist/vocalist Phil Simpkin. The band already released two self-produced albums, but 'Beam Of Light' now appears on Dub Rockers, a sublabel of VP Records.
The trio that is Emeterians must have enjoyed their adventure with the Peckings brothers, because for 'The Magic Touch' they decided to extend their stay in the British capital.
At Reggae.be, we try to keep up with current releases as much as possible, but with quantity and frequency having increased exponentially, that means once every so often one slips through the net.
This collection of essential dubs from the Studio One vaults had been out of print for more than a decade now.
Even though he's well in his eighties now, Lee 'Scratch' Perry, the enfant terrible of reggae and dub, isn't about to call it quits, so it should come as no surprise that his alter ego Super Ape, the reggae-answer to King Kong, is once more at the center of attention.
With 'In The Midst Of The Storm', Mad Professor didn't just produce a dub version of Jah9's '9' album, it's also the first collaboration between the Ariwa-chief and the Jamaican singer.
After a mixtape ('In Comes The Small Axe', 2013), a collaborative project with Walshy Fire ('Royally Speaking', 2014) and a whole bunch of singles, Jesse Royal's fans finally get what they'd been craving for: a full-fledged album!
Jay Spaker aka Double Tiger is best known as one half of Tour De Force, founder of the Dub Stuy Records label and his work with John Brown's Body, but with 'Sharp & Ready' he now also presents his first solo effort.
Five years after their cover-album 'Old Time Something Come Back Again Vol. 1', The Expanders now present a sequel.
After her successful 2015 debut 'Musical Garden', LMK returns with 'Highlights'. If that title may suggest a 'Best Of' compilation, in fact with this album the French singer is looking back on some of the great moments she already experienced in her career, among which her collaboration with Lyon based Digital Cut band, also responsible for the production of this album.
British band The Hempolics have kept their fans longing after a long player for quite some time, but now they're finally presenting 'Kiss, Cuddle & Torture: Volume 1', the first part of what will eventually will become a set of three albums.
With 'Kiss, Cuddle & Torture: Volume 1', London based band The Hempolics is finally presenting its long awaited long player debut, and we're only to happy to let them introduce themselves in more detail!
For 'Waterhouse Dub', King Jammy took to the studio again in the company of his sons, Jam Two, John John and Baby G.
With 'Positive Revolution' Andel Henry aka King Lorenzo lifts the concept of the dubplate to another level.
After 2015's 'Kingston City', giving the band international momentum, family unit (brothers Stephen, Courtney Jr. and Tahir Panton and father Courtney Sr.) New Kingston return with 'A Kingston Story: Come From Far'.
With 2015's 'The Big Smoke', Gentleman's Dub Club paid tribute to the English capital, but for the aptly titled 'Dubtopia', the nine-piece band from Leeds created a made-up paradise of their own.
Following 2015's 'Black Star presents Vivian Jones', Dutch Black Star Foundation now joined forces with Exile Di Brave for 'Exile Di Brave meets Black Star'.
This time Belgian reggae pride Pura Vida for once didn't opt to collaborate with a wellknown Jamaican veteran, but instead joined forces with budding Jamaican talent Bleue (real name Chantelle Smith). It resulted in 'Into The Blue', another gem of an album. Those among you who'd still like to catch Pura Vida live on stage with Bleue, can head to Bredene this Sunday September 17th for Manifiesta, the yearly solidarity festival of the PVDA. As an appetizer here's an introductory interview with the singer.
For 'Into The Blue' the pride of Belgian reggae, Pura Vida, this time didn't join forces with an illustrious reggae veteran, but instead opted for a collaboration with young Jamaican talent Bleue (real name Chantelle Smith). It's a decision we'd like to laud them for, because unlike the albums with Lee 'Scratch' Perry or Congo Ashanti Roy, almost inevitably compared to other and older work, 'Into The Blue' guarantees a fresh listening experience.
Just as was the case predecessor 'Sound The System', with 'Freedom In Dub' Alborosie now also presents a dub version of his latest album 'Freedom & Fyah'.
In their series of reissues for the occasion of the label's 40th anniversary, this time Greensleeves presents the Hugh Mundell classic 'Africa Must Be Free By 1983'.
For the past two years, Reggae Sunjam Festival has been Cyprus' biggest reggae event.
We might only be discovering him now, but for Berlin-born Mark Schlumberger aka Mellow Mark, 'Nomade' is already his eighth long player to date.
Beat maker, producer, song writer, director and graphic designer Michael DaCosta certainly earned his stage name Massy The Creator. That being said, in his early days, when he was still working for Serani's Daseca label, he was still known as Massyka.
Michael DaCosta aka Massy The Creator is a veritable Jack of all trades... In the past he already produced tracks for artists like Chronixx, Elephant Man, T.O.K. and Kabaka Pyramid, and directed video clips for, among others, Busy Signal, Sean Paul and Queen Ifrica. With 'Future Roots', Massy's take on the evolution of reggae, he finally also presented his own long player debut. When we learned Last Warning Sound invited Massy to Belgium, we grabbed our chance to meet the man in person!
It had been quite some time, but this summer Queen Omega finally returned to Reggae Geel. And the trinidadian singer doesn't seem to get enough of our little country, as of August 31st she'll be celebrating her earthstrong in Brussels, headlining the first edition of The Yard, a new dub initiative by Dubforce Brussels!
Spanish duo Iseo & Dodosound (in true life Madrid based Pamploneans Leire Villanueva and Alberto Iriarte) joined forces in 2014, when the former soul singer got mesmerized by Dodosound's digital reggae-riddims.
The release of Samory I's 'Black Gold' also made us discover 'Songs From Zion' by Kristine Alicia, a Jamaican singer based in Miami since the age of thirteen. Kristine first made a name for herself in the gospel circuit ('My Story' still has a bit of a gospel feel), but with this Rory Stone Love production now presents an excellent new roots album.
Chronixx' debut album 'Chronology' was one of the most anticipated releases for this summer, so we took the opportunity to talk to the master to get his personal view on the album.
For 'Luv-A-Dub Style' Jamaican crooner Richie Stephens stuck with what he does best: delivering a solid lovers rock album!
After their acclaimed debut, 'Presenting Kingston All Stars', earlier this year, Kingston All Stars now presents 'Dubwize'.
Every year for VP Records mid-summer also means the release of its 'Reggae Gold' compilation.
Ivan Antezza's melodica first popped up on EP's like Dadub's 'Impressions' from 2009 and Jambassa's 'Owls' from 2014. In 2015 Dubious released a first self-produced single ('Escape/Away'), followed the next year by an eponymous 5 track EP.
In all honesty we have to admit we'd lost sight Ziggi Recado's career somewhat, but since last year's 'Ivan The Terrible' release, the Dutch-Antillean singjay seems to have evolved more and more towards a dancehall sound; a trend he also continues on this 'The Commission' EP (featuring a sleeve that could be a still from a film noir).
With 'It's Detonation Time With...', Leiden based band The downbeat Detonators present their first full-fledged EP.
Excluding his collaboration with Nas and Skrillex, it had already been since the release of his 2005 instant-classic 'Welcome To Jamrock' since Damian Marley treated his fans to a new solo album. Expectations for 'Stony Hill' were high, but Jr. Gong Jr. never really disappoints.
After a number of singles, Kelissa McDonald (sister of Keznamdi) now also finally presents a full-fledged EP.
With 'Spellbound', Kelissa, whom you've undoubtely have crossed paths with as she often opens for Chronixx, is now finally also presenting a full-fledged EP. High time to get to know the young singer from Saint Andrew a bit better...
Indubious is a Portland, Oregon based band around brothers Evan 'Evton B' and Spencer 'Skipwicked' Burton, both born with the genetic disorder cystic fibrosis.
For '3rd Kingdom', the second long player on his Steppas Records label, Alpha Steppa didn't choose July 7th as a release date at random, as this year the label celebrates its seventh anniversary.
With title 'Live My Life Again', Greg Rose, among reggae lovers better known as Perfect Giddimani, already indicates he wants his life back, and with this release back is putting his musical career on indefinite hold!
For this 'Book Of Daniel' EP, Italian producer Orlando La Montagna aka O.L.M. drew on the Old Testament 'Book of Daniel' for inspiration. La Montagna reworked the same riddim 6 times, ending up with an entirely different trach each time (5 instrumentals/dubs and one vocal cut).
Artists are rarely invited to play Reggae Geel two years in a row, so the fact Runkus & The Old Skl Bond have pulled it off is already a feat in itself. High time for a proper introduction!
Protoje clearly has a soft spot for Belgium... In april he still conquered Vooruit in Ghent by storm, at the beginning of July he was responsable for an unforgettable evening at OLT Rivierenhof and on August 4th he's back already for a performance on the Futuro stage of the Esperanzah! festival in Floreffe!
For his long player debut Samory I (real name Samory Tour Fraser), hailing from Kencot in Kingston, joined forces with Rory 'Stone Love' Gilligan, and where yours truly is concerned he couldn't have made a better choice!
On July 7th of 2017, 'Two Sevens Clash', Culture's masterpiece, described by Rolling Stone Magazine as: "One of the 50 coolest records ever made...", celebrated its 40th anniversary; more than reason enough for 17 North Parade/VP Records to present special reissue.
'Two Sevens Clash' isn't the only roots classic celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, the same goes for Lee Perry's masterpiece 'Heart Of The Congos'.
For their first release Sekkle & Cease, a Detroit based label, opted for a charity album, as the entire proceeds from 'Alpha Boys Vol. 1' will go to the eponymous school in Kingston.
'Chronology', Chronixx' long player debut which can best be described as "the most anticipated reggae release of 2017", is finally here! But is Jamar McNaughton able to live up to expectations? Where yours truly is concerned, the answer is a resounding: "Of course!".
In just under two weeks a brand new Belgian reggae festival called Bomboclat will see the light in Zeebrugge. On the guestlist, among others, Randy Valentine!
The Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts has slowly grown into a talent factory for upcoming Jamaican bands, and after No-Maddz, Pentateuch and Raging Fyah, there's now EarthKry who are presenting their long player debut 'Survival'.
If you're a fan of obscure releases, you should definitely check out 'Unreleased Early Recordings: Shuffle & Boogie 1960', a collection of early recordings by Jamaican trombonist Rico Rodriguez, recorded at Ken Khouri's Federal Recording Studio in Jamaica.
For the financing of this eighth long player, Californian band Burnt mounted a successful Kickstarter campaign resulting in a double album with a track list of no less than 20 (!) new songs.
Like the rest of the world, yours truly was first introduced to Andrew Chin aka Brushy One String (son of Freddy McKay) thanks to 'Rise Up', Luciano Blotta's 2007 documentary.
With 'King Tubbys presents Sound Clash Dub Plate Style 1 & 2', Dub Store Records presents a reissue of an iconic sound clash album from 1988 and its dub counterpart, mixed by the grand master himself: King Tubby!
After 'Rasta State', his experiment with the digital riddims of King Jammy, Mykal/Michael Rose joined forces with Danish producer duo Adi 'Jahdil' Nadri en Søeren 'Pharfar' Schou of Ice Drop Records for 'Strategy Of Rome'.
Prezident Brown already announced this new album with the release of his 'The Journeyman' EP back in 2015, and 'Journeyman Pilgrimage', for which Fitz Cotterell surrounded himself prroduction-wise with old stalwarts like Barry O'Hare (the former CEO of X-rated and these days W.A.M. Production), Devon Bradshaw and Ian Coleman (Axx Of Jahpostles), opens with 'Bullhead Mountain (Country Mi Come From)' that was also featured on the aforementioned EP.
In the spirit of equality - the four members of The High Exchange Reeds constantly swap places behind the microphone - and to indicate this project is not about a singer with a backing band, but a tight-knit group of musicians, for this 6 track 'Brother Jones' EP, Christophe Rigaud & The High Reeds was simply abbreviated to The High Reeds.
After the break-up of the Neerpelt-based ska band Sun To Sheeva in 2012, a number of musicians from the band, supplemented by members of Dr. Blue Beat and Gerasene Pigs, decided to make a new start as Dirty Undies.
Little more than a year after the release of his 'Good Day' EP, Brummie producer Sticky Joe returns with 'Kingston Connection', another EP.
Negritage is a project around Argentine producer, graphic designer and multi-instrumentalist William 'Willy' Baterola. Together with Nach Gumo (bass/guitar), Pato Ñato (percussion), Fer Chio (bass), Yuuri Bambo (melodica) and Fede Eter Dub (flute/pan flute) he already presented a first long player in 2013.
'Same Situation' is the album debut of Lion Heights, a four-piece band that was founded in Chicago back in 2013, but since have moved on to Austin, Texas.
About a decade ago we still put forward Elijah Prophet's 'King Of Kings' album as a serious contender for "new roots album of the year!", but after the release of the PowPow production things around the singer from Westmoreland quieted down again.
It was just announced veteran deejay Trinity was added to the line-up of Saturday's Smile! Summer Party at TRIX, where he'll be doing his thing longside King Shiloh. In an effort to get you guys in the right mood already, we offering the interview underneath!
'Fought For Dis' may be presented as a "new" Sizzla album, a collaborative project that Kalonji and AL.TA.FA.AN. Records producer Anthony Senior reportedly had been collaborating on for about a decade, the fact remains it features quite a few older productions.
With 'Give Thanks', the third volume in their Iroko showcase series, the French label also finally provided Vin Morgan with a debut album.
Mark Wonder already announced 'Dragon Slayer' a while back, but it's taken until now for the Irie Ites-production to actually see the light of day.
Seven years after his "comeback album" 'The Rebirth', Pablo Moses returns with 'The Itinuation', for which he joined forces with Groundation front man Harrison Stafford (who also features in title track 'The Itinuation').
The name Mark Batson might not ring a bell with most reggae lovers yet, but this young Guianese from the coastal village of Buxton already has quite a career behind him.
Franco-Portuguese singer Rod Anton returns with 'Ubatuba', named after a village on Brazil's south-eastern coast, where he claims to have lost his heart.
With the release of 'The Master Plan', the second album by Swiss duo The I-Twins, Fruits Records strays from the beaten track, as until now the label only seemed to focus on releases by Jamaican veterans like I-Kong or The Inspirators (Leroy 'Horsemouth' Wallace, Earl 'Chinna' Smith, Lloyd Parks and Anthony 'Sangie' Davis). As the band name suggests, the duo behind The I-Twins are twin siblings Quentin and Camille Chappuis, both reggae fanatics since the age of thirteen.
Little more than a year after the release of her debut EP 'Deliverance', Marla Brown returns with this six track successor.
Saint Ann born Droop Lion first made a name for himself as a vocalist with The Gladiators (or what's left of them) with whom he already record 'Back On Tracks' in 2014. That album was produced by Gladiators-manager Cabel Stephenson who also signed for 'Ideologies', Lion's first real solo album.
Seven years ago Scottish-Indian Soom T made her long player debut with the Jahtari produced 'Ode 2 A Carrot', a musical ode to herb, and with 'Ode To A Karrot', the singer now presents a sort of of sequel in the form of an album full of remixes and new vocals.
With the cover of his new album 'Nouvelle Donne' ("new cycle"), on which a Rasta boy hands over his headphone to a member of the French riot squad, Yaniss Odua clearly wanted to make a statement.
'In The Old Capital' is the first of what should become a series of EP's on the Old Capital Records label of French producer Judi.K.
The latest Pressure Sounds release takes us back to May 1982, when a British Channel 4 film descended in the studio of King Tubby in Kingston to make some recordings for the documentary series Deep Roots Music '.
The fact Greensleeves is this celebrating its 40th anniversary should be common knowledge by now, but with this 40 track special edition of their Total Reggae series, the label wants to highlight their jubilee year even more.
I Sens is a young talent from Normandy, who in the past still collaborated with his close friend Shifty (Sativa Sound), in 2015 resulting in the 'From The Light' mixtape (still downloadable for free on I Sens' website). The singjay currently resides in Landes in the southwest of France, where he joined forces with local band The Diplomatik's.
A while ago, New Caledonian label Mangrove already offered us the 'Knky Reggae' compilation and a new album by local band Kass Pa, and now they're present new work by Onetox and Stan And The Earth Force, bands from the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.
For this new long player David Andrew Ferri aka Lion D travelled to California where he initially toured with Jah Sun, Raphael and Dubtonic Kru, but also had the opportunity to work with Sugar Cane Records.
Letoyo began his musical career in Réunion, where he already released a first album and EP ('Ecoute' and 'Kér Métissé'). However, for 'Simple Ticket', however, Letoyo travelled to another island altogether, Jamaica, where he got the chance to record with Roots Radics (Lincoln 'Style' Scott, Errol 'Flabba' Holt and Obeah Denton) and none other than Earl 'Chinna' Smith on guitar!
After the release of the acclaimed 'Italian Reggae Familia' in 2013, Tuscan reggae band Quartiere Coffee experienced some serious setbacks. In the middle of the promotional tour for the album, there was the sudden demise of guitarist Gianluca 'Real Giallu' Acquilino, and not much later vocalist KG Man quit the band.
To most of you Devi Reed will still be unknown, but if we add the singer is also the front man of French band The Banyans, for some people this may ring a bell.
Very occasionally the musical knowledge of yours truly still falls short, as it turns out 'Urban Mystic' is already Berlin based MC Longfingah's second long player ( his debut effort 'Cityopian Spirit' was already released in 2011). But we hadn't yet heard much more than a few collaborations with Zion Train, Dubmatix and iLLBiLLY HiTEC.
'Super Ska' is the title of a 1983 album by Jamaican veteran Owen Gray. No idea if it was also the inspiration for the eponymous band from Ciney, who with this double album are releasing their second long player.
Dr. Dubenstein, sort of an alien version of Mary Shelly's Dr. Frankenstein, is the alter ego of Derrick Parker, a producer from Washington D.C. who in the past still worked for Dr. Dread's RAS Records.
On Saturday May 20th the Mellow Mood twins will be one of the headliners of the upcoming Kokopelli festival. To get you in the mood, here's already an interview we did with the band a short while ago.
Akae Beka is Midnite without Ron Benjamin, bass player and brother of singer Vaughn. We already heard that on the first albums of the band, and we saw it live now. In De Melkweg (Amsterdam) Akae Bekae alternated new own tunes with classics of Midnite.
To get straight to the point, we weren't exactly blown away by 'Between The Lines', the fifth album by Humboldt, California-born Jah Sun.
Lord Echo, the name may sound like that of a forgotten calypsonian, but in fact it's the alter-ego of New Zealand producer, multi-instrumentalist and DJ Mike Fabulous (also guitarist and producer with The Black Seeds).
For Salome Fur, a Munich based band, a number of (former) members of groups like Steamy Dumplings, Jamaram and Benuts joined forces. The result is a sound somewhere between ska, rocksteady, blues rock ('Roses') and funk rock, at times reminding us of Belgian band Moon Invaders.
This new release on the Dub-O-Phonic net label may only count four tracks, but there's quite a concept behind the 'Quipu Remix EP'.
From 1987 to 2003, Johan Steevens (guitar and vocals), Iwan de Lang (bass), Marco van Krieken (drummer) and Michel Steevens (keys) built a reputation for themselves in The Netherlands as Beatbusters. That band still exists, but now performs with a completely different line-up. However at the original members began to tickle the music microbe, resulting in the formation of BB'87.
Simultaneously with the release of his 2015 'Général Indigo' album, Pierpoljak also presented his own Garvey Drive label. Until now only the French singer's own albums were released on Garvey Drive, this 4 track 'Williams Brutus' EP, now being the first exception.
After winning the Grammy for Best Reggae Album with 'Strictly Roots', with 'Avrakedabra' Morgan Heritage seam to continue even further down the eclectic (read: commercial) path.
Six years after the release of his previous album, 'Umanity', the Brussels based dancehall-punk (as he describes himself in 'Pas De Justice Pas De Paix') returns with 'Umanist'.
Yours truly got to know Federico Trujillo aka Krak In Dub last year thanks to 'Upgrades', his collaborative effort with Troy Berkley. The Franco-Argentine producer may already have released quite a few singles and EP's, 'Amazonite' (a green-colored gemstone which was probably not given the shape of a marihuana leaf on the cover of the EP by accident), scheduled for release this autumn, will be his long player debut, and with this eponymous EP Krak In Dub is already offering a taster of what's to follow.
This year, for the first time Reggae.be travelled to the British capital to attend The London International Ska Festival. The entire festival lasts 4 days, counting numerous events in various locations spread across London. Attending them all is virtually impossible or only reserved for real diehards, and as this was our first time at the festival you might want to consider this report as a mere impression.
April 22nd is this year's date for International Record Store Day, and especially for the occasion AMJ Collective is releasing this new 8 track EP, which will be made available both on vinyl and in digital format.
Roberto Sanchez certainly keeps busy! 'Same Old Story', the new Sanchez-produced album by rocksteady-duo Keith & Tex has only just been released, and the Spanish producer already returns with this 'One Sister Showcase', the long player debut by Inés Pardo, a singer from Santander in Northern Spain.
All the way from New Caledonia, a French overseas territory to the northeast of Australia, we received this gem by Marcus Gad & Tribe.
The last interview before the Inna De Yard show at Cactusclub in Bruges is one with Pentateuch front man Kevor 'Var' Williams...
The number of projects Senegalese reggae artist Ras Mamj Soul is involved with can't be counted on the fingers of one hand, but since he met Belgians Dirk Delvaux and Greet Vanrijkel 'Koperen Muntjes voor Nianing' ("copper coins for Nianing"), an organization raising money through placing collection jars at different retailers in Louvain and by organizing all kinds of activities and once started with the support of a local basketball team in Nianing , the native village of Mamj, perhaps the most important. However, these days, 'Tournée Charette' has become the main focus: in essence, this means that Mamj travels from village with a donkey cart and a sound system, raising awareness for a variety of issues with his music.
As you might already know, the Inna De Yard Project will be performing live at Cactusclub in Bruges on April 23rd. Counting down to that date we'll keep focussing on the younger generation of artists who are also an integral part of the project. Next up is boboshanti singjay Derajah, who's already part of the Inna De Yard experience since the very beginning.
We honestly hadn't heard of Patois Brothers before, but none the less, 'Wise & Wild' is already the second long player by these five Venetians, at it since 2010.
In February of last year Nattali Rize already gave us a taste of this new album with the release of her 'New Era Frequency' EP.
For their third long player the Berliners of iLLBiLLY HiTEC joined forces with Canadian dub master Jesse 'Dubmatix' King.
If you were looking for the the rocksteady album of 2017, look no further! Veteran duo Keith & Tex joined forces with Spanish producer Roberto Sanchez (A-Lone Productions) and that collaboration resulted in 'Same Old Story', a truly excellent long player.
On April 23rd the Inna De Yard project will be playing the Cactusclub in Bruges, and even though the project counts a number of veterans in its ranks, there's also room for the young generation of Jamaican artists. Rashaun 'Kush' McAnuff, son of Winston McAnuff and front man of The Uprising Roots Band, was already part of the first incarnation of the project and is once again participating this time.
Malinois Thomas Alberico aka A Thomas has there not the kind to sit still for long and in the six months prior to this new double album appeared not less than two reggae albums ('Ik Heb Je Lief ', an ode to love, and 'I Am The One') and as many hip-hop releases ('Short Stories' and 'Stranger')!
In our review of '70 BPM', Earth Beat Movement's album from last year, we still declared ourselves unconditional fans of the Tuscan band, but unfortunately we weren't as taken with this successor.
As the title suggests, with 'Striker Showcase', 17 North Parade/VP Records focus on the cooperation between Jamaican master keyboardist Jackie Mittoo and producer Bunny 'Striker' Lee.
Two years after their acclaimed debut 'Ras Attack ', last year even crowned revelation of the year at the Victoires du Reggae in Fr ance, eccentric duo Stoneman and Daddy Cookiz aka Atomic Spliff returns with 'Robomuffin'.
Thanks to bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden, Seattle, a port city in the State of Washington in the far northwest of the United States, musically will forever be remembered as the capital of grunge, but Wet City Rockers prove this city also harbors other types of music.
For the release of the fifth and last part in their King Jammy's Dancehall series, you'll have to be patient a little longer, but in the meantime Dub Store Records is already presenting 'The Techniques & Friends'.
What Jamaica All Stars was for mento, ska and rocksteady, Kingston All Stars now wants to be for the roots from the golden era of the nineteen seventies.
Three year after their debut effort, 'Leave Me Out', London based Shanty returns with 'Strange Little Human', another EP.
With 'Music Never Dies', I Grade Records producer Laurent 'Tippy-I' Alfred finally presents the last part of the trilogy he set in motion back in 2014 with the release of Midnite's excellent 'Beauty For Ashes' album. Later that same Pressure's equally enjoyable 'The Sound' followed and this Lutan Fyah album was already announced, but it's taken until now for 'Music Never Dies' to actually manifest.
One of the literally dozens of artists making up this year's edition of the London International Ska Festival is Christopher Ellis, son of the late and great rocksteady and reggae legend Alton Ellis.
Just a year after the release of their acclaimed 'Lifted' album, Hawaiian reggae pride Inna Vision returns with this 'Highest Grade' EP.
Ivorian reggae will of course always remain linked to Alpha Blondy, and where Les Vieux Mogos (Maninka for "the big brothers") are concerned that's definitely true, as the band was formed by ex-Solar System drummer Sam Koné.
Two years after his debut EP 'Voice Of Freedom', Martinican Londoner Subajah is now finally also ready to present a first full-fledged album.
Just as was the case with predecessor 'I-Surrection', for 'Don't Play With Fyah', Talisman once again opted for the showcase format. Joining forces with none other than Dennis Bovell, this time the band left nothing to chance.
With 'Don't Play With Fyah' the British band Talisman has just released an excellent new album, and how better to promote that than by presenting an interview with front man Dehvan Othieno?
Eight (!) years have passed since the release of Queen Ifrica's last album 'Montego Bay' and calling her output modest would be an understatement. During those eight years, Ventrice Morgan has been seriously criticized a number of times for several controversial comments about the gay community, but fortunately, in her music never showed any sign of this and the 17 tracks on 'Climb' (a title unwillingly reminding yours truly of the proverb: "the higher the monkey climb, the higher he will fall") are radiating with female power, pugnacity and positivism.
As part of Greensleeves' 40th anniversary celebrations, we'd promised you a series of reissues, and after Sylford Walker's 'Lamb's Bread' last month, it's now 'King David's Melody', a 1983 masterpiece by melodica King Augustus Pablo featuring, among others, classics like 'Mr. Bassie', 'Rockers Mood' and of course title track 'King David's Melody', that gets a revamp.
We'd barely processed the first two parts of their King Jammy's Dancehall pentalogy, but Dub Store Records already returns with parts three and four!
From now on we'll also be reviewing the releases on the Cypriot Dub-O-Phonic label. The net-label works according to the so-called creative-common principle, allowing artists to reach a wider audience by offering their albums as a free download.
Back in 2011, along with the Makasound label, the prestigious Inna De Yard series also ended, but is now finally revived by Chapter Two Records.
Black Omolo was born in Kenya but has been living in Rotterdam in The Netherlands since the age of six. After 'Love Your Life', her 10 track debut EP from 2013, the singer now returns with 'Roots N Dub'.
From April 13th until April 16th, the British capital will once again host the London International Ska Festival, an event that in the past has perhaps enjoyed too little attention on our website. It already exists since 1988 (!) and that all thanks to unbridled effort of one man: Pama International's Alan Sean Flowerdew!
Campine ska-collective MoodCollector returns with this four track 'Morgenstond' EP.
The past few years Nepal had to deal with a massive earthquake, fuel shortages and political turmoil, but all of that hasn't kept Cultivation & The Himalions from persevering, and now the Nepalese reggae band is proudly presenting its debut effort 'Plains, Hills And Mountains'.
Where 'Général Indigo' could still be defined as introspective and autobiographical, 'Chapeau De Paille' is pretty much the complete opposite.
The fact a musical career can have its twists and turns, is proven by Delphine.
If you want to check out the Ghent-Ghanaian band Seekaman, make sure to mark Saturday March 25th in your agenda, as that day they will be playing as set at Café Entrepot in Louvain as part of the Colora Festival. But first, we'd like to introduce you to the band properly by means of the interview underneath!
Wach'da is the alter ego of Joseph Rano, a singer-songwriter from St. Esprit on Martinique. Rano relocated to Paris back in the early nineteen seventies (nicely captured in closing track 'A 10 Ans'), where, together with his brother, he first founded the band Savane and afterwards started focusing on a solo career.
For 'Teach Me A Lesson', their new 5 track EP, The Nice Guys opted for The Yellow Tape, a studio in Oostakker near Ghent.
In France, Bordeaux based Booboo'zzz All Stars (a hotchpotch of musicians from bands like Wyman Low & The Ravers, Train's Tone, Tom Frager or The Jouby's) may still be best known as a backing band (for, among others, Volodia and Pupa Style), in 2016 the band started to post some videos of live studio sessions featuring various guest vocalists on social media.
This 'Mirror/Reflect & Rise' EP by Aketi Ray, an acoustic dub-jazz ensemble from London (Kevin Robinson - trumpet/flute/flugelhorn, Niko Rouger - saxophone, Danny White - piano, Darren McCarthy - double bass, Virgil Howe - drums, Rob Shipster - percussion, Mikus - melodica/percussion) serves as an appetizer for 'From Ever Since', the band's debut album that should see the light sometime later this year.
Dreadzone is back and let's be honest, a more contemporary title than 'Dread Times' would have been hard to find.
Just in time for V-day, we're still serving you this interview with Janet Kay, thus terminating our lovers rock interview trilogy in style!
'Fell In', the new album by French dub duo Mahom (Antoine Mavel and Joris Herda) is in every way a successor to 2015's 'The Skankin' Cat'.
Now the attention for the catalog of Lloyd 'King Jammy' James seems to have faded somewhat at VP Records, Dub Store Records nicely picks up where they left off with 'King Jammy's Dancehall', a quintuple compilation series they describe as a pentalogy. The first two parts each count 20 tracks and were given 'Digital Revolution 1985-1989' and 'Digital Roots & Hard Dancehall 1983-1990' as subtitles.
In the current Jamaican roots revival scene, Spiritual a bit of an odd man out. He's not really a contemporary of artists such as Chronixx, Protoje or Iba Mahr (who, along with Droop Lion, pops up as one of the guests on this album), but nonetheless, this aptly titled 'Awakening' is only his debut effort.
Because we're continuously trying to keep up with the latest advertising trends and needs, Reggae.be is now also offering the cover photo space on our Facebook page for rent (the big banner-like image at the top of a Facebook-page).
'Dub Station', an album that was given IRIE100 as a catalog number, is the hundredth release on the Austrian Irievibrations Records label.
As the title implies, with this 'Half Century Dub', Steve Vibronics and Dougie Wardrop (Counscious Sounds) are celebrating fifty years of dub history.
Apart from 2012's 'Shalom', 'Wisdom' is only the second long player in Dub Division's twenty-five year history. Calling this band from Hamburg multicultural might be an understatement: vocalist Karl-Emmanuel Musoke originally hails from Uganda, drummer Admiral Ali has Tunisian roots, guitarist Micky Dread has an Indonesian background and finally there's bassist Dennis Dubwise, the only trueborn German of the band.
'Special Request', the latest edition in VP Records' 'Total Reggae' budget series, focuses entirely on the phenomenon of sound boy anthems, often specials from well-known hits record on request and used by sound systems to battle each other in sound clashes.
We continue our countdown to February 14th inna lovers rock style. Up this week, the ravishing Sandra Cross!
For 'Hira', his third long player to date, Meta Dia took to Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios in Bath.
This year Greensleeves is celebrating its 40th anniversary, and to give this joyous event the necessary attention, the label will be presenting a number of reissues. First up: Sylford Walker with his iconic 'Lamb's Bread' album recorded for Glen Brown in 1988.
It certainly hasn't always been the case, but these days it seems Jamaica is producing one female music talent after another. Last year both Jah9 and Xana Romeo still released gems, and now it's Kerida Johnson aka Hempress Sativa's turn.
It's been quite a while since we had a sound from Belgium to enter in the soundclash arena again. The last clashes all date from around 2012-2013, so anticipation amongst soundboys was high when the news came out that Beatstreet Sound from Leuven would be clashing the German Bun Babylon Sound. And since Aachen is not that far from the border, lots of fans made the trip to witness the war.
The year has only just started and Pressure Sounds is already presenting what could easily become one of the most interesting compilations of 2017. For 'Time A Go Dread', the English label collected a dozen singles by Lloyd Parks and threw in the dub versions as an added bonus!
For his debut effort, Jemere Morgan - son of Morgan Heritage keyboardist/vocalist Gramps - in the end opted to do a full album and not an EP as he'd previously announced.
Dub Store Records ends the year in style with a reissue of 'ABC Rocksteady', a largely instrumental album from 1968, that saxophonist Ronald Alphonso recorded with Lynn Taitt (guitar) and Aubrey Adams (organ) for Sonia Pottinger.
Reggae veterans send out their offspring part... 'Wake Up' is the highly anticipated long player debut of Azana Makeda Smith aka Xana Romeo, daughter of Max.
Thanks to the artwork of Claude Diene, an artist from Mont Rolland, the village Marcel Salem also hails from, 'Les Charognards' looks like a forgotten LP from the nineteen and fortunately the album sounds that way as well.
'Truth', the 2014 debut album by Seekaman, a Belgian-Ghanaian afro-reggae band from Ghent, didn't reach yours truly, but the band has not been idle and is now presenting this sequel.
After two EP's (2015's 'Ganja Free' and 2014's 'Di Humble Warrior'), Omar Gordon aka Amlak Redsquare is now also finally presenting this long player debut.
Keith Hudson's 'Pick A Dub' is often referred to as one of the best dub albums of all time, but we'll leave that judgement over to you.
Jamaican dancehall crew, but also producing and riddim-making crew, Ward21 was on a European tour recently, introducing their new EP 'Power Surge' to their fans. They stopped in Zappa in Antwerp for a show. It was a perfect occasion to have a chat with Kunley McCarthy, one of Ward21's members.
A few months ago we already presented you Sticky Joe's 'Good Day', and that EP is now followed by 'Good Day: Remixes & Riddims', another EP containing, you guessed it, a number of remixes and riddims of the songs from 'Good Day'.
More than thirty years after the original release of 'Rastaman In Exile', Ras Midas is now presenting a reissue of his iconic album. We had a long talk with the spiritualminded singer who, among other things, has his very own take on Rastafarianism!
More than thirty years after its original release, Ras Midas is finally presenting a reissue of his iconic 'Rastaman In Exile' album.
This self-titled album is the long player debut of Jahneration, two young lions from Paris.
Yours truly got to know The Grinders thanks to 2013's 'Let's Keep On Jammin', a collaboration with deejay-veteran U Brown. For this new long player U-Man and Chalice Cooper drew inspiration from the kung fu movies from the nineteen seventies.
The music addicts among you will undoubtedly already be familiar with John Ayers aka Jstar, as in the recent years the London based DJ collaborated, among others, with Major Lazer, DJ Vadim, Madness and Dub Pistols and with 'Stand To Order' now also finally presents his own solo album.
If you're one of the thousands of annual tourists spending their summer holidays at the Costa Blanca, you can now also enjoy some local reggae vibes, because Shiny Roots, a five piece band from Alicante now presents it recording debut with the 'Sabor A Libertad' EP.
Twice a year VP Records presents us with an overview of the latest trends in reggae and dancehall, in summer with their Reggae Gold series and at the end of the year with Strictly The Best.
It might be news to most of you, but New Caledonia, one of the French overseas territories situated in a remote corner of the Pacific Ocean, has a thriving reggae scene.
In the coming weeks No-Maddz will be playing our country twice (in N9, Eeklo on November 19th and in JH De Boogaard on November 26th). For those among you who aren't yet familiar with this exiting young Jamaican band we're publishing the interview underneath to wet your apetites!
For 'Honoring The Kings Of Reggae' Suga Roy and Conrad Crystal, joined for the occasion by Zareb, rehash the idea they already came up with in 2009 for 'Suga Roy & Conrad Crystal And The Great Reggae Icons'.
Bebble Rock Music already introduced us to Kabaka Pyramid on a previous occasion and is now presenting this 'Rough Diamond' EP, the debut effort of Shane Dixon aka Koro Fyah.
In recent years 'Revolutionary Dream', 'A Song', 'Pave The Way' and 'In The Future', the four albums that still form the foundation of Pablo Moses' discography, were all reissued on CD and vinyl, but for those who do not want to spend the cash to buy them individually, there's now this 'The Revolutionary Years 1975-83'.
Dub Store Records continues to deliver excellent compilations as if they were hot cakes. With 'Derrick Harriott Rocksteady 1966-1969' they already focused on his rocksteady productions, and with 'Derrick Harriott Reggae Funk & Soul 1969-1975' they're now doing the same with the later output of the Jamaican singer and producer.
Yellam's 'The Musical Train' was already announced last year with the 'Get On Board' EP, but is now finally ready to depart.
Paul Le Maire aka Volodia made a name for himself as a member of French reggae/hip-hop trio Phases Cachées, but now also presents this solo album.
With 'Plant The Seed' Mawyd, a five-piece band from Bordeaux, presents a successor for their 2012 debut 'Look At The Tree'.
Two years after 'Entre Les Lignes' French reggae pride Danakil return with a new long player.
Until further notice Bob Marley remains highly ranked in the list of most frequently covered artists, and for 'Trench Town Rock', the latest in their Total Reggae series, VP Records now compiled 40 (!) of those versions on one double album.
Recently we received some worrying messages about Clinton Fearon's health (don't panic he has recovered and is about to leave on tour), so it should come as no surprise that his new long player 'This Morning' opens with the upbeat 'Doctor Say'.
Fans of numerology can indulge themselves listening to '9', the new long player by Janine Cunningham aka Jah9, because where this album is concerned, it's all about the number "9".
With 'So What' Dub Inc reacts to the series of tragic events that have been hitting France for quite a while now.
If you want to know where The Frightnrs got the inspiration for 'Nothing More To Say', we can highly recommend these two new compilations on Dub Store Records.
For 'Sky Blue Love' AMJ Collective and RSD joined forces.
For once let us get straight to the point: with 'Nothing More To Say' The Frightnrs have created an instant classic in the rocksteady genre!
For 'Deep Dive Dub' Swiss dub-duo Dub Spencer & Trance Hill (still one of the most original sounding names in reggae) drew inspiration from the deep sea adventures of Belgo-Swiss oceanographer Jacques Piccard, who on 23 January 1960 descended to record depths in the Marian Trench with his bathyscaphe Trieste.
For this 'CM4400' EP (in fact a double 12" release) Bristol based Dubkasm and Leeds based Iration Steppas, two heavyweights from the UK dub scene, joined forces.
Accompanied by the Nantes based Soulnation Band, Bandrele, Mayotte born M.Shadd'y presents four brand new tracks together making up this 'Niya Moja' EP.
You will probably have noticed that Reggae.be suffered its fair share of problems in the past few years. Wrong choice of system/wrong webmaster: we have learned our lesson and placed this upgrade into the hands of a professional company. Rewind and come again!
If 1981's 'Linval presents Space Invaders' was still a tribute to Tomohiro Nishikado's 'Space Invaders', then with 1982's 'Linval presents Encounters Pac-Man' Linval Thompson put the spotlight on Toru Iwanati's iconic computer game from 1980. That being said, thanks to the excellent illustrations by Tony McDermott this album is of course also an ode to the American superhero comics.
Yours truly got to know Resonators back in 2014 thanks to the release of the deluxe edition of 'The Constant', the band's sophomore album. The original version of that album dated back to 2012, so it's already been 4 years since the band last treated us to a new long player.
After last year's 'Subculture' by The Selecter, DMF Records now also presents a new long player by The Beat, and as the first new album of this Brummie band in nearly three decades, the release of 'Bounce' is quite the event.
I Kong might have to start thinking about getting another nickname, as just about a year after the release of his comeback album 'A Little Walk' on Fruits Records, "the forgotten man" now presents successor 'Pass It On' on that same label.
Netfix recently presented 'The Get Down', a great a musical drama television series by Baz Luhrmann set in the South Bronx in the late 1970s and meant as a tribute to the pionearing era of hip-hop. A time and place not unfamiliar to Shinehead either...
Has it really been since 1977's 'Love Crisis' (or 'Black Sounds Of Freedom' if you prefer the European release) that Michael Rose/Mykal Rose last collaborated with Lloyd 'King Jammy' James? In any case, it made us all the more curious about 'Rasta State'!
Almost 40 years after the release of 'Love Crisis', or in the European version 'Black Sounds Of Freedom', King Jammy invited a host of reggae artists to revamp a song one from the iconic Black Uhuru album.
Once every so often Neil Perch calls on some of his colleagues to rework some of his productions (see also 'Original Sounds Of The Zion Remixed' or 'Live As One - Remixed').
'Horror Zone', the new long player by reggae veteran Max Romeo, is in more than one respect the logical sequel to his legendary 1976 'War Ina Babylon' album.
Good news for fans of English duo Alpha & Omega, because Christine Woodbridge and John Sprosen took to the studio again for 'No Beginning No End'.
Brother Wildman, Sister Claire and Maga Lion, together known as Emeterians, are a vocal trio from the Spanish capital. The three friends first got together in 2004, and have already turned out several albums. These days Emeterians (the name of the band refers to Emeterio's, a rehearsal space the trio cherishes fond memories of) divide their time between Madrid and London, where they joined forces with Chris Peckings.
All praises to Dub Store Records, because after bundling a series of Ras Michael's early recordings for 'A Psalm Of Praises To The Most High 1967-1972', the Japanese label now also gives 'Grounation', the iconic album by Count Ossie and The Mystic Revelation Of Rastafari, a second life.
As the son of veteran singer Kendread, Junior Kenna, a Dutch singjay of Surinamese-Indonesian descent, seemed destined for a career in reggae. Still, his first steps in the music business were as a member of Bludline, his brother Row's hip-hop band.
Apart from Jamaica and the Virgin Islands, reggae is of course also produced elsewhere in the Caribbean, and from producer Michael 'Master Mike' Samuel's Tuff Nut Studio in Febeau Village, Trinidad, we've now received this 'Wake Up, The King Is Coming' compilation.
Jim the Boss is the man behind the Hoboken Hi-Fi studio; no reference to the district in Antwerp, but to the city in New Jersey on the banks of the Hudson, which immediately brings us to the title of this album: 'Hudson Soul'.
Joseph Fennel's stage name and that of his backing band, Jerusalem Band, already indicate that like Matisyahu at the beginning of his career, in his music, this Oklahoma-born musician, likes to flirt with the Jewish tradition.
'Ride On' is The SteadyTones', a five-piece Bavarian ska, rocksteady and early reggae formation, second album.
Contrary to what the band's name might indicate, iLLBiLLY HiTEC aren't an obscure bunch of musicians from the Appalachian Mountains in the US, but a Berlin based collective blending influences from genres like cumbia, hip-hop and drum & bass with dub and reggae.
The Dubbeez, a six piece band from Amsterdam, first left their mark when they claimed victory in the Battle Of The Bands at the Amsterdam Uitmarkt in 2014, and with this 5 track 'Dubby' EP the band now presents its first release.
Even though with 2015's 'Make It Run', Sticky Joe (real name Joe Simpson) already produced a full-fledged album, this 'Good Day' EP was our first encounter with the Brummie producer.
With this double album full of delicious dubs by The Aggrovators, VP Records signs for the re-issue of three classics from the catalog of Steve Barrow's defunct Blood and Fire label.
The Japanese Dub Store Records label continues to release compilations at a steady pace, but none the less quality still outweighs quantity, and 'Derrick Harriott Rock Steady 1966-1969' is another finger-licking good example.
To be introduced as Protoje's protégé, we guess needs a bit of getting used to, but for Sevana it's a daily reality. The young singer from Westmoreland, who, because of her enchanting voice, got the nickname 'The Siren', already made an appearance on Protoje's 'Ancient Future' album ('Sudden Flight' and 'Love Gone Cold'), but now also presents this self-titled debut-EP.
Veteran crooner Freddie McGregor puts his 60th birthday in the spotlight with a brand new album.
Under the heading 'Junjo presents...', the Greensleeves label revamped a number of productions by the late Henry 'Junjo' Lawes.
Sometimes an album title already tells half the story, and that's certainly for Exile Di Brave's new longplayer: 'To The Foundation'. For this album, Exile revisited reggae's rich past and did his thing over a whole series of vintage riddims.
The yearly tropical and exotic music event that is Afro-Latino, this year enjoyed the blessing of the weather gods, bathing the festival in three days of glorious sunshine with people enjoying themselves everywhere you turned. Here are some of the highlights…
'Linval presents Space Invaders' is actually a reissue of 'Linval Thompson Meets The Space Invaders', a 10 track dub album from 1981.
Next year Dennis Brown would have turned 60, but apparently VP Records did not feel like waiting for that anniversary, as the label already presents 'We Remember Dennis Brown', a double album full of Brown covers.
In 2014 the New York label Dub Stuy Records already introduced us to Brooklyn based Tour De Force (or Jay Spaker aka Double Tiger and DJ Q-Mastah, born Quoc Pham, the duo behind Dub Stuy), but the label now also welcomes Dubamine, a producer from Santa Cruz, California.
To allow himself some more time to come up with a successor to his 2014 debut effort 'Sardinas', and not leave his fans wanting for too long, Jah Chango, who in Formentera also runs his own Blue Bar, now presents this 'Remix' EP.
For 'Run Come' German band M7 Allstars, a hotchpotch of musicians from The Senior Allstars and Far East Band complemented by producer Felix Wolter aka Dubvisionist, took to the studio with one of their musical heroes: Prince Alla!
Just as for 'Sons Of Negus Churchical Host - A Psalm Of Praises To The Most High 1967-1972' Dub Store Records collected a series of rare singles that appeared on Ras Michael's Zion Disc label, for 'Solomonic Singles 1: Tread Along 1969-1976' and 'Solomonic Singles 2: Rise & Shine 1977-1986' they explored the archives of Bunny Wailer's Solomonic label.
In the summer of 2015, Brother Culture suggested to Paul Fox they should finally record an album together. The latter wasn't unsympathetic to the idea, and the fact there was a definite chemistry between both gentlemen is illustrated by the title of the resulting album: 'Heartical Connection'.
Bermudian singjay Troy Berkley and French producer Krak In Dub (real name Federico Trujillo) have been collaborating in the European sound system scene for close to 20 years now and that working relationship has now crystallized into this long player.
Of course everyone knows his timeless classic 'Black Star Liner', but to yours truly, Fred Locks is one of those foundation artists whose career largely escaped us.
After a hiatus of several years Rude Rich and his High Notes return in style (albeit in a slightly modified line-up)!
In 2007, the Japanese Dub Store Records label released 'Graduation In Zion 1978 - 1980', the first volume of what was to be a three-part overview of the work of Kiddus I. The two last volumes still have to be released, but in the meantime there's now this 'Kiddus I meets Reggaelation Independance' EP.
It's already been since 2014 that Greensleeves last treated amateurs of the green herb with a new volume in their 'High Grade Ganja Anthems' series; a gap the French Irie Ites label is only too happy to fill.
Even though outside of the US, he may not have the status he has in his home country, Rocker-T's career spans over three decades, quite enough to call the man a veteran.
With 'Rien Ne Sert De Courir' (loosely translated "nothing's worth running for"), Les R'tardataires, a Liege based collective, is presenting its second long player.
"This album isn't a compilation, it's not a remix project, it's not the vision of one producer or musician, it's not old and it's not new, yeti t is also in part all of those things...", thus reads the press release for 'Compendulum'.
For 'Everlasting', their first album for VP Records, Raging Fyah took to Tuff Gong, where they collaborated with producer Llamar 'Riff Raff' Brown.
As the man behind Jamrock Vibez, Iregi 'Ital' Miller aka King Ital Rebel was responsible for numerous hit tunes of artists like Sizzla, Luciano, Lutan Fyah and Chezidek, but with 'Rebel Chant', he's now also releasing his personal long player debut.
Just like for predecessor 'Frequency', Jahcoustix once again joined forces with the team of Irievibrations Records for 'Seriously Positive'. That doesn't mean both albums don't sound quite different though.
For their fifth long player, Californian band Rebelution once again joined forces with Michael Goldwasser's Easy Star Records label.
Before Ras Michael and his Sons Of Negus scored a big hit in 1975 with 'None A Jah Jah Children', there was Sons Of Negus Churchical Host.
'Massavana' is the second album by Bi.Ba or Bingy Band, a project around Nantes-based Malagasy singer-songwriter Benjamin 'Kazy' Casimir.
If we still described Takana Zion's 2012 album 'Kakilambe', as his most African and eclectic long player to date, then for 'Good Life' the Guinean singjay opted for a Jamaican approach again.
With 'Holy Cow', Dub Dynasty, the collaborative project of John Sprosen and Christine Woodbridge of Alpha & Omega and John's son Ben aka Alpha Steppa, is already at its third long player.
There certainly hasn't been a lack of Italian reggae releases recently, as in the past months, among others, Raphael, Wicked Dub Division, Shanti Powa and Train To Roots, all released a new long player. This week it's MagaDog's turn.
After the release of last year's 'On Time' album, Justin Goodman aka Jus Goodie now joined forces with E.N. Young for this 'Reggae Rock' EP.
With 'In The Future', the French Grounded Music label signs for the reissue of what in 1983 was Pablo Moses' fourth long player.
The Lickshots are a New York band around keyboardist Jimmy McGerald and multi-instrumentalist Nick Fantastic, making their debut with this 6 track EP.
In anticipation of a new album, Clinton Fearon treats his fans to this aptly titled EP.
With 'Believe', Jah Works, a band from Baltimore - the port city on the East Coast of the US to which the well-known Baltimore-riddim also refers - that for over 20 years active, is presenting its tenth long player to date (proving yet again how little known much of the American reggae scene on this side of the ocean still is).
With this self-titled album Ziggy Marley provides a successor for 'Fly Rasta', his 2014 album that earned him yet another Grammy.
The Romanian Soundalize it! Records label of producer LionRiddims already presented us John Life's 'Fly Away' EP a couple of months ago, and this time introduces us to Dwayne Stewart aka DVoyce, a singjay from Spanish Town in Kingston.
Just under a year after the release of 'The Midlands Roots Explosion Volume One', Reggae Archive Records now presents this sequel.
After 'Sound The System' and '2 Times Revolution' (we're not counting his dub releases here), albums that couldn't quite convince us, Alborosie returns with 'Freedom & Fyah', a long player filled with delicious rub-a-dub, he describes as a concept album.
For both Bambu Station & Sensimilla Dub's 'Unity' and Jimmy Luv's 'Estilo Original' we have to head to São Paulo in Brazil!
'Guidance' is the new album by Djama Keïta, a French-Antillean singjay from Fort de France in Martinique.
Orleans born Papa Style (real name Johann Leinenweber) began his career with Christophe Peyroux as the duo Papa Style & Baldas, butwith 'Turbulent' is now going at it on his own.
Now most of his Groundation band mates are temporarily putting their energy in Rising Tide, Harrison Stafford can once again focus on Professor, now changed to Harrison Stafford & The Professor Crew.
Only a few weeks ago we presented you 'Troddin' With A Vision', German-Indonesian singer-songwriter/singjay Tóke's studio debut (even though that was of course a reissue), and now he already surprises us with a full album.
For the second part in their Iroko showcase series, producer Roberto Sanchez and label boss Herve Brizec contacted veteran vocal trio The Viceroys.
'Rasta Evolution' is the second Studio album by King Mas aka MasSicker, an American reggae artist from Boston.
If, like yours truly, you can enjoy a good piece of afro-reggae, we'd definitely like to recommend 'Enfants Du Pays', the second album by Jahkasa (a contraction of Jah and the first letters of his real name Karim Sanou), a Burkinabe singer and multi-instrumentalist based in France since 2009.
Apart from the fact that for this 6 track 'More Prosperity' EP, he joined forces with Jamaican producer Anthony Senior of Al.Ta.Fa.An Records and for 'Youth' also managed to persuade Anthony B to lend a hand, we unfortunately can't really tell you all that much about Jamaica-based Swedish singjay JahVibe (real name David Elver).
If, like yours truly, you were impatiently waiting for Raphael to drop a new long player, we can set your mind/minds at ease as with 'Survival' the Italian-Nigerian singjay just dropped another bombshell!
After having collaborated with the cream of the French reggae scene for 'The French Sessions', Dubmatix now asked a number of French producers to rework a song from the track list.
With 'Tape Rolling!', Pressure Sounds takes us back to the years 1971-1974, a period in which Bunny Lee evolved from being a freelancer for studios like Dynamic Sounds of Harry J, to becoming an independent producer.
Jah Legacy is essentially the story of Manu (vocals, guitar) and Charley aka ChaCha (guitar, backing vocals), two childhood friends who grew up in the same neighborhood in St. Raphael, a coastal town in the French Var region.
The sheer vastness of the French reggae landscape was once again made clear to yours truly by the fact we'd never heard of R.I.C., a band already active for many years.
"Tell the children the truth!" Bob Marley once sang in 'Babylon System'... Truth be told, children represent a potential audience we tend to overlook too often on these pages. Not so where Aaron Nigel Smith is concerned, because this singer-songwriter from Los Angeles has dedicated his entire career to the little ones.
After last year's acclaimed 'Live Love Stay Up', E.N. Young already returns with 'Call On Me', but rather as a full-fledged album this should perhaps be considered an EP, as apart from a trio of interludes (be sure to check the funny radio skit 'Get 'em Next Time', proving Young doesn't shy away from self-irony), a live version and an intimate piano-instrumental, 'Call On Me' really only contains 5 new songs.
It seems to be all about Lee Perry lately, but after all the man only turns 80 once, so why not squeeze in this DVD release of 'Lee 'Scratch' Perry's Vision Of Paradise' by German director Volker Schaner.
Over the past few years Munich-based Sara Lugo collaborated with a host of artists inside and outside Europe and Oneness Records has now bundled all these duets for this 'Sara Lugo And Friends' compilation.
Ackboo is a young composer and producer from Toulouse presenting his second long player 'Invincible'.
As we never got to hear his 2012 effort 'Feeling Irie', for yours truly I had been since 'Two Roads', released by Easy Star Records back in 2000, that Triston Palmer (or Palma as he calls himself these days) treated us to a new long player.
Where his output is concerned, Mark Dyer, better known to most as Warrior King, is modest, making 'The Rootz Warrior' only his fifth long player since 'Virtuous Women', his excellent 2002 debut.
'Rise' is the result of a collaboration between HandCart, a backing band from Marseille, and Alex Keren, a singer-songwriter of English-Peruvian descent residing in Paris who already earned his spurs in the pop and soul circuit.
When thinking of a band from South Tyrol, you're probably not immediately imagining Shanti Powa: a North Italian formation, founded in 2010 as a sound system crew, but in the meantime grown into a 13 piece band.
In 2014, Wicked Dub Division, a trio from Pordenone in the northeast of Italy, were joined by Michela Grena, a former member of B.R. Stylers, another reggae band from the same city.
For this five track debut-EP, Californian Dread Daze called on Selwyn Brown and Sydney Miller, both keyboardist/vocalist with Steel Pulse, for some 'Guidance And Direction'.
Trombone lovers take heed because Serbian Hornsman Coyote and his band Soulcraft are back!
If we've counted correctly, after Professor and Rockamovya, Rising Tide is already Groundation's third side project.
'Trippin'' is the debut effort by Laurent Mercier aka Wyman Low, a singer/guitarist from Bordeaux who earned his stripes as a guitarist and backing vocalist for Max Romeo and a band member of Brazilian band Cristal Reggae and Guinean reggae band Seyni & Yeliba.
The reggae genre continues to gain ground, as illustrated by 'Wanderer', the second album by Lithuanian reggae formation Ministry Of Echology.
Yours truly, got to know the Sardinians of Train To Roots common thanks to their 2014 'Growing' album. 'Home', the band's fifth album, symbolizes their "homecoming".
With Charleroi based Babelsouk, Belgium counts yet another solid reggae band. The band is centered around singer/rapper/song writer KLM (born Isaac Essannarhi), who in the past already earned his spurs in the hip hop scene as a member of bands like Nomade Hür and La Section.
Somewhere around 2009, the year their long player debut 'Sweet Jamaica' was released, Rootz Revealerz was still Roots Revealers and a project around Texan brothers Chris and Josh Mundahl. Since then the latter seems to have disappeared and these days Chris is flanked by Joshua, Prince and Judia Manning, three of Donald 'Abyssinians' Manning's sons.
Back in 1995 the Blood & Fire label gave this 1977 masterpiece by Horace Andy a second life. Blood & Fire, however, called it quits and over time, their releases have become more and more difficult to get a hold of. Time for a new re-release 17 North Parade/VP Records must have thought.
From the generation of Boboshanti artists (think Sizzla, Capleton, Anthony B...) we always had a preference for Perfect. The singjay isn't afraid to stray from the beaten path and, as once again proven by the sleeve design of 'Reggae Farm Work', seems to dispose of the necessary humor and self-reflection.
E.N. Young continues to produce the better American reggae and together with Mighty Mystic and Inna Vision that once again results in two excellent albums.
With 'Dub In Blood' the Pressure Sounds label signs for the reissue of one of the rarest and most sought after dub albums of all time.
Gabriel Piotrowski aka Biga Ranx needs little introduction, but under the pseudonym Atili Bandalero his brother Yannush has also already released several solo albums.
The reissue program of Augustus Pablo's back catalog continues without delay and barely a few months after Jacob Miller's 'Who Say Jah No Dread' and 'Augustus Pablo presents Rockers International', we're now treated to this deluxe reissue of 'Original Rockers'.
Rest assured, the 876th Sizzla album this is not - even though we must admit we've lost count along the way - but as with Richie Campbell's 2015 'In The 876' album, the album title refers to the international access code for Jamaica.
Following last year's compilation 'The Midlands Roots Explosion' and as a successor to the popular two part 'The Bristol Reggae Explosion', Bristol Archive Records now presents 'The Bristol Roots Explosion'.
'New Era Frequency' is the solo debut of Nattali Rize (born Natalie Pa'apa'a), an Australian singer of Mexican-Samoan descent, who already made a name for herself as front woman of Blue King Brown.
Two years after the excellent 'World Citizen', Black Slate returns with 'Peaceful Demonstration'.
Yours truly discovered Sr. Wilson thanks to 'Danger', a song on Van De Ramah's 'Nuestra Arma' album (Kasba Music, 2014), in which he appeared as a guest vocalist. A little research taught us the singjay from Barcelona had already released an album of his own called 'Good Man Style' (Kasba Music, 2012), a release quickly making Xavi Ojeda Serra our favorite Spanish reggae artist.
Tony Prophit is a Jamaican do-it-yourselfer from Montego Bay who migrated to Canada, presenting his long player debut with 'Sweet Nazarine's Prophecy'.
For her new album 'Only Irie Vibes', Amsterdam singer Leah Rosier collaborated with French backing band Rise & Shine.
'Troddin' With A Vision' is the studio debut of Tóke (born Marco Rais Abin), a German-Indonesian singer-songwriter from Hamburg.
'Enemies Scatter' is the long player debut of The Cliftones, a nine-piece formation around Cincinnati, Ohio based Texan Diedrich 'Deke' Jones.
Spruddy (born Florian Kron) who made a name for himself fronting the German rocksteady formation Court Jester's Crew, has been focusing on his own solo career for some time now and with the aptly titled 'One' now also presents his album debut.
For 'Free Dub', Jamaican riddim twins Sly & Robbie collaborated with American producer Dartanyan Winston; a collaboration that started off somewhat unconventional.
With 'Love, Herb & Reggae', the title of his new album, Taj Weekes offers an alternative to the old adagio "sex, drugs & rock and roll".
Even though in 2011 17 North Parade/VP Records already presented an identical reissue of this classic Augustus Pablo album, it's now once again rereleased on the Get On Down label.
With the eponymous 4 track 'Sweet & Tuff' EP, Lëk Sèn already gave us a taste of this album a few months ago.
With the simultaneous reissue of three compilations filled with releases on the Pantomine label, the Greensleeves label this time puts the career of Glen Brown in the spotlight.
In yearly tradition Colah Colah once again treats us to a new album, although in the case of 'Togetherness' "new" should be put somewhat into perspective.
'Dubcatcher 2: Wicked My Yout' does not only hail the return of our favorite reggae superhero Dubcatcher, but with this album DJ Vadim delivers a rare feat: producing a sequel that surpasses the quality of the original!
'Right Road ', Tuscan band Earth Beat Movement's 2015 debut album, never reached us, but successor '70 BPM' (the title refers to a resting heart rate and also happens to be the rhythm rate of our favorite music genre) immediately grabbed our attention.
Barely a year after the release of 'Twinz', the Italian reggae twins of Mellow Mood are back already with '2 The World'.
Pura Vida-chief Bregt 'Puraman' De Boever has never made a secret of the fact he somewhat idolizes Lee 'Scratch' Perry. The duo recently shared the stage several times and with 'The Super Ape Strikes Again' Bregt's dream to record with Perry has now also become a reality.
The fact the Black Roots story is still far from being told, the Bristolian band proves with 'Son Of Man', their third long player in about as many years.
Ryon is a five piece band from the South West of France with a member base from Bergerac in the Dordogne and Pau in the department Pyrénées-Atlantiques. After the load of English-language albums that reached us from France last year, it was almost a relief to find out Ryon wholeheartedly opted for the language of Molière on 'Rêver'.
Solo Banton's 'Higher Levels', the previous album release on Kris Kemist's Reality Shock Records label already dates back to 2012, so we were only too happy to learn of Marga's 'Gold Dust'.
17 North Parade/VP Records ends 2015 with 'Tuff Gong Encounter'; not a reissue, but an unfinished and never published album by Keith Hudson.
The honor of opening the musical reggae year this time goes to Little Roy, who's 'Right Now' is available since January 2nd.
It's been seven years already since Fantan Mojah last treated his fans to a new album, but now the bobo-with-the-backpack finally returns with 'Soul Rasta'!
Natural Mighty is one of numerous reggae bands from the Parisian suburbs (see also Shaman Culture, Jacko With Bambool, Universal Congress, Obidaya...). In 2011 there was already a first self-titled album, now followed by this 6 track 'Good Time' EP, failing, however, to impress us.
Just before the end of the year, Marla Brown, daughter of the eternal Crown Prince of reggae Dennis Brown, presents 'Deliverance', a 6 track EP on which the spirit of her father is omnipresent.
VP Records traditionally ends the year with the release of their double 'Strictly The Best' compilation; the longest running compilation series in reggae, but not really our favorite.
Two years after his promising debut, 'Deep Rockers, Back A Yard', Naâman returns with a new long player.
With his debut album 'Just Take It Easy' Patko didn't immediately leave a lasting impression, but on successor 'Maroon', the French Guyanese singjay shows he's clearly matured in recent years.
There's certainly no lack of re-releases in reggae, but reissues of classic albums aren't always a surefire hit. Sometimes it's just about making a fast buck and that of course at the expense of quality. The fact you can also handle things differently Greensleeves proves with the reissue of Jacob Miller's 'Who Say Jah No Dread', the classic 1992 compilation made up of singles produced by Augustus Pablo.
Les nominations reggae au Grammy Awards sont en général soit l'occasion d'une bonne tranche de rigolade, soit d'une bordée de jurons. En effet, le jury a une très fâcheuse tendance à choisir des artistes qui ne sont pas toujours vraiment... dans la tendance. Ou bien à attribuer systématiquement le prix à un chanteur dont le nom de famille est Marley.
For music lovers, the Christmas and New Year period equals the release of scores of limited edition compilation boxes filled with goodies and 17 North Parade/VP Records do their bit with 'Memories By The Score', a box containing 5 discs and provides an overview of John Holt's 5 decades spanning career.
It's already been two years since the release of Congo Natty's jungle/drum & bass meets roots reggae album 'Jungle Revolution', but now there's also this dub version.
For yours truly the Belgian ska-scene remains largely uncharted territory, and thus we weren't familiar with Skangoeroes, a seven-piece band from Halle already active since 2005.
For yours truly, French-Beninese singjay Joe Pilgrim (born Philippe Ametowanou) was one of the revelations on Dubmatix' 'The French Sessions' album, making us anxiously looking forward to the release of 'Intuitions'.
Earlier this year we already presented 'Queens & Kings', a 5 tracks EP by Dutch-Cape Verdean singer Nish Wadada. But where that collaboration with Portuguese Delmighty Sounds seemed to target the UK dub and steppers scene, for 'Jah Calling', Nish rather opted for a classic roots sound with the odd jazzy undertone here ('Jah Works', 'Sista Queen'...), something which should at least in part be credited to the team of Microkosmo Music in Paris (see also Mo'Kalamity).
For last year's 'Rasta Will Be There' EP, Da Fuchaman joined forces a first time with Reggae Livication Records and for his new long player 'Papa Jolly' he once again collaborated with the French label.
Forelock (real name Alfredo Puglia) is a descendant of a musical family from Sassari in Sardinia. His mother Alessandra is an ethnomusicologist and Alfredo's father, Antonio, who introduced him to classical music at the age of eight, is a renowned clarinetist and conductor of the Sardinian Philharmonic Orchestra.
In 2014 Franco-American singjay Yellam (until recently Jr. Yellam) began working on 'The Musical Train', his second long player up for release in the spring of 2016 for which he joined forces with Irie Ites and even travelled to Jamaica to do some recording there.
With The Inspirators, a project for which Leroy 'Horsemouth' Wallace, Earl 'Chinna' Smith, Lloyd Parks and Anthony 'Sangie' Davis joined forces, Jamaica is a super group richer.
In 2014, the English-Barbadian dub and reggae guru Dennis Bovell already collaborated a first time with Glitterbeat Records for their 'Glitterbeat: Dubs & Versions 1' compilation, and now Bovell's new long player, 'Dub 4 Daze', also appears on the same label.
In the European dub scene Romain Weeding aka Weeding Dub, with 'Still Looking For' already presenting his fourth long player to date, is far from a stranger anymore.
Apart from the fact they are a six-piece band from Paris, we unfortunately can't tell you all that much about Jacko With Bambool.
Thanks to Iba Mahr, just before the end of the year we're still offered one of the better releases for 2015. 'Diamond Sox' is the Cheesefield, Saint Catherine born singer's highly anticipated long player debut and in no way disappoints.
Six-piece band Soul Drifter hails from Bordeaux and with 'Back To The Ground' presents its first long player.
With 'Everybody Watches No One Knows' Campine ska-phenomenon Bottle Of Moonshine already proved that with singer Hanne Peetermans they had added a serious asset to the band's line up and on 'Believe The Numbers' her voice is highlighted even more.
The members of Gentleman's Dub Club may all hail from the Leeds area, their new long player is a tribute to the British capital nonetheless, as album title 'The Big Smoke' is one of the nicknames for London.
The fact not all American reggae necessarily needs to come from the East or West coast, is proven by Salt Lake City, Utah-based Afro Omega, a band around duo Bronte James aka Bronte Omega and Elisa Sofia aka Miss Omega, who're also couple in real life.
A few singles aside, it had been since 2012's 'The System' that we'd heard anything from Romain Virgo. To still our hunger and that of his fans somewhat, there's now this eight track 'Lifted' EP.
Even though guest list featuring artists like Winston McAnuff, Linval Thompson and Soom T might suggest otherwise, 'Low Fidelity', Tom Fire's new long player, contains far fewer reggae-influences than its predecessor 'The Revenge'.
Flox is the alter-ego of Florian Gratton, a singer-songwriter of French-English descent based in Paris. Phlox may already be living in France from the age of 11, 'Homegrown', already his fifth long player to date, sounds anything but French and will rather appeal to fans of UK acts like The Skints, Hollie Cook or Prince Fatty.
The fact brands like Adidas and Clarks are intertwined with reggae and dancehall, goes without saying. On that last brand All Fingers published his 2012 book 'Clarks In Jamaica' (One Love Books), now followed by this eponymous soundtrack on VP Records.
Spanish producer Roberto Sanchez continues to produce gem after gem and this time joined forces with Hervé Brizec, producer and mastermind behind the French Iroko Records label. Noel Ellis' 'Zion' is the first of what should eventually become a whole series of showcase releases, each with a vocal cut followed by its dub version.
It didn't really catch yours truly's attention, but Greensleeves' annual 'The Biggest Reggae One Drop Anthems' compilation series had apparently been put on hold for several years and, after a hiatus of four years, is now revived.
For 'Never Played A 45' veteran deejay Macka B joined forces with the Peckings brothers and hearing that name, immediately tells us we're in for a spread of classic riddims.
If you like the recent wave of reggae bands and artists from the United Kingdom (The Skints, Hollie Cook, Shanty, City Kay, Gentleman's Dub Club, The Meow Meows ...), you should definitely check out the Resonators, as this nine-piece combo from Brighton and London is described by reggae guru David Rodigan as: "British reggae at its best!".
Jean-Michel Rossignol aka Junior Cony and Shanti D, first joined forces back in 1999, then still as a trio with Mister Irie as the third member. After albums like 'Junior Cony meets Shanti D & Mister Irie At The Government Shop' (Crash Disques, 2003) and 'The Meaning Of Life' (Malana Cream Records, 2008), the aptly titled 'The End' concludes a fruitful partnership of more than fifteen years.
With 'Augustus Pablo presents Rockers International' the Greensleeves label created a package release of two productions by legendary melodica-man Augustus Pablo.
Le Dubtronic Kru est un groupe qu'on a déjà pu voir backer des artistes en tournée, comme par exemple Iba Mahr à Reggae Geel en 2014. Mais les quatre musiciens du groupe produisent aussi de la musique à leur propre compte et ils viennent de sortir leur quatrième album intitulé 'Dub Conscious'.
Nick 'Digital-T' Dubateers, Ian 'Jah Waggys' Wagstaff and Glen 'Vibesmaster', in dub circles better known as Dubateers, have been going at it for more than a decade already and are celebrating the occasion with the release of 'A Decade Of Dub', a compilation of their best work.
Like LMK the members of Feuilles de Roots also hail from Annecy in the Haute-Savoie. The nine-piece band was founded in the summer of 2007 and now presents this 6 track debut EP.
Compared to his previous effort, the 2013 'Songs About You' EP, for 'Revelation Time' Million Stylez, the Swedish singjay with Japanese-French roots, seems to have opted for a slightly different direction.
This 6 track (4 vocal tracks and 2 dubs) 'Lioness' EP is the fruit of a collaboration between the San Diego-born singer-songwriter Janelle Phillips and Roots Musician Records producer E.N. Young.
Just recently yours truly raised questions about Tomawok's Native American appearance on the cover of 'Weedamuffin', and now we're already confronted with a similarly attired Lëk Sèn.
Junior Kelly is certainly not the only artist out there who doesn't like being tied down to one genre, but on 'Urban Poet', his tenth long player to date, Kelly really seems to have turned away from reggae.
It had been since 2007's 'One Perfect Love' (Blakamix) that we'd heard anything from Prince Malachi, but on the self-produced 'Third Rock' his recognizable voice still resounds.
'Mr Perry I Presume' is yet another chapter in what seems to be a never ending series of Lee Perry compilations on the Pressure Sounds label. This time Pressure Sounds focusses on remixes of existing Perry productions and obscure tunes which were intended exclusively for the sound system scene.
17 North Parade/VP Records keep releasing their 'Reggae Anthology'-releases at a high pace, as less than two months after King Jammy, Augustus 'Gussie' Clarke is now also celebrated with a compilation.
As one of the few, we weren't too impressed with 'Wolverhampton', the "new" Capital Letters album, but this dub version of that same album mixed by Dave 'Oldwah' Sandford, did tickle our fancy.
Jah6 is no more and it's already been a while since we heard anything from Damaru, but never mind, as Kenny B is itching to fill the void they left behind.
The first thing that came to mind when listening to 'Encounters', Jamaican Jazz Orchestra's debut long player, was: "Damn, this sounds great!", and hardly anything about this album hints at the fact that this is a Belgian production.
Ease Up Ltd. may be a band from the German city of Darmstadt, Goethe's language you won't hear on their long player debut 'Long Way', as the nine-piece band rather alternates between English and French.
Yours truly got to know LMK, a singer from Annecy in the east of France, thanks to Dubmatix' 'The French Sessions' album on which she was featured in two songs.
Tomawok is the alter ego of Thomas Perez, a deejay from the French city of Angers who's had a fascination for everything to do with American Indians ever since he was a child; a fascination also explaining his stage name and the fact he adorns the cover of 'Weedamuffin' dressed in a Native American war bonnet and painted in war colors (at the very least a bit iffy in light of the recent Black Pete-controversy).
Ababa Jahnoi Reid aka Yung J.R. is Junior Reid's youngest son, presenting us his long player debut 'Start The Movement'.
After 'L'Africain', 'African Revolution' and 'Dernier Appel', albums which signaled a return to his African roots, for 'Racines' Tiken Jah Fakoly returned to Jamaica where he once again collaborated with Sly & Robbie (see also 'Françafrique' and 'Coup De Gueule').
Just over a decade after his last long player, 'Rasta Government', Junior Reid now presents 'The Living Legend', an album with a title creating high expectations he'd already announced on several occasions over the past few years.
'African Artist In America' is a compilation album allowing a number of African artists residing in the US to present themselves to the rest of the world.
Amateurs of obscure Jamaican vinyl we can definitely recommend 'The Sannic Sounds Of Tommy McCook'. In fact this is an instrumental album saxophone legend Tommy McCook recorded in 1974 for producer Glen Brown. In the past it was already released as 'The Sannic Sounds Tommy McCook', 'Tommy McCook Dub' and even 'Horny Dub', and now the Japanese Dub Store Records is adding this quality reissue.
We already presented a number of Manwel Tabone's releases on previous occasions, but 'Cosmic' is actually the Maltese producer's first release for which he handled composing, instrumentation and production himself.
After producers like Winston Riley and Joe Gibbs, King Jammy now also gets his own 'Reggae Anthology'.
For 'In The 876', Richie Campbell, the Portuguese answer to Gentleman (something to which the singer alludes to himself in 'Feels Like': "...Gentleman step in so me a not the only white man here..."), travelled to Jamaica where he collaborated with artists like Toian, Jesse Royal and Assassin.
Ignoring 2009's 'Rastaman Meditation', a totally different sounding album he published as Shemaiah, 'Original Dread' is Micah Shemaiah's first full-fledged long player.
For VP Records summertime equals 'Reggae Gold' time, as the label invariably drops its familiar compilation in the middle of the summer season.
Strangely enough it took us three albums to discover City Kay, a London based outfit whose latest effort 'Daystar' is more than convincing.
Nativix is the joint project of producer Andrea Piccolo and vocalist Fabricio Biasutti, a Brazilian duo fusing reggae and dub with influences from Brazilian music.
The fact music-wise Trinidad produces more than soca and calypso, we already knew thanks to artists like Queen Omega, Marlon Asher and Jamelody, but apparently the Land of the Hummingbird has a lot more reggae on offer. 'Be Upful & Right' marks the start of a collaboration between Trinidadian production company Tuff Nut Studio and New York label Fox Fuse.
Teddy Dan was born in Trelawny, Jamaica, but spent most of his life in the United Kingdom and at the beginning of this century migrated to the rasta-enclave Shashamane in Ethiopia. During his wanderings he ran into the members of the Irie Vibes Band somewhere in West Flanders; a chance meeting that soon evolved into a fertile friendship and working relationship.
Almost 10 years after the release of 'Musically Inclined'Jamaican duo Mark Wolfe and Wayne Passley aka Tanto Metro & Devonte return in style with this album for which they called on legendary riddim twins Sly & Robbie.
'Crazy' is the second studio album (counting only eight tracks rather making it an EP) by Parisian singjay Mathieu Ruben. He began his musical career as a drummer with Dub Reggae Force, his father's band, but these days seems to have specialized in dancehall and fragga.
'The Cure' hails the return of Jah Cure to VP Records. After leaving the label, Cure still released a number of albums, but their blend of reggae, r&b and hip-hop didn't cause as much of a stir as 'Ghetto Life', 'Freedom Blues' or 'True Reflections... A New Beginning' did at the time of their release.
Just as for their 2013 'Somehow We Met' album, The Meow Meows once again called on producer Prince Fatty for this 'Friends On Benefits' EP.
'It's The Hustle' is the long player debut of Robert Spenser aka Bobby Hustle, a singjay from Seattle and, even though Italian Bizarri Records and German Royal Order Music also each signed for a track, the production of the album was largely in the hands of fellow Seattleites Dan Grossman and Michael Gore (Loud City Productions).
Dubbest has been a household name in Boston ever since 2009 and unites the five school pals Andrew MacKenzie (guitar), Ryan Thaxter (melodica/vocals), Sean Caffrey (bass), Cory Mahoney (guitar) and Kyle Hancock (drums). If in their school days it was still the ska and punk of bands like Black Flag that made their hearts race, then the discovery of 'Ital Dub', a 1974 classic by Augustus Pablo, forever changed their outlook on music.
Even though Treesha's name might not ring a bell yet, chances are you will already have seen this German-Kenyan singer on stage, as after Mamadee's departure, Treesha (real name Patricia Wambui Mwaura) stepped in as one of Gentleman's backing vocalists. Along with some members of his Evolution Band, Treesha also started working on her solo debut, in the process also bumping into Skarra Mucci.
A vinyl reissue of the two volumes of 'Handsworth Explosion', originally compiled and released by Black Symbol in the early nineteen eighties, already appeared on the Reggae Archive Records last year, but the label now also adds a CD version.
When the Makasound label filed for bankruptcy in 2011, Tu Shung Peng was among the bands that had to go in search of a new distributor. Perhaps that's why things around the Parisian formation stayed kind of quiet since their 2012 'Ray Of Light' release.
'More Blessings' is the fruit of a longstanding friendship and working relationship between singjay Lutan Fyah and PayDayMusic Productions producer Austin 'Kevin' Green. The two first met while still at school and it was together with Kevin, Lutan recorded his first tune in Buju Banton's Gargamel Studio somewhere around 1996 or 1997.
For this dub version of last year's 'Entre Les Lignes' Danakil once more joined forces with producer Manjul (also responsible for 2012's 'Echos Du Dub').
The heat and humidity make Jamaica far from the ideal location to preserve music archives, but despite a long list of setbacks, going from a termite infestation over inundations to even two fires, a great deal of Bunny Lee's musical treasure trove miraculously stood the test of time.
Après les mésaventures du festival géant Reggae Sundance, de nombreuses initiatives voient le jour en Hollande. Il existe maintenant une foison de festivals reggae de taille plus restreinte chez nos voisins du nord. Le Reggae Fever est un de ces nouveaux événements créés par le Tivoli Vredenburg et l'Oosterpoort. Leur concept est de faire jouer deux fois le même programme dans deux villes différentes sur le même weekend, un peu comme cela se faisait chez nous avec le Torhout-Werchter dans les années '90.
For this new album, a mix of studio and live recordings, Bristolian reggae bard Jashwha Moses assembled his own backing band: Full Force and Power.
'Morning Light', Animo's debut EP, contained mainly lovers tunes, but meanwhile the band rechristened itself Animo Cruz (referring to Santa Cruz, California, the band's hometown) and on successor 'Why Not' sounds a lot more militant.
The Expanders may be yet another Californian reggae formation; they most definitely drew inspiration from Jamaican vocal trios like Mighty Diamonds, The Gladiators or Culture.
With 'Uptown Top Ranking' 17 North Parade/VP Records didn't have the intention to release yet another 'Greatest Hits' compilation by Byron Lee and his Dragonaires, but instead wanted to draw attention to some lesser known and even forgotten gems from Byron's rich oeuvre.
Spanish reggae from Germany? Oh well, why not! Raggabund is the brainchild of Paco 'El Criminal' Mendoza and Don Caramelo, two brothers with South American roots from Munich. For 'Buena Medicina' the duo collaborated with the Swiss band The Dubby Conquerors (back in 2008 winners of the Rototom European Reggae Contest), also their regular backing band on stage.
With 'The Bristol Reggae Explosion' the Bristol Archive Records label already mapped Bristol's reggae scene, and sister label Reggae Archive Records is now doing the same for the Midlands.
Yours truly had already seen Alaine (born Alaine Laughton) perform with Tarrus Riley several times, but apart from that, 'Ten Of Hearts' was our first real introduction to the work of this Jamaican-American singer/actress.
It's been a long seven years since we last heard from Vibronics. The years seem to have had little hold on Vibronics, as on 'Return Of Vibronics', the British producer continues to do what he's best at: producing rock solid dub and UK steppers!
On their second album, Shaman Culture, a multicultural seven piece band from Gif-sur-Yvette (a town about twenty-five kilometers southwest of Paris), burst with positive energy.
Even though Trinidadian singjay Verse iTal (born Stefan Wilson) has already been musically active since 2008, his career really gained momentum after his victory at the most recent edition of the BeneluXXL Reggae Contest. Verse took the bull by the horns and together with MacLes Music Factory in Belgium and German-Austrian Culture Rock Records he recorded this seven track 'Truth & Substance' EP.
The Selecter, one of a handful of trending British bands putting 2 Tone ska on the map back in the 1970s (see also The Specials or The Beat), at the time, enjoyed worldwide fame with songs like 'On My Radio' or 'The Selecter'. Unfortunately the band already split up in 1981. Various reunion efforts followed, but never amounted to much and these days there are even two bands with the same name: one around songwriter Neol Davies and another formation featuring singer Pauline Black and vocalist Arthur 'Gaps' Hendrickson. The latter are now releasing this 'Subculture' album.
For what is already their tenth long player, Morgan Heritage ended their longstanding relationship with VP Records and established their own CTBC (Cool To Be Conscious) label.
Rebel Sound Records, the American label which recently offered us 'Just Passing Through', the new album by rocksteady duo Keith & Tex, now also presents releases by Jus Goodie and Oogee Wawa.
'The French Sessions' is one of those releases with a title that already says it all. For this album Canadian producer Dubmatix collaborated with a host of French artists (singing trombonist Guive, Phases Cachées member Volodia, Taiwan MC, Tribuman, Patko...), resulting in yet another great album.
Nish Wadada (born Eunice Vieira), is a Dutch singer of Cape Verdean descent from Rotterdam, quickly making a name for herself in the European roots and dub scene.
Barely two months after the release of 'Wolverhampton', the "new" album by Capital Letters on the Reggae Archive Records label which in the end turned out to be a reworking of their 2011 'Planet Earth' album, Greensleeves now presents this reissue of 'Vinyard', the band's second from 1982.
For the first time since 1998's 'Living Dangerously', Barrington Levy took to the studio again for the recording of a new album.
On 'Conscious Love', his second long player, Dutch-Surinamese reggae artist Joggo delivers exactly what the album title promises: a mix of conscious roots tracks ('Come Down', 'Revolution Warriors', 'Rasta Deh Pan The Rise'...) and lovers tunes ('Sugar Love', 'When Things Go Wrong', 'Private Performer'...).
Those of you interested in getting to know new artists, we can highly recommend 'Fyah Forward' by Soulmedic. Soulmedic is an American singjay from California who, along with Ishi Dube, Jah Sun, Rocker T, Jahworks, Winstrong and Stevie Culture, is a member of Lion Camp.
As the title suggests, for 'The Kingston Session', Sebastian Sturm & Exile Airline travelled to Jamaica, where they rerecorded a number of songs from Sturm's catalogue at the Harry J Studio.
Four-piece band Christophe Rigaud & The High Reeds from Lyon is the latest addition in France's ever expanding reggae landscape. Asked to describe their music, this motley crew of musicians from France, Corsica, Guadeloupe and Ivory Coast called it blue reggae: reggae with influences from blues, soul and jazz.
The group of Jamaican artists that have become the face of the so-called "roots revival" keeps expanding. One of the newer faces is that of Clayton Johnson aka Exile Di Brave.
Granted, Revival sounds more like the name of a Christian-inspired rock band, but this is definitely is a reggae outfit from San Diego.
With this 'Still Pushing' EP Randy Valentine delivers an excellent successor to/for his debut effort 'Break The Chain'.
For this 7 track 'The Journeyman' EP, Prezident Brown for a second time (in 2012 there was already the similar 'Do Thy Work' EP) joined forces with Sound Killaz Music, the production company of Matthew Radics and Jordan Rivah, the two sons of Jack Radics.
This first long player by Ghent based ska collective The Nice Guys was actually already announced for 2014, but didn't see the light until the beginning of this year.
The fact the U.S. Virgin Islands harbor a very extensive roots-scene, we already knew, so it doesn't really surprise we still continue to discover artists that hadn't crossed our path yet. Take Niyorah for example, this singjay from the ghetto of Charlotte Amalie on the island of Saint Thomas, is already releasing his fourth long player, but somehow escaped our musical radar.
Den Ojo (born Johan Ojo), a singjay of Belgian-Nigerian descent, began his musical career with Dilbeek based sound system Heartbeat Movement and these days is a member of Belgian Massief.
In all honesty we have to confess never having heard of Ti'Jips, a French singer with Martinican roots, with 'J'fais Ma Part' already presenting his second long player.
Lady Lex's is a great story (born Karen Moon and a niece of The Who drummer Keith Moon): in 2004, she entered the brothers Peckings' record store in Shepherd's Bush, London, asked Chris to the Lonely Street riddim and then proceeded to blow everyone present away with a live rendition of what would become her first single on the Peckings label: 'I'm In The Mood' (a reworking of the evergreen by Jimmy McHugh and Dorothy Fields, covered countless times already, but first performed by Frances Langford in 'Every Night At Eight', a musical comedy from 1935). Some ten years and a number of great singles later there's now finally 'Is This Love', a gem of a long player only to be equaled by Bitty McLean's 'On Bond Street' (also recorded for Peckings).
The fun (and interesting) thing about the reggae genre is that it continues to bring together like-minded souls from all over the world.
It's been ten years since Christopher Martin claimed victory in the 2005 edition of Digicel Rising Stars. During that decade Martin went on a world tour with Gentleman, released a first album in Japan - where he has a serious following - and two digital EP's ('Reggae Road Block' and 'Chill Spot'). With this 'Steppin Razor' EP, distributed by VP Records, Martin is now taking things up a notch.
'Wadada' is the logical sequel to 'Light Of Hope', Dawjah & Wicked Band's 2013 debut EP.
If we tell you Johnny den Artiest (Arnoud Judong) crowned himself king of Flemish reggae now almost 7 years ago, you'll agree his fans had to show some serious restraint waiting for the release of this debut album.
'Reggae Loves Jah' is the successor to last year's compilation 'Reggae Loves Africa'. This time it's not the African continent but the love for the Almighty that takes centre stage and knowing that it will come as no surprise 8 out of the 13 tracks on 'Reggae Loves Jah' feature the word Jah in their title.
Ernest Ranglin, guitarist and living Jamaican music legend, first shared the stage with drummer Inx Herman, bassist and keyboard player Jonathan Korty Yossi Fine in 2011, when they played at the High Sierra Music Festival in California. Meanwhile the trio has become the hard core of Avila and continuing their collaboration with Ranglin this already resulted in 'Avila featuring Ernest Ranglin', a first EP released in 2012, now followed by the full album 'Bless Up'.
Almost at the same time as the launch of the newest season of the popular television series 'Game Of Thrones', the Greensleeves label is releasing 'Dub Of Thrones', a true dub clash between veteran King Jammy and relative newcomer Alborosie.
The fact legendary rocksteady duo Keith & Text again very active is we already knew thanks to the European tour they undertook last year and the 'Best Of ' compilation 'Redux' that was released on the French Soulbeats Records label almost simultaneously. But with 'Just Passing Through' the gentlemen are now also presenting a long player full of new work.
On the occasion of Record Store Day (18/04), the international heyday for vinyl lovers, Bristol Archive Records treats us to an exclusive and limited re-issue of the extremely obscure 'Action' EP by Restriction, meant as a taster for an upcoming anthology of this Bristol based band active in the early nineteen eighties.
In his native Ghana Rocky Dawuni is a real star and in the United States, where he's been living and working for quite a while now (Dawuni married the American photographer/producer Cary Sullivan), he's also made a name for himself.
For 'Scrolls Of The Levite', Mark Wonder joined forces with American producers Sikandar Syed and Fernando Cardoso, the duo behind the Nowtime Sound label from San Francisco.
Apparently Rootz Underground had so much new material on hand the band decided to divide this new album in two parts.
Even though US band John Brown's Body (the band was named after the well-known American marching song about the abolitionist John Brown, who was hanged in 1859 following a failed attempt to start a slave rebellion) is in the same league as bands like Soldiers Of Jah Army, Groundation or 10 Ft. Ganja Plant, in Europe they don't as yet enjoy the same status as the aforementioned bands.
Yours truly first discovered I Kong (a nephew of producer Leslie Kong who started out as a member of ska/rocksteady band The Jamaicans) back in 2006 when VP Records rereleased provided his 1979 album 'The Way It Is'. That same year I Kong also released the aptly titled 'The Forgotten Man', but a lot more Errol Kong's discography didn't entail.
Like many a reggae musician Ras Lil Dread, starting his career in music as a bass player for Californian band Three The Hard Way (later renamed Ras Dashan), also started dreading up at one point, but that being said, Antone R. Chatton's stage name is meant as a tribute to his mentor, Mikey Dread, with whom he worked as a road manager and bass player for many years.
For 'Land Of The Blind' (the title is a reference to the old expression: "In the land of the blind the one eyed man is king.") Neil Perch once again collaborated with Zion Train-stalwarts like Fitta Warri, Jazzmin Tutum and Dub Dadda, but with appearances from Kathika Rabbit, a singer from Manchester and German MC Longfingah, the album also features a few new faces.
The golden era of the rocksteady genre may only have lasted for two years, the period yielded quite a number of classics in Jamaican music history. For 'Rocksteady: Taking Over Orange Street 1966 - 1968' the Kingston Sounds label selected 16 rocksteady-gems from the extensive catalog of producer Bunny Lee.
'Mission Incomplete' is the long player debut of singjay Tydal, born Navardo Graham in Saint Mary, Jamaica. With a track list counting no less than nineteen songs - some of which could already be found on the 'Journey Of A Young Warrior' EP - Tydal seems to have opted for quantity on 'Mission Incomplete'.
The relationship between Kiddus I and Homegrown Band already goes back to 2005, when the French band around saxophonist Guillaume 'Stepper' Briard accompanied the Jamaican veteran a first time during a tour in France.
At the end of the nineteen nineties Penthouse Records was a regular hit machine, but nowadays Donovan Germain's productions have become rather scarce. That being said, if he does decide to go for it, Germain rarely misses the bull's eye.
Until recently Australian multi-instrumentalist Xavier Rudd performed as an impressive one-man orchestra, surrounded by half a dozen guitars, three yi?akis (didgeridoos), and a selection of traditional drums, but for 'Nanna' Rudd has assembled a nine piece band, christened The United Nations due to the various origins (Australia, Germany, South Africa, Samoa and Papua New Guinea) of its members.
Asked to pick a name from the many upcoming reggae talents Italy has to offer, we would have put our money on Pierodread as the most likely to work with Alborosie, but it was ultimately Lion D who managed to convince the Shengen Don.
Under the Beam Up alias, Brian May (see also DJ Delay and Sonical, but not to be confused with the similarly named Queen guitarist), an English DJ who divides his time between Melbourne, Osaka and Berlin, experiments with reggae and dub.
With the release of this EP, Natanja is clearly commencing a new chapter in his career, collaborating, among others, with Canadian producer Mr. Lion (responsible for the mastering of the tracks on 'The Beginning' as well as composing the riddim tracks for 'Lake Of Fyah' and 'Battlefield').
No to criticize previous releases, but 'Live It To Know It', a compilation of self-produced tracks recorded between 1975 and 1985 by ex-Sensations and Uniques vocalist, and father of Tarrus Riley, Martin Norman Riley aka Jimmy Riley, was the first Pressure Sounds release in a long time we were really looking forward to.
Last year Black Symbol front man Fatman already presented us with the all new 'Journey' album and now Reggae Archive Records looks back on the history of this Birmingham based band with this untitled compilation.
'FM', The Skints' new long player, turns out to be a concept album. Built around the imaginary FM 103.Skints, the album, conceived as a radio broadcast, is an ode to pirate radio stations like Kiss FM or Dread Broadcasting Corporation/Rebel Radio FM, who, among other things, were responsible for making reggae an integral part of British society.
With the release of the 12 inch 'Wolf' in 2014, Capital Letters already provided us with a taste of their upcoming album 'Wolverhampton'.
In terms of productivity Colah Colah seems to be unstoppable, as, in collaboration with Dutch label Basco Record Production, the Jamaican singjay keeps turning out albums at a steady pace.
After several mediocre albums (2006's 'Je Blesserai Personne' and 2010's 'Légendaire Serenade') giving the impression Pierpoljak was bidding the reggae genre farewell and rather wanted to pursue a career as a singer-songwriter, things remained silent for quite some time. The fact Pierre-Mathieu Vilmet is still standing his ground, he now proves with 'Général Indigo' (the title is a reference to the nickname he got in Jamaica because of his blue eyes).
Together with his brother Konshens (Garfield Delano Spence), Delmark Spence aka Delus performed as Sojah for a while, but these days he's pursuing a solo career.
Expectations for 'Ancient Future', Oje Ken Ollivierre aka Protoje's third long player, were high to say the least. Rest assured though as this is an absolute killer of an album!
A few weeks ago, Italian artist Raphael shared the stage with Asham Band at Petrol Club in Antwerp. High time to introduce this young artist on the rise, who also released a mixtape mixed by Sentinel Sound on March 4th.
Just in time for International Women's Day (08/03), French label Reggae Livication Records, last year still responsible for Da Fuchaman's 'Rasta Will Be There' EP, presents 'Woman Reggae Vibes', a compilation allowing 9 female reggae artists to give the best of themselves.
One of the advantages of the releases on the Kingston Sounds label is the fact the titles of their compilations are often quite self-explanatory and 'Ska From The Vaults Of W.I.R.L. Records' is certainly no different.
Ruffi-Ann (real name Sharon Peterkin) can hardly be considered an upcoming talent, as the singer has already enjoyed quite the musical career.
In February 2015, veteran dancehall artist General Degree released a reggae EP called 'Feeling Irie', followed by a 3 week European Tour. He passed through Antwerp for a show at Petrol Club where we had the opportunity to interview him on his new project but also to reflect on his career.
Not to say It is that on the Virgin Islands, apart from Dezarie, no other female singers are active (check Mada Nile, Natty Empress or Sistah Joyce), but internationally none of them really have left their mark yet. However, newcomer Reemah's 'Check Your Words' may change things!
Even though the earliest incarnation of Mystic Revealers dates back to the 1970s, they only really had their breakthrough in the 1990s.
Because yours truly, isn't really a fan of the multitude of female singer-songwriters with an ethnic twist out there (see also Ayo, Irma, Imayo, Sara Tavares...), we had ignored the work of German-Nigerian Nneka until now.
'Kilo Gipsyska', Antwerp Gipsy-Ska Orkestra's third album to date, might just provide this Antwerp based party orchestra with the international breakthrough they were looking for.
As far as yours truly is concerned, New Kingston, a band made up of three brothers from Brooklyn, New York City, might well be the new Morgan Heritage.
With the disappearance of the Blood and Fire label, getting hold of one of their reissues of the work of Yabby You got more and more difficult. Fortunately there's still Randall Grass' Shanachie label.
For the successor of 'Steppin' Out', their 2013 album debut, The Banyans continue where they left off.
After 2004's 'No Bed Of Roses', 'Hard Food' is the first Dub Syndicate album in 10 years. What should have been a joyous event, after the brutal murder of drummer and Dub Syndicate front man Lincoln 'Style' Scott, has become the musical testament of the band.
In the wake of Easy Star All-Stars releases like 'Dub Side Of The Moon' or 'Radiodread', in 2008 DubXanne, a collective from Hamburg, released 'Police In Dub'.
Once every so often, the Echo Beach label has one of their releases remixed (see also DubXanne's 'Police In Dub') and in the case of 'Nu School Of Dub', 'Return From Planet Dub', a 2009 collaboration between Dubblestandart, Lee 'Scratch' Perry and the late Ari Up, was revamped by Robo Bass Hifi (the alter ego of producer Markus Kammann), who gave the original album a serious makeover full of dubstep, jungle and other "bass driven" music.
For the umpteenth time a Marley won this year's Grammy for Best Reggae album. You had probably heard already, but we do need to vent our disappointment. For laureate Ziggy Marley it was already his third Grammy as a solo artist.
When 'Various Artists - Jackpot Dub: Rare Dubs From Jackpot Records 1974 - 1976' still focused on Bunny Lee's Jackpot Records label, for the similar 'Attack Dub: Rare Dubs From Attack Records 1973 - 1977' Jamaican Recordings drew inspiration from his Attack label.
IQulah (an acronym that stands for Integrity, Quality, Unity, Love, Africa and Home) belongs to a select group of Jamaican reggae musicians with a firm footing in the Rasta community, who despite of (or perhaps because of) their limited output have acquired a cult status (see also Kiddus I or Junior Byles).
With 2012's 'Turn On The Light', Reggae Angels' previous effort, we weren't really all that impressed, but this time the Californian band joined forces with Sly & Robbie and their Taxi Gang, a combination that certainly tickled our imagination.
With the self-published 2012 effort 'The Journey', Omar Perry didn't cause that much of a stir. Not that it was an inferior release; it just got way too little promotion.
Last year E.N. Young surprised us with a number of excellent releases on his Roots Musician Records label and with 'Live Love Stay Up' he's now finally stepping into spotlight himself.
The term "payaka", well-known among reggae amateurs from songs like Culture's 'Them A Payaka' or Bob Marley's 'Bus Dem Shut (Pyaka)', is patois for heathen or sinner, but in this case (and spelled slightly different) also the name of a French band from Clermont-Ferrand in the French Auvergne.
The Pressure Sounds label welcomes the New Year with a reissue of 'Consider Yourself', the debut album by vocal trio Inturns recorded in 1978 for Phil Pratt's Chanan-Jah label.
Intriguing album this 'A Matter Of Scale', the second long player by Breton trio Stand High Patrol.
The relationship between Vivian Jones and the Dutch Black Star Foundation dates back to a short meeting in London back in 2009, and after touring together several times, the friendship that eventually blossomed now also resulted in the release of a new Vivian Jones album.
In recent years Ariwa-chief Mad Professor spent a lot of time in The Gambia, where, among other things, he organized a number of editions of the Back To Africa festival. It was therefore only a matter of time for African influences to start popping up in his releases as well and on 'Dubbing With Anansi' that is the case both musically (songs like opener 'Atlantic Crossing', 'Rasta Interpreter' and of course 'Brikama Market', a reference to the city in the west of the Gambia) and content-wise.
With this 'Voice Of Freedom' EP Subajah ("suba" is Creole for against-the-grain or rebellious), an Martinican artist residing in the British capital since 2007, presents his first calling card.
'Illusions' may be the third album Marlon Asher is on the world lets go, 2006's 'Locked Out' and 2008's 'Unconditional Love' unfortunately never reached us and, apart from his hit single 'Ganja Farmer', this album was so our first real introduction to this Trinidadian reggae artist.
For reggae lovers still looking for a suitable gift for the festive season or searching for a suitable destination for a gift certificate, the DVD release of 'I Am The Gorgon' is an excellent recommendation.
VP Records traditionally end the year with 'Strictly The Best', their compilation series offering the best the past year had to offer in reggae and dancehall.
A new roots generation, new singers and bands, delightful new tunes, dubs and riddims, new sound systems, new connections, new Beljam hits, memorable festivals and concerts: it has been a fantastic year for reggae.
Immediately after the release of his 'Moment Idéal' album in 2013, joined by Artikal Band, Yaniss Odua embarked on a promotional tour. Apart from a series of rousing concerts, the endeavor also resulted in this CD/DVD combo.
For 'Zion Awake' Luciano rekindled his relationship with Homer Harris, the man who gave him his stage name and more or less put The Messenger on the musical path he's still walking to this day.
The Sunvibes Music label was founded by Leon Cameron, a Jamaican from Yallahs in Saint Thomas, who moved to Little Elm, Texas, USA. Cameron is a nephew of Jamaican veteran Sylford Walker, so it should come as no surprise that for 'Time Has Come', the first release on the label, the two joined forces.
Something that keeps fascinating yours truly in the reggae genre is the fact that one can still discover new things even after many years. It was in that light, and to our own bewilderment, that we had to admit never to have heard of Donald and Sonia Moodie's Don One Records label.
Even though yours truly is a great amateur of the lovers rock genre, we weren't as yet familiar with the work of Anwar Owen Hanchard aka Stevie Face, a singer from Yallahs in Saint Thomas, who's mainly built up a fan base in the United Kingdom.
Yours truly was highly impressed by 'Beauty For Ashes', the collaborative effort between Midnite and I Grade Records which/that appeared earlier this year, so we were definitely looking forward to 'Ride Tru' for which Vaughn Benjamin & co joined forces with Tippy Alfred once again.
With 'Guilty' Tanya Stephens seems to have found her mojo again. After brilliant albums like 'Gangsta Blues' (2005) and 'Rebelution' (2006), the self-published 'Infallible' (Tarantula Records, 2010) didn't cause much of a stir: somewhat disillusioned with the music industry, Tanya offered the album to her fans for free and, despite the title, musically it wasn't really her best effort either.
We don't often get served a portion of Portuguese roots reggae and so we were a little curious about this long player debut from Rubera Roots, a band from Amadora near Lisbon (the band's name is a reference to the subsistence lifestyle of the farmers in Cape Verde, analogous with the Rastafarians in Jamaica).
With a track list counting no less than 17 songs, like on his 2011 album 'Cité Soleil', Tiwony didn't seem too picky when choosing the tracks for 'Roots Rebel'. That being said, this certainly doesn't mean the track list of the album is filled with stinkers.
During a European tour in 2010 and 2011 Jamaican singjay Junior Culture (born Jermaine Vassel in Jones Town, Kingston) met Italian producer Marco Evangelisto of Goldcup Records and that meeting eventually resulted in this album.
As their last release for 2014, the Kingston Sounds label opted for a reissue of 'Tapper Roots', the second and last album Tapper Zukie recorded for Richard Branson's Virgin Records label in 1978 ('Peace In The Ghetto', Tapper's first album for Virgin was already rereleased by Kingston Sounds earlier this year).
On 4 September 2014 Hopeton Lewis passed away at his home in Brooklyn, New York. Once more we've lost one of the pioneers of rock steady.
'Ladies First' is the first release in the Special Blend series conceived by French producer duo Bost & Bim. As the title suggests, this first EP focusses on the female voice and for the vocal interpretations Bost & Bim invited a slew of singers from around the world.
In 2013 Jahcoustix released 'Frequency', an excellent album the German reggae recorded in collaboration with Austrian Irievibrations Records. Blood is thicker than water though, and bearing his stage name in mind Dominik Haas now presents this acoustic version of that same album.
The expression "strike while the iron is hot" in mind, just a few months after the release of their debut EP 'Olas De Cambio', Malaka Youth now presents this long player.
Kevin Isaacs is the son of the late reggae crooner Gregory Isaacs. Kevin followed in the footsteps of his father and started performing from a young age.
After the great Puff Puff riddim and Timmi Burrell's debut effort, MacLes Music Factory Productions is now also presenting Tmar Millington's album debut.
Gone are the bright vibrant colors from her previous album covers, and instead we get to see a soberly dressed Etana wrapped in a simple white Ethiopian scarf or netela.
Like Etana, Duane Stephenson also joined forces with Clive Hunt for the production of 'Dangerously Roots, Journey From August Town', his third long player. That being said, Donovan Germain, Dean Fraser and Phillip James Ryan also did their share.
Austrian label Irievibrations Records is celebrating its ten year anniversary with the compilation 'Solid Foundation', a mixture of the best and most successful tunes that appeared on the label over the years (Luciano's 'Rub-A-Dub Market', Anthony B's 'Freedom Fighter' or 'Controller' by Jahcoustix and Apple Gabriel) and some previously unreleased songs.
Writing a review about a compilation like 'Sound System: Dub Plate Specials 1975-1979' without disposing of any additional information, isn't easy. That being said, a lot of the information is of course already enclosed in the title, as 16 dubs dating from the period 1975 to 1979 and all the work of grandmaster King Tubby is exactly what you'll find on this disc.
Now a label like Jamaican Recordings/Kingston Sounds has dedicated itself to rereleasing Bunny Lee's entire back catalogue, the question rises whether there's still a need for this Pressure Sounds-compilation.
Original Bass Foundation, in dub circles better known as O.B.F. Sound System, is a French sound from the vicinity of Geneva in Switzerland, also the location where they've been organizing their Dubquake dub nights for quite some time now.
Shanty, a seven piece band from the British capital, presents its debut effort 'Leave Me Out, an EP consisting of four tracks.
In their Sranan Gowtu ("Surinamese gold") series, the Dutch Top-Notch label is now also releasing 'Gangster En Andere Poku's', a compilation of the work of Johan Edward Touwslager aka Papa Touwtjie, Suriname's best known reggae artist.
Containing songs like 'Johnny Big Mouth', 'Lazer Beam' or 'Ababa John I' you could consider 'Wipe The Wicked Clean' a kind of 'Best Of' compilation of the work of Don Carlos.
In 2010 the Greensleeves/VP Records label released a compilation titled 'Jammy's From The Roots 1977-1985', focusing on the early years of Prince Jammy's production work. 'More Jammy's From The Roots' already lands us somewhat later on the timeline and with this compilation Greensleeves/VP Records seems to want to silence critics who, like yours truly, claim the digital revolution of the early nineteen eighties was responsible for nothing more than the promotion of slackness culture.
Contrary to what their band name suggests, Tour De Force isn't a French band, but the alter ego of Jay Spaker aka. Double Tiger and DJ Q-Mastah (born Quoc Pham), two producers from Brooklyn, New York who in 2012 also founded the Dub Stuy Records label together.
All the way from faraway New Zealand we received 'Music For Loud Ears' by Bipolarbass, the alter ego of Tom Cadillac (bass and organ) and Ed Salik (drums, sampler), two do-it-yourselfers from Auckland.
The fact multi-instrumentalist/DJ/MC/producer Saimn-I returns here with the successor to 'More To The Picture Than Meets The Eye', his 2013 long player debut, leaves little doubt, because the titles of both albums are very similar to one another.
About once a year, yours truly hops on the Eurostar in the direction of the British capital to go and catch a show featuring artists we rarely get to see on the continent. This time the place to be was The Jazz Cafe where Tippa Irie & Friends were scheduled to play.
The sound of eSKAlation, a nine-piece ska-punk band from Nuremberg in Germany, catapulted yours truly straight back to the 1980s, a time when the Berlin Wall was still firmly standing and being leftwing hadn't become an insult yet.
For the more than aptly titled 'United As One', Dubkey joined forces with Dub-O-Phonic, a sister netlabel from Cyprus.
We already announced this new album by Martin Zobel & Soulrise a few months ago, when the band wanted to put the crowdfunding campaign for 'Keep Planting Seeds' in the spotlight with the release of their 'Inspiration' EP.
'Evolution' is the long player debut of I&I Livity, a band from Dax, a small town in Landes, a region in the southwest of France.
Fans of the productions by Don Goliath are probably jumping for joy, because the last couple of weeks the Cologne based producer has been turning out albums as if it were hotcakes.
After the split of Sceptre in 1987, Jean 'Jeanus' McLean aka Reggaebaby still remained active in the music business: at first somewhat unsuccessfully with her own Foxy Lady label on which she released a number of singles, but in 2003 appeared there's finally 'I'm A Reggaebaby', a first album co-produced by Pato Banton. With 2012's 'Everlasting' McLean came up with a successor for 'I'm A Reggaebaby' and that album is now reissued by Sugar Shack Records.
The red thread running through this new and relatively short (9 tracks) Groundation album is Bob Marley.
In 1971 Jamaican duo Dave & Ansell Collins achieved immortality with 'Double Barrel', a song which in May of that year held the number one spot in the UK charts for two weeks straight. For 'Double Up!!' the Kingston Sounds label compiled some lesser known, but no less successful recordings by the twosome.
The treasure troves of reggae music seem almost inexhaustible and 'Unification: From Channel One To King Tubby's With Willi Williams & Yabby You' is yet another never released gem from the nineteen seventies only true reggae freaks knew existed.
Amateurs of roots reggae attending a dub party now and again will probably already be familiar with Paul Fox, but for others, the young singer/producer from the United Kingdom might still need an introduction.
With Sceptre's 'Essence Of Redemption Ina Dif'rent Styley' by Sceptre, Reggae Archive Records saves another UK reggae gem from oblivion.
Sara Lugo's debut album ('What About Love', Oneness Records/Grooveattack 2011), unfortunately didn't reach us, but we can present you its successor 'Hit Me With Music'.
Another American reggae band yours truly hadn't heard of. This five-some hails from Rochester, New York, and for 'Steady', their sixth album to date, collaborated with Craig Welsh (10 Ft. Ganja Plant) and Easy Star Records.
The fact 'Together Not Apart', Backbeat Soundsystem's debut album is distributed by the American Easy Star Records label of Michael Goldwasser, should not surprise. This nine-piece band from St. Austell in Cornwall has a sound that is halfway between SOJA and Rebelution, making it the most American sounding European reggae band we've encountered to date.
With 'On The Road', Faya Dub, the band which in 1998 evolved from the meeting of saxophonist/flutist Eric 'Rico' Gaultier and bassist Thierry 'Thi' Negro, is already presenting its fourth long player.
Petrol was packed at midnight and the walls were sweating already. The crowd was getting in the mood on Keytown Sound's selection, after a warm-up by Conscious Sound we missed. An hour later, impatience started to rise as rumours that Gyptian was nowhere to be found were spreading amongst the fans... Luckily, the reggae superstar finally showed up and gave his public a great performance.
DJ veteran Dillinger has just released a new album. The ideal opportunity to look back on his long career.
Uziah Thompson, best known among reggae aficionados as Sticky, died of a heart attack on 25 August.
The recent flow of reggae releases from the United States seems to be never ending. This self-titled debut album by Tatanka, a four man band from Denver, Colorado, was once again produced by E. N. Young and is distributed on his Roots Musician Records label.
In hip-hop circles Aruban-Dutch rapper Rico aka Phreako Rico (born Ricardo McDougal) probably doesn't need an introducing anymore. In the recent past he made his mark first as a member of Opgezwolle and later with Fakkelbrigade. In 2011 Rico already released a first solo album, 'DMT', but for 'Irie', a collaboration with producer A.R.T. (Ali Reza Tahoeni), Rico changed tack and explored a different genre altogether: reggae!
With the release of their 2012 album 'On The Ground' Bristolian reggae veterans Black Roots proved that even after more than thirty years they were still alive and kicking, but this brand new 'Ghetto Feel' album is in a league of its own.
If you only need one good reason to go to Reggae Sundance this weekend, then let it be to watch John Holt perform with an entire symphonic orchestra. To warm you up a bit, we present the following interview with this living legend from Jamaica's music history. Translation: Rudi
The Universal Improvement Association of UNIA, the biggest black organisation in history, was founded exactly 100 years ago by Marcus Mosiah Garvey and his first wife Amy Ashford Garvey. We reflected on the life and work of Jamaica's first national hero with none other than Mutabaruka. Translation: Rudi
Our favourite dub poet, Mutabaruka, will again host the Reggae Sundance festival. With the following interview you can already get into the right mood. Translation: Rudi
The ReggaeBus had already made a stop at Dour in mid July, last weekend it was back in its comfort zone in Brussels where the fourth edition of the two-day dub festival took place, on the premises of Tour&Taxis. When you think you've seen it all, you get blown away again by an impressive sound system line-up. This year there was also a remarkable role for domestic sounds and producers.
Sweating. Waiting for food for hours. Roads filled with holes. Hustlers & bustlers & sufferers. Rich & poor & havenots. Mosquitoes & spiders & flies. I embrace them in Jamaica, still the land we love. Because there's no better place to eat ital or to reason thoroughly. Because nowhere else Africa and America are this close to each other. And because in no other place does music connect people more than on this marvellous island.
The first thing we noticed when listening to this new album by Lester Bullock aka Dillinger was the fact the track list of 'Reparation Now' consisted largely of conscious tracks (that being said, Dillinger does go dancehall for 'Teck Gal').
'Mek A Raise' is a collaborative effort by Brummie Ras Tweed, born Kevin Tweed, a founding member of Overproof Sound System (founded in 1999) and author of the UK stepper smash 'Watch What You Put In A Rizla', and Roots Arna, the man behind Salomon Heritage sound system from Montpellier in France.
Ras Muhamad (born Muhamad Egar) is Indonesia's self-proclaimed reggae ambassador. Although this Moritz 'Morry' von Korff (Oneness Records, Germany) produced album was our first encounter with Ras Muhamad, 'Salam' ("peace") is already his fifth long player.
Tanya Stephens can certainly charm us. You may wake us at any time to go watch her perform. You might even lure us to the distant city of Oudenaarde to discover one single reggae act among the techno beats and fairground attractions. Almost.
In anticipation of a forthcoming album, scheduled for release later this year, Neil Perch offers Zion Train this four track 'Money' EP.
Nemanja Koji?, better known by his stage name Hornsman Coyote, is a Serbian trombonist and vocalist.
Suga Roy & Conrad Crystal's fourth long player was recorded in collaboration with German Oneness Records, the label in the past already offering us releases by, among others, Mark Wonder and Naptali, and as far as yours truly is concerned 'The Kings Book' is the Jamaican duo's best effort since their 2008 debut 'Highest Grade' (Heartbeat Europe).
The American reggae scene is still in full expansion, making it ever harder to keep up with new bands sprouting up all over the place. Burnt is a San-Francisco based trio, but the band was founded in Indio, a small town in Coachella Valley (best known as the location for the annual Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival), around the turn of the century.
Ras Pilot was born in Trinidad as Everard Sealy and initially earned a living running his own clothing store Brands Galore (grown into a small chain of five stores in Trinidad and Tobago).
William White is a Barbadian who's been living and working in Switzerland for several years now, where he's managed to make a nice name for himself.
In anticipation of his next album, 'Keep Planting Seeds', and to highlight the crowdfunding campaign started to finance its production, Martin Zobel & Soulrise are offering this four track 'Inspiration' EP as a free download.
We'd preferred to be able to offer you a lot of information on Rashani, but more than the fact this do-it-yourselfer hails from Grenada and is currently residing in Brooklyn, New York, we could unfortunately not uncover.
Just as for Black Roots' 'On The Ground' album, the Sugar Shack Records label also signed off on a dub version of Talisman's 'I-Surrection'.
Lars Brachmann aka Don Goliath is a resident of Cologne who's already been involved with reggae since the age of fifteen; first as a member of Road To Zion and later under the name Sir Larsie I.
Ryan Gonzales aka Gonzo might be best known as the guitarist for American reggae band Tribal Seeds, but with 'Red' he's already releasing his second solo project.
After releasing HIRIE's self-titled debut album, Roots Musician Records label is now also presenting 'Rebel', the debut effort of Leilani Wolfgramm, a singer of Tongan descent hailing from Orlando, Florida.
Clear Conscience is an American band from San Francisco mixing reggae with influences from rock and hip-hop. Formed in 2000, Clear Conscience already released close to a dozen albums.
'Morning Light' is the recording debut of Animo, an American rock band from Santa Cruz, California.
Judging from the guest list of 'Amid The Noise And Haste' (Collie Buddz, J Boog, Michael Franti and, above all, Damian Marley), SOJA finally seems to have made it to the top of the reggae scene.
Raphael Pocorni is the son of Martinican singer and musician Djeynah Delbety, but among Benelux reggae aficionados he's probably better known as Rapha Pico.
'Gussie presenting The Right Tracks' is a deluxe reissue of the eponymous compilation album Augustus 'Gussie' Clarke released on his own Gussie label in 1976 that (in Europe distributed by Cactus and Creole Records). The original eleven song track list was extended to a two discs filling 40 tracks counting compilation full of versions, instrumentals and rarities.
With a new location and again a whole weekend instead of one festival day, Reggae Sundance seemed to challenge the gods, so it wasn't really a surprise that this fifteenth edition didn't run entirely smoothly. Here's a summary of the high and low points of three days of Reggae Sundance.
Highly recommended if you want to get into the mood for the Rototom Sunsplash festival, which will again take place in a few days' time: 'Sweet Spanish Man' by Chantelle Ernandez. The video clip for this track was shot on the festival grounds and makes us count down to the next edition. Here's an interview with Chantelle herself. Translation: Rudi
For nearly two decades now VP Records has been gathering the best and most significate tunes burning the reggae and dancehall charts on their annual 'Reggae Gold' compilation.
Is there a more eclectic festival for current alternative music in our region? An incomprehensible tangle for some, the perfect mix of different kinds of music for others. You would think it's not exactly the place where a reggae-enthusiast would feel at home. Yet the line-up of dour was filled with enough green-yellow-red to mobilize a lot of supporters of the genre in the direction of the Walloon village in the Borinage. This year was the second year they had the Dub Corner ,which is organized by Reggaebus and gives the organization an extra advantage to keep gratifying this part of their audience.
The African continent and reggae have been intertwined in an almost symbiotic relationship that has been going on since the birth of the genre and with the aptly titled 'Reggae Loves Africa' the VP label now devotes an entire compilation to the theme.
With 'Summer Vibes' and 'One Drop' VP Records adds two volumes to its Total Reggae compilation series and even though yours truly has never been a big fan of compilations, the Total Reggae releases really offer value for money.
Ron Muschette, Jamaica's most popular radio DJ, will this year be MC on the main stage of Reggae Geel. In the run-up to the festival Muschette will broadcast his coveted morning show (Jamaican time!) from the festival grounds. A world premiere!
Christian Hankammer aka Chris Toppa is the latest reggae revelation from Germany. The young singjay from Wülfrath in North Rhine-Westphalia first earned his spurs as a bassist in his brother Stephan's band, Unrivaled, and then founded his own rock band Bonestrip.
'The Truth Shall Be Told' is the debut album of Zacheous Jackson, a Londoner with Jamaican roots.
Interview with a veteran singer.
Interview with a true foundation singer.
Walshy Fire, one of the producers behind Major Lazer, is a wilful, versatile man. On the one hand he's produced tracks that can fill dancefloors all over the world, but on the other hand he can just as well move his focus to a young artist from Jamaica. 'Royally Speaking' (downloadable for free) is a unique mixtape that he's made with singer Jesse Royal, another representative of the reggae revival, together with other torchbearers like Protoje, Kelissa, Chronixx, Kabaka Pyramid and Micah Shemaiah. Back to the roots, but with a modern twist. The themes he touches upon are topical and at the same time peppered with traditional influences.
The first edition of the Smile Festival was not exactly spoiled by the weather gods. Heavy rainfall didn't materialise, but the sun never managed to break through the grey clouds either. Fortunately, all live performances and DJ sets were programmed in tents. Not enough people turned up, but those who did had a whale of a time. Whether you were into dub, rocksteady, live gigs or heavy ragga, everybody was served hand and foot.
Well-known dancehall artist General Degree is ready to smash the summer with his new EP 'Bambalam', available worldwide from July 15th. After a long time in the Jamaican music scene and an extensive series of hits ('Traffic Blocking', 'Almighty God', 'Granny', 'Boom Boom'…) General Degree returns with a set of five songs that will blaze up every party!
Reggae and dub fans who go to London from time to time will no doubt be familiar with the Blacker Dread Music Store in Brixton. In an already dwindling market of music outlets, this is one of the few remaining specialised reggae shops in the British capital.
Last weekend the 29th (!) edition of Summerjam took place in Fühlingen am Rhein (near Köln). Thanks to another diverse line-up and the perfect location, the Germans always manage to meet reggae fans' high expectations.
Even though 'Dub Vibrations 1 & 2' and the 'Three Little Birds' EP aren't really related, both releases show striking similarities in terms of content and the philosophy of the labels, Maltese Dubkey and Belgian Reggaedub.be, behind them: both labels work according to the so-called creative-common principle, allowing artists to reach a wider audience by offering their albums as a free download, and both the 'Dub Vibrations 1 & 2' compilations on Reggaedub.be and the 'Three Little Birds' EP on the Dubkey label focus on instrumental dub with a UK stepper flavor.
Those who, upon hearing the name Prodi, like yours truly, automatically thought of the Italian politician Romano Prodi, can now also link it to Calvin Whilby, as it is the stage name of this young Jamaican artist from Saint Catherine, initially still calling himself Prodigal Son and later Prodigal, but now shortening it to Prodi.
For the track list of the sequel to their 2012 compilation 'Deeper Roots: Dub Plates And Rareties 1976-1978', Pressure Sounds seems to have opted for some of the better instrumentals and dub versions from Yabby You's catalog.
Even though we've seen little sign of it in Belgium (caused by organizers unwilling to leave their comfort zone), in the United Kingdom a roots revival has been under way for several years now, giving bands like Black Roots, Capital Letters and Black Slate a second life.
After the break with Real World Records (this new album appears on Dubulah's own Echomaster label and is distributed by Independent Records Ltd) musically Nick Page also seems to have steered Dub Colossus in a different direction.
Two days into the festival most visitors were prepared for the worst on the last day of Couleur Café. Yet, rain-proof gear turned out to be unnecessary because, after a few small showers in the early evening, it remained warm and dry for the rest of the day and night.
A tent packed with people singing along to Iron Ites and The Gladiators, and a great party with Seeed: the rain drove a much bigger crowd to the Univers stage than expected, and especially the reggae bands got to benefit from it. Big names Burning Spear and Tiken Jah Fakoly were struggling a lot more on the main stage.
With Busy Signal, Macka B, Roots Riders and Babylon circus, there was no lack of reggae last weekend on the mainstage of the Afro-Latino Festival in Oppitter (Bree). In the Island Jam-tent reggae and dancehall prevailed the entire weekend, with top sounds both foreign as domestic.
'Easy To Love' signals the return of British-Jamaican lovers rock veteran Maxi Priest. After a hiatus of nearly a decade, the man behind world hits like 'Close To You' or 'Wild World' is finally back with this varied album.
The fact 'Specialist presents Alborosie & Friends' isn't really a new Alborosie album (this compilation was already released in limited edition back in 2010 on Alborosie's own Forward Recordings label), shouldn't really keep you from buying this excellent double compilation.
The worldly cocktailbar Mama Matrea has put together an amazing Poolparty Festival on the Badboot at the Kattendijkdok for the first time. Not a lot of people, but all the more vibes.
Those who didn't quite enjoy the un-reggae-like and poppy voice of Eric Rachmany on the previous albums by Californian band Rebelution, probably won't enjoy 'Count Me In' either.
The fact North African genres like chaabi and raï are rhythmical cousins of reggae was already proven by Hakim 'Bouchkour' Meridja, singer with French band Dub Incorporation, and Jimmy Oihid. Around the turn of the century Tabou 1 producer Guillaume Bougard even put out the compilation 'Big Men: Raï Meets Reggae' for which he made big names from both genres work together.
When talking about new bands coming out of Jamaica - think Pentateuch, Rootz Underground or Dubtonic Kru - we certainly can't forget Raging Fyah.
After a hiatus of just over a year, time he spent at his family's farm in Ivory Coast, Tiken Jah Fakoly returns with 'Dernier Appel', an album for which he continued along the path he had already taken for 'L'Africain' (2007) and even more for 'African Revolution' (2010): African instrumentation, more English-language songs and producers Kevin Bacon and Jonathan Quarmby are also present again.
"Feu vert pour le ganja" titrait la une du Jamaican Observer le 24 février 2014.Cette semaine, le Gouvernement jamaïcain a annoncé que l'usage et la possession de petites quantités de cannabis, notamment pour usage religieux, seraient effectivement supprimés de la loi pénale dès septembre de cette année, et que le pays allait s'engager à, fond dans la production de marihuana pour usage médical."On ne pourrait rester en retrait dans ce domaine par rapport au reste du monde, dit le ministre compétent (de la politique scientifique!) Philip Paulwell.À part Anvers, voudra-t-il dire.
"Ten schooled musicians, with four prominent woodwinds, music neatly written out, nice compositions and arrangements, jazz of the highest level with ska and rootsreggae". That's how our very own Jah Shakespear described Jamaican Jazz Orchestra. Those who want to discover the Belgian revelation should go to Sfinks Mundial in Boechout this Thursday where the orchestra will be performing free of charge! To warm you up the following interview with musical prodigy and Jamaican Jazz Orchestra vocalist Simon Saimn-I' Decante.
It was an early party start for a pre-holiday evening at Recyclart in Brussels. We came down here to witness the pranks of the politically incorrect, elfish MC from Glasgow, Sumati Bhardwaj, better known under her stage name Soom-T, and we got exactly what we came for.
Anthony Cruz has just released his fifth studio album on his own Shan Shan label. This pretty young singer was born and raised in the music business, for he's the cousin of Garnett Silk, who hails from a musical family himself.
Once again we have some sad news to convey. On 19 May, Wilbert Augustus Campbell, aka Count Suckle, passed away in London, aged 80.
Début avril, Reggae Geel a mis 25000 euros à disposition de projets bénévoles spéciaux dans les domaines musical et social. Après une évaluation approfondie, l'organisation a retenu 10 dossiers. Hélas, Reggae Geel doit maintenant payer en plus 20000 euros pour les coûts des pompiers et de la police.
For the 7th Reggaebus Night none other than Channel One and Iration Steppas had been invited, both on their own sound system. Definitely a must-see for dub devotees. Channel One convinced us with a fine selection of roots classics, whereas Iration, as ever, opted for digital steppers. A true clash of cultures.
Reggae goes classic. At Sundance the London Philharmonic Orchestra will perform with Luciano and John Holt, and last Saturday Liège saw the premiere of 'Amadeus N'Est Pas Mort', a production that intertwines Mozart with reggae, hiphop, breakdance and Arabic percussion. Pioneering work by Panache Culture and the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège.
In 2004 Herbalize It from Enschede (NL) launched the concept of 'War Ina East Soundclash'. What started as a musical showdown between some local sounds, has become a full-fledged intercontinental sound clash. The tenth anniversary was celebrated last weekend for three days in Berlin.
Chronixx était une bombe, Ziggy Marley a donné un concert de premier ordre, Barrington Levy nous a fait nous sentir contents, Keith & Tex nous ont emmenés dans un voyage "down memory lane" et Leroy Sibbles s'est montré digne de son statut légendaire. Dommage sue Black Uhuru n'a pas su conclure en beauté cette série de concerts réussie.
Suddenly Onesty was everywhere in Jamaica. On TV, on the radio, in the studio... With the help of Ajang Productions, the career of Beljam Reggae queen Tina Sureda came into rapids. Which continues on the home front: thanks to Ajang, Onesty will be the official support act for Black Uhuru , and not just in the Roma on Wednesday 23/4.
After Barry Llewelyns death, which also the end of The Heptones meant, performs Leroy Sibbles nowadays under his own name. The hits and the well knowned Beljam backing band Asham stayed the same. This with the support of Puppa Mighty, Soulboys Vs. Rudeboys, Young Gun Superior en Civalizee Foundation.
Le N9 s'est affirmé d'année en année comme un endroit parfait pour les petits concerts exclusifs de grande qualité. Nous y avons vu Groundation pour la première fois, ainsi que Bambu Station et Rude Reich & The High Notes. Cette fois c'était au tour de Keith & Tex , qui ne sont en aucun cas un nouveau nom, mais c'est bel et bien une première pour la Belgique.
Ziggy Marley has written a lot more songs than his dad, made more records, won more prizes and played more gigs. And his dreadlocks are a lot longer as well. Yet it's still his surname that makes concert halls fill up, and it's Bob's tunes that make the crowd go wild.
At the end of January of this year, 'Journey To Jah', a much-discussed documentary directed by Noël Dernesch and Moritz Springer, premiered at the Filmfestival Max Ophüls Preis in the German city of Saarbrücken. Obviously we would have liked to have attended this event, but even a Reggae.be reporter has his limits. Fortunately, reggae and Rastafari always have that bit of "natural mystic" that makes sure that everything turns out fine in the end, so last Saturday we got to see the film after all at the Millennium International Documentary Film Festival in Brussels.
On Sunday Chronixx launched the ideal start of a busy Reggae week in the UK. The hugely popular singer since last year has been busy working on his "Dread and terrible" tour in Europe, confirming its place at the top of the new generation and Reggae scene. We were treated to a delicious new roots show, full of subliminal messages and strikingly dubby bits, a trend that is back with a vengeance. As opener, he also brought along Kelissa and Dre Island, the ideal warm-up acts.
Puraman (Bregt De Boever) still counts his blessings every day. As a loving husband and father of course, but equally as much as an artist. His music has already got recognition, now it's his paintings' turn with a first exhibition in Bredene.
We saw the royal family of reggae only last year on the stage of Couleur Café, but their most recent indoor show on Belgian soil dated already from 2005, when they blew away the Antwerp club Petrol. No wonder Het Depot in Leuven filled up quite nicely with fans wanting to enjoy the Morgan clan performing live again.
It was a tough choice last Saturday between three roots/ dub dances! Dubkasm & Riddim Tuffa to Black Pearl Soundsystem in Kortrijk, and 'a night of just love and harmony' in Brussels where Ionyouth Soundsystem meets Jahmbassador were part of the line-up, but for me, Saturday 15 March meant Unity in the Warande at Turnhout, organised by Giraffe Soundsystem.
Vybz Kartel guilty of murder!After more than 2 and a half years of detention on remand ,the popular dancehall artist Vybz Kartel (a.k.a. Adidja Palmer and self-proclaimed 'World Boss') has been found guilty of the murder of Clive 'Lizard' Williams. He was already acquitted of a second murder case in July 2013 regarding the murder of Barrington Bryan. Vybz and his companions got a lifelong prison sentence on april 3rd.
On Tuesday 11 March, a lot of reggae fans gathered in quite a packed VK for a double bill: Lutan Fyah and Jah Mason. Ten years ago Bobshantis still ruled the charts, but in the mean time they've been pushed aside somewhat by a new generation. We experienced a nostalgic night and saw two solid shows. Too bad there was hardly any difference with their Antwerp gig of six years ago when they were also on the same bill.
They've been published for a while now, the beautiful picture books of Beth Lesser, but much like good wine they get better and better with the years. Ideally put on your living room table, and to show off to visiting company.
No, you don't really need to know Philip Smart. Because if you don't, you probably haven't heard either of his HC&F Studio in Long Island, New York., nor of the worldwide hit 'Go Deh Yaka' (Monyaka). Hopefully, though, you do know Shabba's 'Mr. Loverman'? Super Cat's 'Don Dada'? Shaggy's 'Oh Carolina'? All of these produced by.
Sometimes you have to check out natural beauties like Madagascar, surely paradise on earth.
Lovers of vintage roots and rocksteady greatly enjoyed their Friday evening last week, as for the first time in his five decade career Errol Dunkley played on Belgian soil in Merksem in Zaal Bart.
When you run through Wayne Smith's discography, it's astonishing to see how many singles he has released. And yet his name will forever be associated with that one revolutionary tune, the track that marked the transition from music played live to digital beats.
Last Tuesday the Wailers were in our country again. You know, the former accompanying band of late Bob Marley, or at least, what is left of it. There wasn't a better moment to have them over here, just a couple of days after Bob's birthday. That's probably what the people of Democrazy thought too, and the Wailers still attract huge crowds anyway. And that is how it got crowded in the Vooruit in Gent, and the atmosphere was right from the start.
Only 1 Belgian band made it to the semi finales of the BRC: from Ghent, the Jamaican Jazz Orchestra. In the MC category Beljam is represented by just 2: Mickey B and Puppasonic & Radikal Sound. Most important observation: it has become harder and harder to distinguish between the two categories, in the studio at least.
The only John Wayne we knew in the early eighties was an American film star, and not just any film star but the prototype of the cowboy hero. But then all of a sudden there was also a Jamaican John Wayne, a deejay, just like a Jamaican Clint Eastwood, and a Dillinger, and a (Dennis) Alcapone. Boys will be boys, tough pseudonyms included.
How do you mean, there's a lot of nauseating violence in this movie? People would leave the theatre crying, reviewers and interviewers call the director to account. Whereas in every action movie or television series there's plenty more violence, and Steve McQueen could have portrayed the suffering of slavery with much more crudity. That's how blind we here in the western world have always remained to this shameful episode in the history of mankind.
It's always good to see some new production outta Beljam. After sound systems/DJ's like Beatstreet Sound, Unlisted Fanatic, Dj BabyBang or DJ Spetik successfully ventured into reggae and dancehall production, another of Belgium's finest sounds is also going ahead in that field. In order to celebrate their 10th anniversary in fine style, the Pirate's Crew from Ghent is releasing two new songs on 1st February. Most noticeable about it is that the tunes will be pressed on vinyl.
Er is gelukkig nog geen sprake van een echte winterprik en de stralende zon van deze zomer zit nog steeds in elk van ons. Of toch zeker bij mij. Tijd om nog eens buiten te komen en driewerf hoera toen ik zag dat Pura Vida naar Diksmuide kwam. Het feit dat ik zelf ook samen gespeeld heb met GT Moore deed mijn enthousiasme alleen maar stijgen voor de Lost Ark Music Label Night.
It seems that Sizzla's hate talk won't be no longer unpunished even in Jamaica. The organisers of Sting, the most important dancehall festival of the year, have banned him off the stage after he had been going off again against the batty boys.
From the start she was one of the big favourites, but yesterday Jamaican Tessanne Chin (reggae and dancehall lovers will probably remember her from her 2010 album 'In Between Words') actually won the American version of The Voice.
With their mix of reggae, dancehall, cheerful ska and Arabic influences, Dub Inc (Dub Incorporation until 2010) is a unique element in the reggae scene. In the meantime they have created their fifth album which they presented for the first time in Beljam yesterday. Paradise is another jewel and, mixing in songs from their previous albums, they provided for another sound and finished show. That the from France originated band always knows how to have a party live, we no longer have to tell you.
Last saturday the third edition of the 'Rasta La vista'-festival took place at JOC De Nartist in Temse. In contrast to previous editions, the festival was composed of two separate rooms. In the larger, the audience could enjoy The Nice Guys and Wawashda, provided with an after party by The Pirates Crew, while in the smaller one Bad Boy Foundation, Freedom Sound, Collieman and Rohan Lee - backed by The Pirates Crew- were lined up.
Great location, three well separated yet close rooms, DJ's and live music, Mama Suzie's own little restaurant and a lot of positive vibrations, a lovely feeling of unity between ska cats, dub heads, roots people and dancehall massive: Smile Indoor's first edition was a success on all accounts. And sold out on top of that.
The bold look and provocative lyrics of dancehall diva Tifa haven't remained unnoticed during her previous European tour. The Italian 'News Fever' magazine even proclaimed her "the new queen of the dancehall". Brussels-based DJ Septik, whom some of you might know from the 'Slowbounce' radio show took the opportunity to record the track 'Party Time' together with Tifa. This single is currently available on iTunes and with its cheerful Summer vibes it's the ideal remedy for brightening up a dreary Winter's day. Therefore, we felt it was high time to have a word with Tifa herself.
With the falling of the leaves we also have to say goodbye to a couple of Jamaican reggae heroes; last month The Melodians' Tony Brevett already passed away and on November 5 Lloyd Robinson also left us.
About 3 years ago, for the first time ever, I saw Misty In Roots in action at the Afro Caribbean Festival in Bredene. It was a short but powerful performance resulting in a hunger for more. And if more Misty what was what we wanted, Saturday – at the indoor edition of the King Kop Festival – was the place to be. We witnessed a beautiful performance that unfortunately didn't lure the expected amount of people to the Depot (Leuven).
Protoje keeps getting better, in the studio but also on stage, with a fantastic band and three great backing vocalists. The first club concert in Belgium was in all aspects a success, and for the VK the ideal demonstration of a renewed interest in reggae and related genres.
Tony Brevett, founding member of rocksteady trio The Melodians and cousin of Lloyd Brevet – bassist of the Skatalites whom passed away in march this year – lost the fight against cancer on the 25th of October.
"Free our seeds and food from the venomous, avaricious and deadly claws of Monsanto and other Biotech companies": that's the unambiguous message Jamaican singer Brina is trying to get across in her new tune, 'Seeds of freedom'.
The American dub producer Kris Naphtali is in the country and that's a fact we couldn't have missed! Last Friday he played an hours long set at Dub (R)evolution Bruges, and afterwards it was announced that he was also invited to perform next Friday in the Landhuis in Ghent to add to the color of Coronation Dub, while in the meantime he goes to visit many Belgian home studios.
The music of Meta Dia & The Cornerstoners was new to me, as reggae expert. The band performed in our country twice in the last couple of years. Their surprising performance in De Casino, located in Sint-Niklaas, turned out to be a discovery of a true gem in the reggae scene.
It's been a while since I've looked forward to a concert this badly, but 'Fat Freddy's Drop' isn't among the least of groups. It must have been somewhere in 2009 when I first learned that people in New Zealand apparently also make reggae. A review of their show in Amsterdam appeared on this site and it really caught my attention, with the result that their début album, which appeared in 2005, was played many times on end. Four years and two albums later there was, at last, an opportunity to see this fascinating group at work.
Last Friday, Charly 'The country boy' Black was back in our country . He has been visiting us frequently over the past few years and he appears to be a well-loved guest of the dancehallfans. This time Charly did it "clubstyle" in club Publik in Antwerp, especially known for its R&B and hiphop-parties, and lately also for their concept "Strictly Dancehall". It's Charlyyyyyyy!
What started out as a free street party under the triumphal arch of the Jubelpark (with reggae playing from a bus) grew out to be a two-day festival at Tour and Taxis with thousands of party people from Belgium and abroad. The 'reggaebus' is still there, but has become more of a symbol for the event which once again outdid itself by staging 6 (!) hand crafted sound systems from Belgium, France and England on 4 different stages. Unfortunately this meant that we had to make some heartbreaking choices…
The second half of August traditionally entails a massive pilgrimage to Spain. Believers from all over the world come together, not with crucifixes and Holy Mary-bracelets but with green-yellow- red robes and Jamaican flags, to practice their faith. A faith in a better world, for which Rototom serves as an example for eight days.
He only did 2 shows in Europe, and some rare interviews.
After a four-year absence the largest reggae festival of the Netherlands is back, be it a bit smaller. The festival used to last an entire weekend, but is now just a one day event; the location 'pon da beach' at the E3-beach in Eersel remains the same.
After 35 years of bringing reggae vibes to the people, Reggae Geel managed to reinvent itself. A larger festival ground, a bigger camp site, a well thought through waste management program and above all a line-up covering two full days, spanning five stages including the main stage, the Bounce tent, the 18" Corner, the Skaville Circus tent and the festivals newest addition, the Yard tent.
Next weekend, the legendary Killamanjaro sound from Jamaica will be playing inside the Bounce Dancehall at the Reggae Geel festival. We've met up with their selector Freddy Krueger after he played in a friendly clash against the French Soul Stereo Sound, that took place at the Garance Festival 2013.
Whether or not it was the weather, or the fact that it was a work day that put a spoke in the wheel, but even less people showed up for concert of roots veteran Sylford Walker and Prince Alla than for the Bitty McLean concert earlier this week. Shame on you, Belgian reggae scene. The absentees were proven wrong which, as far as yours truly concerns, requires no further comment.
In the aftermath of a troublesome childhood, Ramone Williams, better known as RAM1 aka. Di Roots-Yute, found refuge in both music (gospel & reggae) and the Christian faith. As his church background is clearly reflected in his sound, it´s no surprise he was nominated for a Mobo (Music Of Black Origin) award for "Best Gospel Act". The Riddim Culture Mix tape contains some tracks from his debut album '1 Way 1 Truth 1 Life' (May 2011) and a sneak preview of what his next full album will sound like.
Many old, new and innovating reggae-values at Summerjam in Cologne last weekend, where a certain Diplo person also conquered some solid new ground.
It's Afro-Latino Festival's eleventh birthday, and each year it brings us an original mix of African, Caribbean and South American beats. The festival in Limburg coincides with the popular Couleur Café, but the organization couldn't care less; they compose an interesting line-up every year, and with that, they lure a lot of people to Bree for a convivial weekend. And this year was no different!
No Max Romeo, a reborn Jimmy Cliff, decent Congos, Tarrus Riley like usual, delightful Fat Freedy's Drop, a silly Matisyahu and an American Morgan Heritage. Large up for the Pirates Crew (B) and Raggaravane Sound System. The reggae performances at Couleur Café weren't memorable but surely of a higher level & omni present.
French reggae bands continue to pop up like mushrooms. This time we present Universal Congress, a seven piece band from Clamart (a suburb of Paris).
The Austrian city of Vienna turned out to be the perfect location for this musical clash. Herbalize It from The Netherlands was up against Supersonic Sound from Berlin, and for that, a neutral war ground had to be found.
Snoop Lion (formerly Dogg) did not make an exceptional album. His 'reincarnation' seems sincere though, ignited by the oldest and most African movement of Rastafari, nyabinghi.
Door de wind, door de regen, dwars door alles heen (in de woorden van Ingeborg) weerklonk in De Schorre the beat of the heart, en deed alle kou en nattigheid vergeten. Met een onweerstaanbare Asham-showcase op het grote podium, drie full size soundsystems in de Jamaican Circus en crazy vibes in de Colourz.
For the third year in a row, the Oostende Big Youths vzw presented a free 'street fair' on the sea boulevard of the Queen of the coastal cities. The KLEUR (COLOUR) festival happens thanks to a funding within the project 'Wijk in Beweging' (Neighbourhood in Motion) and focuses on three pillars, thereby looking over the borders: music, children's animation and world cuisine. This year the cosy festival started for the first time on Friday with DJ Iron, Saimn-I and Randy Valentine, but we joined the East End massive on Saturday evening for the shows of Teranga Band, Windub, Los Callejeros and Bitty McLean.
Dankzij de scouts van Heverlee begint onze festivalzomer tegenwoordig al eind april (het indoor Brussels Reggae Festival even buiten beschouwing gelaten) met het KingKop festival in Leuven, dat dit jaar aan zijn tweede editie toe was, maar wellicht de laatste keer plaatsvond op deze prachtige locatie.
Jamaica has taken on a new law against noise disturbance and everybody knows about it! While the Jamaicans have the habit of arriving at a stage show at one or two at night and of continuing until dawn, the government now wants them to party earlier. The police put a lot of the parties we visited to a halt at two am.
When we reach the backstage for this interview, we find Chronixx on the phone with his mother in Jamaica, telling her of his impressions after his first show on European soil, in the Petrol Club in Antwerp. This is also the very first interview recorded by Chronixx in Europe, exclusively for reggae.be
In a few days, Skarra Mucci will be in Belgium for his first show ever in Belgium. This artsit's created waves in te dancehall with his latest releases. Here's an interview with the man whose mission is to represent the raggamuffin culture!
We admit: Iron Ites played a home game (in the Petrol Club) and the votes of the public had an influence on the final decision. In Holland, it probably would have been Rass Motivated, who were as highly estimated by the BRC jury as the Antwerp band. Most important ànd most memorable finding of the evening: the level of the contest was extremely high this year.
United Nations Of Dub. Dat was ons doel op vrijdag 22 maart. We vertrokken met een mooie voorjaarszon op de luchthaven van Deurne richting Manchester, waar we een trein moesten nemen richting Prestatyn, een klein kuststadje in North Wales.
Roots vibes, one love & 'nuff musical talent on stage in Eeklo, but it was not a top notch concert. The community singing did not sound harmonious enough, and the engineer lacked the required zest and creativity to lift the sound to the level of the Lost Ark, the studio where Pura Vida and Congo Ashanti Roy recorded their small masterpiece 'Hard road'.
Of all sportswear brands, Adidas probably speaks most to the imagination of the average reggae fan (just think of the iconic pictures of Bob Marley playing soccer in a red Adidas tracksuit), something that the brand has eagerly made use of in the past few years by creating an entire range of reggae and Rasta inspired products. However, this is not to the liking of Bunny Wailer, who wants to sue the company for the illegitimate use of his image.
The French toaster Mr Aya won the live finale of the MC part of the Benelux Reggae Contest on Saturday night. Atomic Spliff (B) and Music Machine (F) occupied the second and third place on the stage; Lisa Bennett (B) ended up fourth.
It's great talking to Clive Chin, legendary producer of Randy's and nowadays a very welcome guest in the reggae revival circuit of soundsystems, lectures and workshops. Op 23 maart in Antwerpen.
A valentine's loversrock special with three queens of the genre on one stage? Our tickets were already booked before we could say VISA!
On this cold and snowy night, it was time for soundclash again. Looks like this weather might have kept some people at home, I think just around 120 clash addicts made the trip to Hasselt. Promoter Silverbullet lined up Heartbeat Movement from Dilbeek (Brussels) against Lion Scratch Sound from Paris, France. The clash was hosted by Sensi Ryder from Small Axe, who started theclash a little after 1 o'clock.
It's been decades since we've heard a proper, authentic nyahbinghi album, with a delicate African touch on top of that. It's also the first time female rasta drummers are represented, 'Empresses' as Prof-I prefers to call them, equal to man in every aspect of life. For these reasons and many more 'Iyahbinghi Redemption' truly is a unique album.
In the book 'Setting down the sacred past' professor of Religious Studies Laurie F. Maffly-Kipp explores how African Americans in the 18th and 19th century used the Bible to understand their own history. The first Rastas were the inheritors of a rich religious tradition.
On Wednesday January 2nd of this year 59-year-old Trevor Roper lost his battle with cancer. Most likely, his name won't mean much for many of you, but if we tell you that Roper achieved most of his fame as the lead-vocalist for Chalice, it probably rings more of a bell for some.
You might know her from her hit single 'Apple Tree', her live shows with Asham Band or even as the wife of Bramma, the dj of Groove Station Sound, who she married a couple of months ago in Kingston, Jamaica. If 2012 wasn't the year of Lisa Bennett already, then 2013 will definitely be it! The West-Flemish singer with American roots is planning to drop an EP, so that will definitely result in more bookings and more fans. Reggae Geel is on top of her wish list.
It is an open secret that the American secret service in the 70s did everything they could to destabilise Jamaica and Michael Manleys progressive government. In this engrossing new novel, David Cupples suggests that even Bob Marleys entourage was infiltrated.
The past few weeks two more reggae legends passed away. In the UK, sound system pioneer, Duke Vin passed away on the 3rd of November and on the 14th of November guitar and bass player Bertram 'Ranchie' McLean was taken from us.
For long DYnamic, a Brussels based artist from Mauritanian origin, dreamt of collaborating with one of his all time favourite Jamaican artists. This has now happened with the 'The Bridge' as the song and video both have been recorded in collaboration with no other than Sizzla!
Never think you can have an ordinary interview with the singer/chanter/spirit of Midnite. Before you know it, you're involved in a deep reasoning about ancient traditions, the fullness of His Majesty and a Christ consciousness of the fourth dimension. Midnite in Brussels: 2-12-2012 (mystical date).
On Saturday the 10th of November a benefit was held in Ghent to help a primary school in Shashamane acquire books and school supplies. Travelling through Ethiopia, Guy and his wife Caroline were deeply moved by the poverty in the area. They already organized a benefit over there and had donated the profits to a local school. When they got back to Belgium they decided to organize a similar benefit here, thinking we, rich Westerners, would be happy spending some money for a good cause. However, when we arrived at the benefit at 11 pm, it was immediately pretty obvious this nice initiative wouldn't get much support…
Apparently Romain Virgo is not yet big enough in Belgium to draw large crowds but we´re convinced it´s only a matter of time before he is. The talented young artist has put on a sublime performance in the Vooruit in Ghent where he was supported by a fantastic band. A promising new generation of talent has arrived. Reggae nuh dead yet!
Soundclash time again! Place of death was the U-Club in Wüppertal, Germany, where three sounds war for the trophy. Supertuff Sound and Reggae Bash defending the honour of Germany, while Silverbullet Sound came bordercrossing from Belgium. (U-Club, Wuppertal – 27/10/2012)
The release of Chantelle Ernandez's debut album was preceded by an long career as a backing vocalist, and in Japan, as a member of UNITZz (a project started by Sly & Robbie), she's even a small star, so choosing 'Gimme What's Mine' as its title isn't completely unjustified.
Euro Cup 2012: Splendid vs B.I.D. vs. Hakuna Mataata vs. G-Spot vs. Big Bamboo vs. Ivory (YAAM, Berlin – 30/06/2012)Supersonic and City Lock joined forces as Superlock was to fill the gap in the European soundclash scene now that there is no Riddim Clash for this year. The Euro Cup brought 6 sounds from 6 different countries together on the battlefield.
Some say Marley isn't supposed to be a product brand (which actually he has been for the last 30 years already). Others claim that only economic power gives you the means to change the world (for the better, that is, and not make the rich even richer.) How House of Marley transforms the inspiration of Bobs music into conscious commodities, with a great sense of social and environmental responsibility.
Revelation Part 2 it says on Stephen Marleys tour bus, not referring to the follow-up album of the already classic Revelation Part 1 but to the second part of the tour. Than this must be the second part of our interview, continuing our reasoning last year in Oudenaarde. 'We don't answer to any government.' Live on Couleur Café, June 30th.
Queen Elisabeth II celebrates her 60th year on the throne of England, and the whole of the Commonwealth (including Jamaica.) Prince Harry has become Prince Irie but Brother Sam Clayton, the voice and inspiring force of Mystic Revelation of Rastafari, thinks there's a better way to celebrate.
This is a joint statement of the gay and transgender organizations, the promoters of reggae concerts and reggae festivals where reggae music is regularly programmed, and the reggae community in Belgium, represented by Reggae.be.
There was renewed outrage in the gay, lesbian and bisexual community concerning a reggae concert in Belgium. An orchestrated email campaign with letters to all aldermen, demanded the cancellation of the Sizzla concert in Ghent (on 4 April). To assuage tempers the organiser, Democrazy, had already moved from Vooruit to the Art Cube, but this was not enough for the pink activists. Sizzla won't be coming to Belgium. The following is the unanimous view of the Reggae.be editors.
Peter Tosh Day! Or maybe not? We are breakfasting on the terrace of the Prestige Hotel in Sandhurst Crescent, the place to be for well-off European musicians coming to record in Kingston. We have met the boys from a Swiss roots group, which is working together with Leroy 'Horsemouth' Wallace. They meet every day at the Prestige, before setting off to the studio.
Inspiration from creation: meet Prof-I, the original rastaman & nyabinghi warrior. Welcome to Great Pond, Jamaica.
One of the last foundation artists alive and still touring, Ken Boothe was in Europe last summer for a couple of shows. We had the great opportunity to see his performance with the French No More Babylon Band at the Garance Festival in Bagnols-sur-Cèze in France and the chance to share some reasonings with him after the show. Here are some thoughts from Mr Ken Boothe.
Assassin aka Agent Sasco is one of the realest and strongest artists in the dancehall. He's not put as much in the spotlights as other artists because he isn't producing much "hype" music. We were lucky to have him live in Belgium at the Reggae Geel Festival 2011 and he took some time to answer an exclusive interview for reggae.be.
Finally live on stage in Europe, Stephen Marley also took some time to reason with us about music, rastafari and herbs. 'We have to transcend Bob's message to the next generation.' Interview with a rastaman who is very conscious about language (as are most thruthful rastamen.)
This weekend, the Reggae Geel Festival 2011 will host a great selection of young talents from the reggae world. Amongst those present will be Don Corleon, one of the most talented producers of those last years, who is coming to introduce us two young singers he's working with and promoting : Pressure Buss Pipe and Protoje. After their show last weekend at the Garance Festival in Bagnols-sur-Cèze in France, we had the opportunity to have a chat with Don Corleon and Protoje.
One of the most surprising artists that have come up in the last years in Europe, Gappy Ranks has been seen twice on sound systems shows in Belgium. This summer the artist will be back in our land for a show with a live band at Reggae Geel 2011. We interviewed him last June after a show in Brussels.
Stephen Marley has been involved in music for 30 years, but has only just released his second solo album. It is an instant classic, and the ultimate confirmation of the talent, which for so long he set to work for his, seemingly, much more successful brothers.
On March 6th, the Vooruit in Ghent will host two rasta chanters for a blazing reggae night. Warrior King is trodding our country alongside Turbulence. This interview was recorded in Rotterdam, during a previous tour that Turbulence did with veteran Cocoa Tea in 2009.
Cali P has made himself a name on the reggae and dancehall scene in the last years. But not everyone is familiar with the vibes of this artist who is original in many aspects. Musically and livitically. This interview was recorded in Montreal Canada in September 2010 and completed on the phone in February 2011. Cali P is a very active artist and is telling us about his music, his history, his decision to move to Jamaica and the launching of his own Inspired record label and media productions.
This Friday, the 3th of December, for the first time 4 Belgian soundsystems step into the soundclash-arena. We'll introduce them to you, but first we'll explain the phenomenon.
Shashamene is the Promised Land of the rastaman, generously made available to the Africans of the diaspora by His Imperial Highness Haile Selassie of Ethiopia himself. However, Shashamene is also an impoverished city, in which the Rasta community and the local population is fighting hard to survive. Here are pictures and stories from a land far far away.
Music is the most high, even when there's no ganja . In a smoke-free Melkweg, Amsterdam we witnessed another great show by America's prime reggae band Groundation in june of this year. A few weeks later they performed at Couleur Café, another great show. Here I am is the name of the tour and of Groundations new album that brings them to Brussels this week.
Apart from U Roy and Pablo Moses, Alborosie, according to Greensleeves: "The hottest thing to come out of Sicily since Mount Etna", is also scheduled to perform at Dour Festival (18/07). An excellent opportunity to publish the conversation we had with him at Festival Mundial in Tilburg.
Amateurs of the better roots reggae will have their pick the next few days as U Roy and Pablo Moses will be performing at Dour Festival (18/07) as well as at Pole Pole in Ghent (19/07)! As an appetizer, a converstation we had with Pablo Moses after his performance in VK (Brussels):
Back in 2005 Natty King scored a smash hit with (No Guns To Town', but then things turned quiet again. The fact he's still standing he recently proved with his performance at the Sun Splash Jamaican festival where we got to interview him as well.
Time for some island-hopping, as for the sweet voiced Jamelody, we have to head to Trinidad & Tobago!
As promised, more from the Sun Splash Jamaican festival. Next up: Duane Stephenson, who with 'August Town' scored one of the biggest hits of 2008!
Starting this week, we'll be each time be presenting an interview with one of the artists who performed at the Sun Splash Jamaican festival in Amsterdam. Let's start with a short one: introducing Zareb!
As we're counting down the final days to Sun Splash Jamaican festival, there's just enough time to present this interview with Norrisman:
Listening to roots reggae music for 30 years now, it very rarely happens that a new name can still touch me in the heart, with livity and reality. Midnite is such a band. From the first Midnite song I ever heard, 'Ras For A Reason', to every track on all 10 albums that I've bought since then, I love them all. Every tune has its own musical power and Vaughn Benjamin delivers the most crucial lyrics since Bob Marley. This is rastafari for a new time and age. Remarkable: they are not Jamaican. Vaughn Benjamin doesn't need any more questions to start his reasoning.
'Becoming A Cliché' was Sherwoods second release on Peter Gabriel's Real World Records label and Adrian Sherwood doesn't have to worry: he hasn't become a cliché of himself. Visiting the Real World studio, we had a chance to talk with Adrian.
Revealing interview on the history of reggae music with the undisputable father of the UK scene.
For all reggae music lovers that truly like to see full details on every recording ever made by Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer and Bob Marley, Roger Steffens and Leroy Pierson have spent many years in research to write this incredible book with the complete discography from all three historical artists.
Exclusive interview with Skip McDonald, founder, singer and guitarist of Little Axe, a musical hero for more than 30 years.
To many Mikey General is still only known as Luciano's blood brother and sidekick on stage. Time to put this humble rastaman in the spotlight and let him talk about his roots, his influences and the things that are dear to him. We met Mickey at Reggae Sundance festival 2005 but his words linger on.
Julian Marley (1975) is the son of Bob and Lucy Pounder, a girl form Brabados, whom Bob met while staying in London. Together with his brother Damian, Julian is the most recent member of this royal family of reggae to continue in his father's footsteps.
In Jamaica for every artist that has made the top about 100 others are lurking in the shadow, trying to steal his place and in that situation it's not always easy to keep up with who's hot and who's not. One of these young lions making his way to the top is Lutan Fyah. His debut album 'Dem No Know Demself' already proves his capacity and his recent association with Fatis Burell's Xterminator crew promises more to come for the future. We caught up with Lutan at the 2005 edition of the Reggae Sundance festival in Eindhoven for some Q&A.
Tanya Stephens' 'Gangsta Blues' album catapulted her straight to the number one spot of most popular female dancehall artist, but her success didn't happen overnight and her story is one of ups and downs and many a disillusion in her struggle to get her vision on the music across. I met her at the Reggae Sundance festival in Eindhoven and had a conversation with an intelligent, sensitive and witty lady.
Crowning a career spanning over 30 years, in 2005 Toots Hibbert was awarded a Grammy for his latest album 'True Love'. We found the Jamaican superstar relaxing backstage after his performance at the Reggae Sundance festival and talked to him about reggae, soul and the importance of awards.
Winston Francis is another great veteran singer with a soulful voice, perhaps one of the best in Jamaican music. Unfortunately this man just didn't receive the right promotion, like many other artists on the island of reggae.
Groundation might be the band every righthearted reggaefan has been waiting for all these years. The Americans bring together the roots of reggae, the energy of rock music and the virtuosity of jazz. In their songs they combine everything that we, critical white music lovers, liked so much about classical rootsreggae: great songs, deep rhythms, spiritual lyrics, the mystic of rastafari, inspiring solo's and mindblowing dubs.
This compilation was released on Leroy Brown's record company: Dakarai Music International, in Canada. You'll hear 4 fine riddims with songs by Leroy Brown and several of his friends.
Jet Star/Charm just released Glen Washington's new album, titled 'The Right Road'.
Bushman now stands at the top of the new roots reggae scene. This new album is a convincing demonstration of his writing skills, that have improved a lot.
This Antwerp based group has released them first CD and look, they are already at n°5 in the World Music Awards Europe with the song 'King Is Among Us' (with some vocal help from Laï). Respect due!
Expectations were set on high for the 25th edition of Reggae Geel: for the first time in musical history a selection of Belgian reggae artists were selected to open the festival on Friday night, backed by the Belgian reggae band Calabash.