Dancehall 130 Items

The leader of the European Dancehall/Shatta scene is still as productive as ever after his latest project Mad Ting 2 and a Europe/Latin America tour in 2022. By delivering multiple hits and appearing at major festivals, Blaiz Fayah is starting 2023 the same way he ended the previous year. The hit maker confirms his notoriety through his appearance in mixes played in clubs by the best DJs of the moment. His exponential growth on social networks, especially Tiktok, is also noteworthy.

A few digits: Blaiz Fayah has 850k monthly listeners on Spotify, 36M Spotify listens and 56M views YouTube for his hit "Bad", more than 9 million TikTok videos under the #blaizfayah.

For his upcoming project "Mad Ting 3" scheduled for June 2, 2023, which concludes the "Mad Ting" series, Blaiz Fayah highlights the vast range of his musical references by bringing in Dancehall, Kompa, Moombahton, Reggae, Shatta and Zouk influences.

For the occasion, some of the most renowned artists of their genre have been invited, such as Busy Signal, Jahyanai King and Nesly.

More than a mere sensation, the artist has seduced Dancehall fans all over the world with hits powered by a dancing energy that only he knows the formula. A unique energy that he was able to spread on some of the best European stages in 2022 (Solidays, Garorock) and that he will be able to continue to broadcast during some fifteen European dates in 2023 (Dour Festival, Reggae Sunska, No Logo...).

By collaborating with international DJs for the production of the tracks on his album (Netherlands, United Kingdom, Mauritius, West Indies...), the artist from the Parisian suburbs extends his influence across different international music stages, as shown by the success of his tour in Latin America (Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile...) and in the Indian Ocean (Mauritius, Reunion, Seychelles...).

Million Stylez (Sweden), Ziggi Recardo (Netherlands), Mr Williamz (England), and Cali P (Switzerland) make up the cast, directed by Curtis Lynch aka Da Grynch on a bangin’ bassline driven remix of the ‘Report To Me’ track by Gregory Isaacs.

A self-released 12" by Toragon, recorded by Asuka Ando and other musicians active in live reggae bands in Japan. 70's roots style with clever backing playing and simple lyrics, similar to the popular killer roots BIG H & Carib Rocks "10 Nen Bun (for 10 years)", a typical Tokyo reggae urban style.

Nearly a decade since their last record, Jay Malinowski and Eon Sinclair better known as duo Bedouin Soundclash, return with their fifth studio album ‘MASS’ to be released Oct. 4th via Mr Bongo.
While pulling from their old catalogue of eclectic post-punk world-beat tendencies, the band journeys further into New Orleans jazz, afro-pop, electronic and gospel on their latest offering, reflecting a creative rebirth influenced by the cities and musicians that surrounded them. Co-produced by Bedouin Soundclash and legendary Philadelphia House DJ King Britt, along with musical direction from Ben Jaffe of Preservation Hall, ‘MASS’ spans two communities, recorded at Marigny Studio’s in New Orleans with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and in Vancouver at St. James Church with the children of the St. James Music Academy.
Mirroring the magnetic energy of New Orleans, ‘MASS’ is a dense sonic journey that incorporates an impressive array of musical influences including Big Band swing to New Orleans jazz, pop, electronica, and more. From the post-punk-soca of album opener ‘Salt Water’, the jangling Big Band swing-pop of recent single ‘Clockwork’, to the Talking Heads-channelling ‘When We’re Gone’, and the dubbing afro-pop gospel of ‘Holy’ that features Mike Dillon distorting his marimbas into another sonic dimension, ‘MASS’ is jam-packed with infectious melodies and summery feel-good vibes.

Hundebiss bossman Simone Trabucchi - a pivotal figure of the Italian scene - debuts his STILL alias on PAN with a batch of banging, multi-layered dancehall tracks inspired by the complex historical links between his hometown, Vernasca, with Jamaica, and Italy’s colonial past in Ethiopia.Part of a wider visual arts project, Invernomuto, helmed alongside Simone Bertuzzi, and comprising a series of sculptures, installations, a book, and a long-feature experimental documentary under the title ‘Negus’‘, Simone takes cues from a “cleansing counter-ritual performed by Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry in the Vernasca square where 80 years earlier, an effigy of Haile Selassie I was burned” to cook up a madd set of dancehall tracks voiced by six Milan-based, African-Italian vocalists and singers.The results weigh in remarkably close to the colourful, plugged-in dancehall art/science of Equiknoxx, effectively pulling together the diffracted aspects of his project into a direct yet psychedelically-charged set which strongly reverberates with its roots.Keener observers will be quick to identity the amazing Nazenet (Wasp Rhythm) as a vocal version of STILL’s uncredited Untitled riddim from Halcyon veil’s Conspiración Progressocompilation, but unless you’ve been listening to Bill Kouligas DJ sets, the rest is all new and exclusive, taking in the weightless prayer of Haile Selassie Is The Micro-Chip, wobbly acid hall knocks in Bubbling Ambessa, and the meter-messing flux of Rough Rider along with style recalling that Vipra ace on Presto!? in Banzina, plus the warped Bionic Ras bumps of Gozpaal and some seriously salty dubbing in the plasmic squeeze of Mangrovia

YamashiRoll & Kaja is a unit established by Deejay / Human Beat Boxer "Kaja", who is active in the dancehall reggae scene, and guitarist "YamashiRoll", who also performs with many other bands. The first 7inch single of their career will be released at last. The A-side features "In The Groove," their breakout track that debuted at No. 1 on the iTunes Store reggae chart. The flip side features the latest track "Get Up!".

We proudly present to you our new vinyl release, Subactive strikes with their first 12” on our imprint. After the first 7” release with the legendary Mikey Murka, Subactive now teams up with El Fata and Danny Dread on the vocals and a mad Dub Version from Naram and Art out of Jahtari and Colonel Mustard.

Side A features El Fata on a relick of the Run Run Riddim, a modern digital style with fat basslines and melodic progression chords that will shake up the dancefloor. The dub version comes in a very different style and influenced by the German down-tempo dub culture.

On the B side we can find the veteran Danny Dread with his conscious lyrics and a dub version by Naram which is heavily influenced by Asian and Arabic sounds. This is a limited edition of 500 copies with our first full print sleeve.

Nearly a decade since their last record, Jay Malinowski and Eon Sinclair better known as duo Bedouin Soundclash, return with their fifth studio album ‘MASS’ to be released Oct. 4th via Mr Bongo.
While pulling from their old catalogue of eclectic post-punk world-beat tendencies, the band journeys further into New Orleans jazz, afro-pop, electronic and gospel on their latest offering, reflecting a creative rebirth influenced by the cities and musicians that surrounded them. Co-produced by Bedouin Soundclash and legendary Philadelphia House DJ King Britt, along with musical direction from Ben Jaffe of Preservation Hall, ‘MASS’ spans two communities, recorded at Marigny Studio’s in New Orleans with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and in Vancouver at St. James Church with the children of the St. James Music Academy.
Mirroring the magnetic energy of New Orleans, ‘MASS’ is a dense sonic journey that incorporates an impressive array of musical influences including Big Band swing to New Orleans jazz, pop, electronica, and more. From the post-punk-soca of album opener ‘Salt Water’, the jangling Big Band swing-pop of recent single ‘Clockwork’, to the Talking Heads-channelling ‘When We’re Gone’, and the dubbing afro-pop gospel of ‘Holy’ that features Mike Dillon distorting his marimbas into another sonic dimension, ‘MASS’ is jam-packed with infectious melodies and summery feel-good vibes.

“Kizaki Ondo” is a folk song from Nitta Kizaki town in Gunma, north of Tokyo. Played annually by local performers at the Bon-Odori traditional summer dance festival, it features unabashed lyrics about prostitution along with a rhythmic drive sure to appeal to fans of contemporary electronic genres as well as aficionados of traditional musics. The first track is a wildly echoing vocal version recorded in 1980, redolent of humid summer nights; the second track, recorded in 1981, is an instrumental version, both by the Kizaki Ondo Preservation Society. The other two tracks are extensions of tradition, with Tokyo-based producer Clark Naito’s 2018 revisions of “Kizaki Ondo”, providing trap-inspired interpretations, with a vocal version using the original lyrics, along with a sweet instrumental take. This release, the third edition of the EM Records Japanese folklore series, directed by Riyo Mountains, is available on LP & CD, with English lyrics and notes, and rare photos. Evocative cover art by Shinsuke Takagi (Soi48).

Limited to 300 copies!

Now also available as LP-Vinyl is the new album for one of Jamaica's most exciting voices! - "Lovesick" is the third album and a natural next step for the young artist to expound on the ups and downs of love and relationships. Known to fans as an 'old soul' his lyrics and the emotional impact of his voice go beyond his years and show kinship to the great R&B/reggae balladeers. The 15-track strong longplayer will be released as CD-Digipak with an additional 12-page booklet and is a great and long awaited follow-up to the self titled debut "Romain Virgo" from 2010 and "The System" from 2012, it will appeal to all the worldwide fans of contemporary reggae music!

VP Press Release: "LoveSick," the upcoming album from rising reggae star Romain Virgo. The 16-track album takes listeners on a journey that explores every emotion felt when finding love, losing love and finding love again. In the many twists and turns of romance and relationships, Romain represents a young man who has experienced it all and now has a dynamic story to tell. Executive produced by Niko Browne for Lifeline Music, with additional production by Sting International and Vikings Production, the album presents a new pop reggae sound traced with his signature lovers rock style woven throughout.

Deejay-turned-produced Jah Thomas’ Midnight Rock helped shift roots reggae to dancehall in the late 1970s and Thomas continued producing in the new millennium, sometimes revamping Roots Radics tracks from Channel One, and alternately cutting fresh work at King Jammy’s, Black Scorpio, and Mixing Lab. Secret Tapes has stellar guests like roots messenger Luciano, dancehall don Super Cat, supreme crooner Courtney Melody, Jah Thomas himself, and a collab between Pinchers and Josie Wales; Tony Curtis, Ghost and Mitch are courtesy of a Buju Banton co-production. Special request to all dancehall fans!

While far from a household name in reggae, Judah Eskender Tafari cultivated a loyal fanbase and respectable catalogue during his recording career. The Studio One single, "Rastafari Tell You" sits at the top of a small set of deep cuts he recorded for Coxson Dodd's famed studio starting in 1978. These have continued to find a place at roots reggae sound systems and DJ rub-a-dub parties after nearly five decades. The earnest lyrics and spiritual mission of these early recordings would define Judah's entire career, extending through the decades to "Great Escape", a new Daptone 45 produced by label stalwart Victor Axelrod. The song alludes to the Old Testament in a vision of mankind gone astray, trying to escape the confines of Earth for salvation. Axelrod provides a lush roots backdrop against which Eskender shines in a way we haven't heard in years.

Leon Dinero returns with "One Way Love", another magical rendition from the James Hunter catalogue. Dinero, along with the Inversions and produced by Victor Axelrod, transforms the uptempo R&B classic into a rocksteady mover whose relaxed groove and soulful vocal give the track an authenticity that may have folks scratching their head as to which version came first. A testament to the incomparable songwriting savvy of Mr Hunter, "One Way Love" is a track that defies the constraints of genre labelling with unfettered elegance and lyrical prowess.

The Tumbling Psychic Joy of Now, a ritualistic and expanding collaborative album between Holy Tongue and Shackleton.Holy Tongue is Al Wooton, Valentina Magaletti and Susumu Mukai and they have collaborated with Shackleton to create free-form, high energy, spiritual dub-dance music.

Visionary engineer, producer and dub experimentalist, Scientist returns to his roots to mix new album direct-to-disc for latest Night Dreamer session. With over 60,000 recordings to his name, Scientist (born Hopeton Overton Brown) is one of the most influential figures in dub. From Studio One to King Tubby"s, Channel One to Tuff Gong, he worked at Kingston"s premier studios, pioneering recording techniques and elevating the dub mix into an rt form in his own right. Known as the "Dub Chemist" for both his technical expertise and forwardthinking ideas, Scientist"s Night Dreamer session brings together musicians from across the London reggae scene, including The Instigators" rhythm section Mafia (bass) and Fluxy (drums), Creation Rebel guitarist Tony Ruffcut, vocalist Donovan Kingjay, Jah Shaka keyboardist Greg Assing and saxophonist Finn Peters.

When dub and dope beats entered into an open relationship in the mid-nineties and created a casual hybrid with trip hop, Jean-Yves Prieur aka Kid Loco was one of the first French people to be there. With singles like "She"s My Lover" and "Love Me Sweet" and the album A Grand Love Story, the producer proved himself to be a loverman indeed, with a knack for bedroom moods, charming little melodies and a comforting balance between minimalism and lush arrangements . As a keyboard all-rounder, Guillaume Méténier aka Soul Sugar has been featured on numerous Kid Loco productions for more than twenty years. From the synthesizer to the clavinet, from the Fender Rhodes to the Leslie organ, the "Funky Frenchman" is no stranger to any keyboard instrument. The Hamburg label Echo Beach, which has already issued dub commissions for a number of pop and new wave classics, thought it was time to change that. Dub masters such as Rob Smith, Noiseshaper, Dubmatix, Paolo Baldini and many others remixed for the label. Songs by Martha & The Muffins, The Police, David Bowie, Grace Jones and Robert Palmer, among others.In order to honor the music of Florian Schneider, Ralf Hütter and their respective fellow Kraftwerkers with a dub set, they turned to Kid Loco, who has now established himself as a musical all-rounder, and who immediately invited his long-time accomplice Soul Sugar brought on board. The calculation really worked out.