Reggae & Dancehall 193 Items

One of two hand-etched runic 12"s - designed by Yaqup Oxbjr -Steppers dubs from 2000F, who has previously released on Hyperdub.

Mennesker, named after a Nordic Rune, means man, people or mankind.

Danish dub is dark and deep, like the cold Nordic winters. With bass deeper than Mimer’s Well, militant rhythms harder than the Einherjer of Valhal, and never-ending echoes from beyond Ni heim.

2000F is the postal code of Frederik Birket-Smith’s hometown of Frederiks-berg. Since the early 1990s he has worked under the alias as producer, composer, promoter and DJ. He is now the CEO of Strøm, Denmark’s official electronic music organisation, co-owner of the Jolene Bar club, the event organisation OHOI!, and the Fyraftensboogie sound system.

One of two hand-etched runic 12"s - designed by Yaqup Oxbjr -Steppers dubs from 2000F, who has previously released on Hyperdub.

Mennesker, named after a Nordic Rune, means man, people or mankind.

Danish dub is dark and deep, like the cold Nordic winters. With bass deeper than Mimer’s Well, militant rhythms harder than the Einherjer of Valhal, and never-ending echoes from beyond Ni heim.

2000F is the postal code of Frederik Birket-Smith’s hometown of Frederiks-berg. Since the early 1990s he has worked under the alias as producer, composer, promoter and DJ. He is now the CEO of Strøm, Denmark’s official electronic music organisation, co-owner of the Jolene Bar club, the event organisation OHOI!, and the Fyraftensboogie sound system.

International reggae star Alborosie returns with the dub version of his celebrated "Freedom & Fyah" album titled "Freedom In Dub." The distinctive production of these ten newly recorded dub mixes underscore Alborosie’s skill and credibility as a master of dub. All tracks are produced and (mostly) played by Alborosie and recorded at his Shengen studios in Kingston, Jamaica.

*As demands are being placed for more traditional Roots style Reggae, Dub and general productions, the 'Iron Sound' concept was developed. Alien Dread studio embraces both contemporary and traditional approaches to production using software based sequencing alongside outboard analogue devices to deliver an authentic and powerful Reggae sound.

Alien Dread returns with four new contemporary Roots Reggae Instrumentals, on a 10" Vinyl EP.
The EP features Alvin Davis's exemplary Hornz work on all tracks, supported by Asha B, Congos & Percussion, with Riddim Guitar from Steven 'Marley' Wright. All of the tracks were produced during
late 2016 at AD Studio Uk.

Alter Echo & E3 return for their third chapter on ZamZam with a dark, low-slung steppers featuring the one Rider Shafique of Bristol’s esoteric Young Echo crew. AEE3’s first collaboration with a vocalist, “Heights” provides a rockstone riddim for Rider to step forward with a powerful lyric, a declaration of principles and intention to trod outta Babylon, tearing off mental chains along the way with total focus on the destiny of liberation for those with the will to persevere. Rider’s presence transforms every track he graces into pure message music, as heard in recent months on collaborations with Gorgon Sound, Ishan Sound, Gantz and more.

"Heights" rocks with swirling atmospheres and pointillist detail, powerfully psychedelic dubbing at once organic and metallic, always with fundamental dub principles anchoring and propelling forward, ever forward. The version “The Sound Tonight” strips the vocal out completely, using that space to push the kick, bass and ricocheting snares further forward with extra dub flourishes, mirages, and sample grinding.

After releasing the EP “Hear Mi Name Call” with Casio Love and the sad story behind it, we decided to repress this crucial album to spread even more Maddo´s music and his musical legacy.Maddo left among us his wife and son who we send our sincere condolences and strength, special thanks to Julie who also granted us permission to repress this masterpiece. Hopefully this record will help Maddo’s family and keep his memory alive between all of us.

The best of the early singles by Bob Marley and the Wailers Volume 2. The partnership of Bob Marley and the Wailers in its short life would create what many consider to be some of the greatest reggae ever recorded.

At long last, in proper quality and officially licensed, here's a pair of records long worked at, historically important, largely unheard, and most of all, musically brilliant. Above all, the dub mixes on these records are known among connoisseurs as being among a handful which can not only be considered a definitive King Tubby's style statement, but also among the most radical, transformative and forward thinking mixes ever committed to tape by the King himself. This is proper King Tubby's music; Tubby the man, not just Tubby's the studio. These two 12"s represent most of the known cuts of this brilliant rhythm, played by the Wailers' Barrett brothers, alongside Earl Chinna Smith, Augustus Pablo and Gladdy Anderson, all together truly a rhythmic force to be reckoned with. "Message from the Congo" and "God Is Love" are two vocals cuts produced via the mid 1970's partnership of Milton "Billy Hutch" Hutchinson and the late Linton "Bob Soul" Williamson. Together these upstart artist-producers operated from a base of operations on King St. in downtown Kingston, nothing short of a historic location that was both concurrent with and adjacent to both the Wailers own record shop and Channel 1's first pressing plant.

With the Barrett brothers at the helm of the session, the rhythm was laid at Randy's studio with Errol Thompson as engineeer, then brought to Tubby for voicing and mixing. "Message from the Congo" finds Bob Soul & The United Stars chanting a message of rastafari over the propulsive uptempo rhythm driven by the late Carly Barrett's masterful drumming. The harmonizers in the "United Stars" as they are dubbed on this record, were actually members of both the Righteous Flames and Rocking Horses vocal groups. The dub mix, "Congo Dread Chapter 1", is actually worthy of the type of genre cross-referencing hyperbole I normally decry in music writing. In hindsight we find in this track, Tubby prefiguring not only the remix and the 'edit', but also the frantic yet orchestrated chaos of a lot of the complex electronic dance music that would being to come into its own a full decade later. To try and describe the magic herein would be pointless, you must simply listen to Tubby deconstruct and reconstruct the rhythm using a melange of his now famous tools and techniques to devastating effect. Indeed, it is tracks like this one which made the man himself and those very techniques now so famous. These two tracks were originally released in Jamaica on both the Gemini and Danger Zone labels (in identical mixes). On the flip side of this first 12" we find Billy Hutch's little known vocal on the rhythm, entitled "Ten Long Years." The soulful vocal finds Bill in top form, and this track was originally released on Bill's very first album "Reggae Showcase", released only in NYC and extremely tough to track down. Rounding out the 12" is a real treat, a previously unreleased different take of "Message from the Congo", with different harmonies, and a background voice telling you "this is a message…", bringing the title of the song sharply into focus.

• Top Drawer 90's selection from the Boombastic Crew aka Nick Raphael (Manasseh. Riz Records, Roots Garden) and Gil Gang (Tuff Scout, Riz Records) with a tune that does what it says in the tin. Sound murderation!

• A hardcore instrumental sound system bullet which has hints of King Jammy, Jah Tubbys and Unity Sounds.

• This originally came on the back of a Riz 12” back in the early 1990's which is now a costly record to secure.

The first international african hit, classic groove of summer ’73 gets instant jamaican treatments by ex-Melodians Brent Dowe backed by The Gaytones. Years before Manu Dibango came to Kingston for a Sly & Robby session, a tribute had been paid to the negropolitan”. From coast to coast! From Africa to Jamaica! This is Earth Sound!

The Sound of Studio One can be identified by the great singers that it cultivated along the many great songs that these singers released. But as studio 1’s dominance was slowly pulled away by the up and coming new breed of producers many of the artists would inevitably end up working for these new camps and so the songs and singers found a new audience. The reggae sound of the Studio 1 would make a great combination and the man to pull this was together Bunny Lee.
The 1960’s in Jamaica was run by two main factions, Coxsonne’s Studio 1 and Duke Reid’s Treasure Isle. These two leading protagonists saw what some of the other great Sound System men like ‘ Tom The Great Sebastian’ had not taken onboard, that when the tunes they imported began to dry up from the USA, their future lied in producing music. Tunes that suited the musical styles that the people of Jamaica still enjoyed. By the late 1960’s thse supremacy was being challenged by the up and coming new producers on the scene, Lee Perry being one, and the other being ‘Ghost of the Studios’ himself, Bunny Lee. Bunny ‘Striker’ Lee may have inherited the moniker ‘Striker’ from his liking of a particular TV show called ‘The Hitch-Hiker’, but it would soon stand also for the considerable hits he would obtain as he was declared producer of the year in Jamaica in 1969, 1970,1971 and 1972.
For this release, we have compiled many of the great Studio hits that Bunny Lee recorded with the singers that had originally cut at the famed Studio 1. Bunny Lee’s sprinkling of magic over some classic tunes….the sound of Studio 1 backed up this time Bunny ‘Striker’ Lee’s set of star musicians The Aggravators. Proving you can’t keep a good tune down, or a great producer pushing forward…..Bunny Lee strikes back….
Hope you enjoy the set…..

Outstanding three track EP from the archives of Caliban (A side project of London musician Milton Myrie; a session guitar player who worked with cult UK buddhist afro and reggae band Ozo as well as on the much sought after Steel and Skin ‘Afro Punk Reggae’ 12”). Talk about bang for ye buck.. 1 side crucial oddball digital cuts, b side sounds like a UK jazz funk classic... Gold Print Sleeve. BIG TIP!

Caliban produced only one self-released 7” ‘Open Mind / Digital Reggae’ in 1984.

Following the re-discovery of this very little known 7” by Caliban a few years back, UK producer Jackson Bailey aka Tapes managed to track Milton down, who as well as being in possession of most of the stock of the original record, was also sat on a number of amazing unreleased recordings from the Caliban sessions. With an album of unreleased Caliban material compiled by Tapes to follow later on Music From Memory, this EP introduces one of the unreleased tracks; the incredible feel good disco anthem “Supernatural”. Taking us on a glittering, rhythm charged rocket tour of the Funk Cosmos, this until-now-unheard future classic will surely set the summer nights alight.

The three track 12” also includes “Digital Reggae” which featured on the original Caliban 7”. This computerised dancehall/funk hybrid was partially penned to address the lack of black culture included in the payload of the United States’ first space station; “Digital Reggae will be included in the Payload of Skylab!”. As well as the original mix, the EP also includes a new dub put together by Milton himself and assisted by riddim specialist Tapes!

Downbeat Melody records is a brand new label operated by Bristol based dj Frankie Downbeat. This label is a side project to the Downbeat Melody Soundsystem owned and operated by Steve Rice. The first release will be a reissuing of “Bird of Paradise” LP , a downbeat musical journey in Rocksteady by “Count Bobo”. Count Bobo are a 6 piece group from Bristol playing in the style of early ska and rocksteady. Formed in 2012, they are part of the Bloom collective. Their debut album 'Bird of Paradise' was originally released on limited edition 12 inch vinyl in 2015 by the band themselves and mainly sold at live shows. Downbeat Melody proudly presents this quality repress with fresh updated artwork.

The reggae rocker, Courtney John unleashes his new album, Ecosystem, born from a collaboration with the French label Soul Man Records which also produced the successful album Reggae Loves Soul!
With this new LP, recorded and mixed between Kingston and Paris, Courtney John has created a lyrical painting of our world, hosted by a classic early reggae sound that will appeal to reggae aficionados and a wider audience of music lovers…

Another collectable relic unearthed by the Partial Records archaeological team.

Check out this nice Roots material by Derrick Morgan & Desmond Dekker from around 1968!
Beverley's All Stars are featured on the B-side.

Check out this classic Roots material by Derrick Morgan from around 1967!

Dreadsquad, AKA Marek Bogdanski, returns to the scene with the second and third instalments of his Riddim Machine series. As part of a collaboration consisting of Dreadsquad’s own Superfly Studio and the renowned Moonshine Recordings, listeners are in for a treat, courtesy of Poland’s most prolific reggae dancehall producer. As ever, Dreadsquad manage to encapsulate all evolutions of reggae – from rocksteady , roots and rub-a-dub to dancehall and dub – all with a present-day twist to keep the bass bins rumbling and the people skanking. Both volumes will be available in both vinyl and digital format, so there’s no excuse to miss out! Volume 2 is laced with an amalgamation of characters from the Reggae/Hiphop/Soul scene, featuring the likes of Kojo Neatness , Gardna, El Fata, Dub Princess, Tenor Youthman, Takeyce-Ti, Monkey Jhayam, ManeceLive or Greg Blackman in his soulful roots tune Clean Up. Among a plethora of sublime productions, with throwbacks to the old sounds of early reggae, roots and rub-a-dub, there’s the highly anticipated anthem Issues (previously released on Bun Dem Riddim), with none other than the mighty YT on microphone duties . Keep an ear out for the remix of Chainska Brassika’s Knowledge Is King (featuring Tom Spirals); there’s some serious stepping to be done to this riddim. The closing track for this volume is more than worthy of a mention, as ‘Space’ manages to deliver a transcendentally meditative dub vibe to bring the record to a close in a suitable fashion.
Both volume of Riddim Machine feature artwork illustrated by Kasia Wilk. The releases will be available digitally, via most online download stores (iTunes, Juno, Bandcamp, Amazon, etc.), as well as a physical vinyl release, available at most usual vendors.

2017 marks the return of Dub Gabriel with his fifth full-length solo album entitled ADSR Dub. After his critically acclaimed 2013 album, Raggabass Resistance, Gabriel locked himself away in the studio and went into complete isolation in what Gabriel refers to as “one of the most prolific times of his 20 year career”. Mixing his love for classic dub productions with vintage analog tape echoes, spring reverbs and tubes, with his love of krautrock and his collection of Moog, Arp and Korg analog synthesizers, to give us one of the most original albums to come out in recent time. Featuring guest performances by Addis Pablo, son of the legendary Augustus Pablo. Ranking Joe, who rose to prominence in the 1970s on such legendary labels as Studio 1, as well as his collaborations with King Tubby, and The Spaceape, (R.I.P.), who became the voice of UK Dubstep through his groundbreaking work with BURAL, KODE 9 and THE BUG. Recorded in San Francisco at d/a/c laboratory for research & development, mastered by the legendary Kevin Metcalfe, at Sound Masters in the UK and cover art by acclaimed French illustrator, Olivier Bonhomme.

The second release of the romanian label Dancehall Tradition is now out on 7inch vinyl with a vocal by the Jamaican veteran Echo Minott on a digital riddim produced by Injektah (Romania). The B side contains the riddim version. 500 copies made on Romania's only independent reggae record label!

Introducing Bays a 9 track boil up heralding a fresh chapter in Freddys fantastic voyages. Bays opens with slow burn funk of ‘Wairunga Blues’ journeying through a hybrid of reggae, hi-tek soul and jazz with techno rhythms underpinning Freddy’s signature horns and Joe Dukie’s smooth & introspective vocals, 'Slings And Arrows', '10 Feet Tall', 'Wheels', 'Razor', 'Makkan', 'Fish In The Sea', 'Cortina Motors' and arriving finally on the crooked blues jam of ‘Novak’.
BAYS is named after our Wellington studio homebase, where the album was predominately written and recorded around beats, food, darts and a winter of content.

This journey started for Flox on the Reunion island, in the lost heights of the Mafate cirque. It is in this area cut of from the world, only accessible by foot, that the English multi-instrumentalist found himself face to face with the thrilling and endless feeling of being lost and in danger once again. A sensation that had faded away through time, weakening the flickering flame of inspiration.
Listening only to his instincts, leaving aside past experiences and moving forward freely are the main ingredients of this sixth album Taste Of Grey. An album conditioned by inspiration, each song catching the feeling of the moment and releasing unblemished emotions. At ease with the different lines of artistic creation, the multi-talented craftsman once again composed, arranged, played, and recorded Taste Of Grey; a complex mix of organic and digital music balanced between deep Jamaican rhythms and loose funky beats. Breaking down styles to build his own, spending hours reinventing a personal electro vibe that moves back and forth from rap to singing and from darker to lighter landscapes.
Rather than the simple choice of black or white, Flox has chosen a path with more subtle shades of grey. A step into the unknown, writing love songs when political issues had mainly been a major theme. Writing about feelings, unclenching fists to come up with an album that tells a full story. You could listen to the album Taste Of Grey in random but this would also change the story line…