Roots & Culture 288 Items

Following the inspiration of the great 70's Roots, Abeng drop this brand new Heavy Weight Roots track " Run Come Rally " spreading Gathering and Unity Vibes. After a long time of de-socialization "locked in Babylon, it's time to gather and be free" he sangs.

Abeng, the multi-instrumentalist "roots-head" arranges, plays and sings the whole track. This project signs a new co-operation for our label in order to follow our ideal of worldwide connections!!! Flip side "No Botha Dub" is the dub version coming from our friend Michael Exodus at the Dub Basement Studio in Rome.

We are glad to present to you the 1st Abeng Maxi 12'' : "Sun Will Rise" and "Eastern Lights" are two instrumentals based on the same riddim, one a way style Roots & Culture Music done during the LockDown of 2020. Mix and Dubwises are handled by Roberto Sanchez at A-Lone Ark Muzik Studio (es) , ready to play loud on your HiFi or Sound System!

Akae Beka's inimitable style of rich, deep, multi-layered songwriting, uncompromising devotion to RasTafari and soulful healing melodies developed over decades performing with St. Croix based band Midnite and countless recordings. At the point of his untimely passing in 2019, he had released over 70LP's. He is without a doubt one of the most prolific reggae artists ever known.

The stellar production trinity that is Zion I Kings have been involved collectively and individually in creating some of the most highly regarded contributions to the vast Akae Beka catalogue. The timeless songs of 'Mek A Menshun' amply reward the listener who can penetrate into the mystical musical realms of Rastafari. Longtime fans of Midnite and Akae Beka will note that Vaughn Benjamin's singing on 'Mek a Menshun' reached new heights of melodic delivery and emotional intensity. Coupled with his always poetic and insightful lyrics, these 10 original songs rank among his best recordings to date. The title track 'Mek A Menshun' includes vocals by Protoje Grammy (R)-nominated artist.

Mek A Menshun features the stellar musicianship of the ZIK distinguished in typical fashion by the rock-solid drumming of Lloyd "Junior" Richards. On this album, his playing is complemented by Aston Barrett Jr. ("By Day", "Only Now") and Kirk Bennett ( "Kagm Mystory", "Mek A Menshun"). The signature stylings of the other core ZIK musicians are augmented by horns (Andrew "Drew Keys" Stoch -trombone, Donald "Jahbless" Toney -saxophone), flute- Sheldon "Attiba" Bernard, kette- Andrew "Bassie" Campbell, and the guitar of Chet Samuel. ZIK guitarist Andrew "Moon" Bain contributes a string arrangement on "Only Now". Throughout the album, Laurent "Tippy I" Alfred's spot-on organ shuffle bubbles the rhythm forward. Many of the 'Mek A Menshun' tracks were among the last recordings done by the veteran engineer Gary Woung.

Originally released digitally and on CD, this LP is now being released for the first time on as a 12" vinyl LP courtesy of Before Zero Records.

Akae Beka's inimitable style, developed over decades performing with St. Croix based band Midnite. At the point of his untimely passing in 2019, he had released over 70LP's. His prolific output coupled with his uniquely rich, deep, multilayered songwriting and uncompromising devotion to RasTafari has earned him a place amongst the reggae legends.
The production trinity, Zion I Kings have been involved collectively and individually in co-creating some of the most highly regarded contributions to the vast Akae Beka catalogue.
Now available on 12" vinyl courtesy of Before Zero Records, Portals was originally released on CD and Digital in 2016. It garnered critical acclaim and held position in the billboard charts top 10 for 2 weeks. Produced collaboratively between Zion I Kings and Vaughn Benjamin (Akae Beka), who co-produced & arranged 5 of the 13 songs himself, alongside the ZIK players in St. Croix's Aqua Sounds Studio. The album's sound continues a trajectory of textural, guitar-driven roots reggae that Zion I Kings and Padraic Coursey first explored on the track "Weather the Storm" on 2014's Beauty for Ashes.
Now available on 12" vinyl courtesy of Before Zero Records.

"Dub For The Radicals" are ten unearthed rock solid Roots Radics rhythm tracks dub charged by Alborosie and Flabba Holt at Shengen Studio, Jamaica. This is speaker shaking drum and bass from the original Roots Radics - pure dub fire - Alborosie meets The Roots Radics at their best in a heavyweight dub showdown! - It is Alborosie's fifth dub project following the strictly dubwise albums "Dub Clash" (2010), "Dub The System" (2013), "Dub Of Thrones" w/King Jammy (2015) and "Freedom In Dub" (2017).

Allan 'Ras Bombo' Kingpin's all time roots classic scorcher, better known as "Little Jimmy", it's working title during its pre-release. This release is a dubplate mix (original version here).

After the famous Andre Tanker’s “Back Home”, Jamwax is very proud to reissue River Come Down in its 12'' version.
Originally released on the Contraband label in 1979 and recorded at famous Semp studio in Trinidad, “River Come Down” is a blend of islands funk, soul, disco, soca with also a touch of gospel: “River, the river come down, the river come down, the river down...wind blow like a hurricane...the river come down, washing the right, washing the wrong, washing the weak, washing the strong, the river come down...”
On the other side you will find an obscure synth instrumental released on an impossible to find 7'' in 1986. “Movin Round” was produced by Andre Tanker for Horace Wilson's Turn of The Tide. This song was absolutely under the radar and remains a strong banger for any dances.

This release by The Band of Enlightenment, Reason & Love presents a new instrumental version of the heavily sought after debut release "Zota Yinne" by Alogte Oho, the meanwhile classic second release on Philophon from 2014 (PH45002). So far, The Band of Enlightenment, Reason & Love, as Philophon's house band, never had any release under its own name, but here we go! It's sure: more will follow.

"Zota Yinne" is a dubbed out variation of the original Frafra gospel classic with the one and only Jimi Tenor as a guest on flute and synth. "Starlet Road Filling Station Romance" is an other-worldly search for love, perfectly characterized by Jimi Tenor's love cries on the saxophone.

First time re-issue for this golden age righteous rastaman business from Barrington Levy & Trinity. In the rockers era Trinity cemented his place as the number one deejay scoring countless hits and becoming almost an almost essential ingredient on the onslaught of discomixes from yard. Moving into production with his own Flag Man label this 1979 crucial combination killer with Barrington „Lose Respect“ was also the first in a long parade of Mr. Levys 12-inch single hits for Greensleeves Records. The flipside features the soulful lovers rock lick of „Since You Are Gone“ / „Give Love A Try“ from Roman Stewart & Trinity to rival the previous and much loved versions by Delroy Wilson, Pat Kelly & David Isaacs.

Barry Bigg, killer roots tune from the 70's with King Tubby's Dub. On the flip, Robbie Lyn previously unreleased keyboard version.

"Grammy-winning outfit Black Uhuru is one of the most known and beloved reggae bands of all times. The group was formed in 1972 in Waterhouse, Kingston. Initially known simply as ‘Uhuru’ (the Swahili word for ‘freedom’) it was formed by the likes of Garth Dennis, Don Carlos and Duckie Simpson. But it wasn’t until 1977, when Errol Nelson and Michael Rose joined Duckie to replace Carlos and Dennis, that they started to build a solid reputation both in Jamaica and the UK with a stream of now legendary albums. African Love is part of Black Uhuru’s debut album ‘Love Crisis’, produced and mixed by Prince Jammy in 1977. The somehow ‘raw’ production quality of this early versions allows the listener to sink into the band’s unmistakable talent."

We are happy to unveil a new collaboration with prolific Jamaican singer and producer Mike Brooks. Born in the Westmoreland parish in the early 1950s, Mike Brooks’ journey in music kicked off around the legendary Channel One studio where he was involved with Lloyd Park’s Skin Flesh and Bones band for some time, before devoting himself to singing and producing, mainly through his own ‘Teams’ label.

Bob Marley was a Jamaican singer and songwriter. He is considered to beone of the pioneers of reggae. Marley began his professional musical career in 1963, after forming Bob Marley & The Wailers. The group attained international success in 1973. Reggae’s most transcendent and iconic figure, Bob Marley was the first Jamaican artist to achieve international superstardom. Including the hits “I Shot The Sheriff”, “No Woman No Cry”, “Is This Love” and more.

Recorded live at the Record Plant Sausalito CA, October 1973. 180gr

The studio and label Digital B of producer Bobby "Digital" Dixon became the ruling production house in the musical revolution that swept through Jamaica from the mid-80's onwards with a lethal selection of dancehall weapons and chartbusting reggae hits. "X-Tra Wicked" gathers many of his bestever productions from those heady times when specialist stores were awash with 7-Inch singles, freshly arrived from Jamaica, and reggae music was once more on the rise. This great double 2LP-set presents 24 selected tracks in a double wide vinyl jacket, with just the top hits from the two Bobby Digital Reggae Anthology releases.

1970s Jamaica suffered an unprecedented stretch of political turmoil and violence, and as the country’s economy and morale collapsed, reggae and its offshoots exploded worldwide. Boris Gardiner enjoyed great success leading bands, issuing albums that mixed reggae, ska, soul and funk, and collaborating with the likes of Lee (Scratch) Perry and Herman Chin-Loy in their legendary studios and playing on hundreds of records. So many that he lost count. Sometime around the issue of his Boris Gardiner Happening Is What’s Happening album - a Loft classic, with David Mancuso favoring Gardiner’s take of Booker T. and the MG’s “Melting Pot” at his legendary gathering - and his soundtrack to Every N----r Is A Star, famously sampled by Kendrick Lamar and used as the introduction to the film Moonlight, two albums - Ultra Super Dub Vols. 1 and 2 - credited to The Boris Gardiner Happening - two albums so obscure that for the longest time Boris wasn’t even aware that they existed. Following classics such as King Tubby’s Dub From the Roots and Augustus Pablo’s King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown, Miami-based Alty East’s Ultra Records took instrumentals Gardiner created for a run of 45s, and created and issued these compilations of dubbed out originals and JA renditions of songs by Otis Redding, Clarence Carter, Betty Wright, Jimmy “Bo” Horne and Ultra label-mate Frankie Zhivago Young. Released in tiny runs in handmade, silkscreened, paste-on covers, they have become some of the most sought after Jamaican albums. Now, issued under Boris’ guidance, and with a detailed booklet by Jeff Mao, which delves into the deep scene which birthed these remarkable records, we can finally consider the last, unheard portion of this landmark musician’s career.

Black Pride' is the seminal Lovers Rock tune from Brown Sugar pressed loud for the first ever time on this new one-off press limited-edition (just 1,000 copies worldwide) 12" on Soul Jazz Records! Brown Sugar formed in London in 1976 made up of teenagers Pauline Catlin, Caron Wheeler and Carol Simms. After Brown Sugar Caron Wheeler became known worldwide as the vocalist in Soul II Soul and Carol Simms launched a successful solo career under the name 'Kofi'. "Black Pride" was originally released on the Lovers Rock label, a fledgling reggae label formed by musicians Dennis Bovell and John Kpiaye and producer Dennis Harris. Brown Sugar were unique - not only were they one of the most important of the first wave of lovers rock groups, they were the only group who managed to successfully blend together a reggae roots consciousness with a lovers rock sensibility. The classic 'Black Pride' perfectly reflects this unique sound.

Featuring Johnny Clarke, King Tubby, Dillinger, Prince Jazzbo, Tommy McCook, The legendary Aggrovators, The Mighty Diamonds & many more.

About Carl Dawkins

Carl ‘Ras’ Dawkins was born on 1st August 1948 in Spanish Town, Jamaica, the son of a Jazz drummer… After moving to Kinston, young Carl attended Kingston Senior School where his classmates included the great Slim Smith and Jimmy Riley, two of the former “Techniques”. In 1967, at the tender age of 19, Carl recorded for Karl ‘J.J.’ Johnson some of his original compositions including ‘cBaby I Love You’, ‘Running Shoes’ and ‘Hard Time’ with the Carib Beats as a musical backing band. ‘Baby I Love You’ with ‘Hard Time’ on the flip were subsequently issued on two Johnson’s labels (JJ Records, Sir J.J.) in 1967 in Jamaica and on the Rio label (a Doctor Bird subsidiary) in UK the same year. While ‘Baby I Love You’ was popular, it was the great ‘Hard Time’ that propelled the single to the top of the Jamaican charts. After a spell in prison for possession of marijuana, Carl recorded a collection of singles for producers such as Clancy Eccles, Lee Perry and Leslie Kong. He returned to JJ and found success again in 1970, when he recorded one of that year’s best-selling singles, the superb ‘Satisfaction’, swiftly followed by two other major hits the same year, ‘Get Together’ and ‘This Land’ which sold heavily despite being banned by the government for its hard-hitting lyrics on the state of Jamaica at the time. During the 70s he recorded one album for Harry J - “Bumpity Road” - and many great singles for a variety of record labels and producers before gradually withdrawing from the scene during the 80s. Many years later, Carl is still very much loved by its many fans around the world. He is rightly considered being one of Reggae's all-time greatest vocalists…

About This Release

This killer double sider is the first reissue of two super rare and outstanding tracks by the great Carl Dawkins. Both tracks have never been reissued until now.

The very much in demand “I’ll Make It Up” was previously released as B side to One Dollar Of Music on Duke Du-3 in 1968. On the B side, the brilliant “Hot And Sticky” was previously released on Rio R138 in 1967.

Both tracks were produced by the Jamaican reggae producer, J.J. Johnson who ran two record labels Sir J. J. and JJ Records from his Kingston shop on Orange Street, next door to Beverley's Records, where he was shot dead in 1972.

Chronixx makes an overdue but welcome return to the airwaves with the soulful reggae track titled “Never GIve Up”. A rootsy, uplifting and inspiring song containing all the essential elements for a classic, Chronixx joins forces with award winning producer Inflo to create something very special!