Roots & Culture 150 Items

Classic '70s deep roots, it rarely gets better than these! First released in 2012

2019 reissue.

Record is close to NM!

Part of a new series of reissues produced by the great Lloyd "Bullwackie" Barnes!'No equal..' awesome tune backed by an incredible dub featuring what sounds like infinite echo.

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.

Green Vinyl.
Record is close to NM.
Includes original insert.

Red vinyl

Released in 2017, the much-talked-about Yasuyuki Horigome & THE NEW Shoes "Aliens (Lovers Version) (12")" will be re-released by Urban Discos in limited quantities! The flip side features a dub version of the song, as on the first pressing. It was re-cut from the original master and retains the 12" 45rpm spec.

The first and foremost exponent of the ‘singjay’ style, Eek A Mouse, has carried all before him over the past thirty years busily blurring the distinctions between roots, dancehall and crossover reggae. Eek-ology collects up a number of rare and in-demand non-album sides including the early self produced ‘Ripton Hylton’ recordings along with the Joe Gibbs sessions where he first unveiled his brand new Eek-A-Mouse style. Mouse’s long and successful partnership with producer Junjo Lawes is represented by the non-album ‘For Hire And Removal’ and tracks like ‘Rude Boys A Foreign’ recorded for Gussie Clarke and ‘Taller Than King Kong’ for King Jammy still ram the dance today!

Repress of Mad Professor's 90s Japanese Mono Lovers remix masterpiece 7" S.S.W. Yoshiko Gotoh is also known as the vocalist of Denki Groove's 'Niji'. This is the first 7" release from '19, coupling the classic "First Light" with a superb dub mix of "Nameless Pierce", and is now being repressed in a limited edition of 300 copies Yoshiko Goshima was described as "a genius female singer with a five-octave voice" in the 1990s and early 2000s. She is a talented artist who is popular for her soulful singing that combines sweetness and toughness, and her 1999 hit single 'Open Up', which was used in a TV commercial, is also memorable. This 7" couples two rare remixes by the reggae dub scene's Mad Professor. The A-side features the 'Mad's Lovers Smooth Mix ver.' from the 'First Light Remixes' 12" single, which was released as a promo-only single in '97 and is now hard to find. A light dub number with dreamy synths and a stretched high-tone voice that feels great, the B-side is the "Mad's Summer Swim Mix" of "No Name Earrings" from the CD single "Swingin' the Swing", also released in '97. " from the CD single 'Swingin' the Swing', also released in '97. It is a moving song with powerful yet melancholy and delicate vocals and a chorus work that builds to euphoria towards the latter half of the song

Debut album from DC roots reggae / lovers rock band mixed by VICTOR RICE. Formed by current and former members of THE PIETASTERS, feat lush vocals of KELLY DI FLIPPO. Think THE BEATLES meets DENNIS BROWN, a must for fans of THE FRIGHTNRS, HOLLIE COOK or THE SKINTS. Songs of heartbreak...

7inch and video originally released in 2017 and now reissued by popular demand after the quickly sold out

Back to back two Killer 60s soul to reggae instrumental monsters - versioning Young-Holt’s classic Soulful Strut and Booker T and the MGs Seminal Time is Tight!

Original limited edition vinyl (500 copies)

Original limited edition vinyl (500 copies)

Roots Reggae Dub!

Pressed on 7 inch vinyl with a dinked centre hole.

New repress of the first album "Midnight Walkers". We have used the same vinyl metal works as the first 2012 pressing.

After several releases on 7 and 12inch, Stand High Patrol, the french crew of Pupajim, Rootystep and the legendary Mac gyva is back with a long awaited LP. With strictly brand new killer dubadub, digital and hip hop tracks including crazy echos, “Midnight Walkers” is totally unique! It contains all elements of a Stand High live session and offers an evolving dubadub. With the crazy voice of Pupajim and totally timeless dubs, the first album of the three “dubadub musketeerz” deals with the particular originality that made of Stand High Patrol one of the toughest dub sound system of France. Every bass addict and every dub fan should enter the Stand High experience. If you are ready, fasten your seat belt and run the track! We hope that you will enjoy the flight!

12" reissue of killer cuts from the Canadian label, Oswald Creary's Half Moon.

Frankie Jones’ “Gun Fever” is a dark
and heavy piece of digital roots; a rare representation of 80s Jamaican music that appealed equally to the UK roots and dancehall crowds. Originally released in 1986 on a Third World 12”, the record was limited in distribution and became a heavily sought after tune by serious collectors and selectors alike. This Pressure Sounds release on a crisp, newly mastered 45 is the first time “Gun Fever” has been reissued; and the first time it has appeared on 7” vinyl. Comes in a hand stamped bag.

For decades, any sound system worth their salt headed to the dub cutters to get a piece of the “Late Night Blues” riddim. Acetate after acetate of the riddim rumbled through speakers from Brixton to the Bronx, making it a certified sound system classic. Now, Pressure Sounds comes with four exclusive cuts of the Late Night Blues rhythm. The first 2 cuts combine Diggory Kenrick’s always-in-demand flute with the legendary Matic Horns on Side A. The flipside takes the riddim into deep, dubbed-out territory with two dangerous cuts, one laden with dreamy chimes, the other snatches of vocal. A welcome addition to the Late Night cult!

For years, Diggory Kenrick has been re-energizing classic roots and rocksteady through his musical collaborations with original source material taken from master tape. For “Vengeance,” Kenrick crafts a welcome, new addition to the Yabby You catalog with a sax-led, scorching take of “Jah Vengeance.” On the B-Side Kenrick takes to the mixing board for a vital dub mix.

Ten selected tracks have been compiled for the LP-vinyl edition with Singers on side one and the Deejays on side two, including Tessanne Chin's "Breakfast In Bed" and Noah Powa's "No Stress" feat. Shams The Producer as exclusives. The cover art is by Japanese illustrator Murasaki.

With the original version already proving a massive hit with DJs such as Target, Mistajam, Toddla T and Rene Lavice on BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra, as well as becoming something of an anthem at festivals across the summer, we've enlisted the help of the one and only Gentleman's Dub Club to give "Stranger In Town" the roots reggae remix treatment. Taking the original parts and dubbing them up, adding extra guitar, bass and horns, they've taken the vocals of Canadian reggae star Exco Levi back to its roots in a classic style adding some vintage sounding vibes. With a dub version that is exclusive to this vinyl (not available digitally) - this should be massive with DJs.

Willie Williams' roots rock reggae classic Armagideon Time – the rare 12" extended Discomix version split into two sublime heavyweight slices and cut super-loud on a 12" single.

Produced by Studio One supremo Coxsone Dodd this is a huge Reggae anthem on the classic 'Real Rock' rhythm, famously covered by The Clash and sampled by KRS One, The Fugees and many more.

Jah Cure is a musical adventurer, exploring rhythms, moods and meaning with his latest album "Royal Soldier", his first longplayer since "The Cure" in 2015. Jah Cure writes songs about love and consciousness and reality. His music moves between classic roots and smooth R&B and often challenges the boundaries of the reggae genre, his presence and influence among Caribbean fans has reverberated around the globe and earned him top status among reggae artists internationally. The music videos for set-up tracks "Telephone Love", "Risk It All" and "Marijuana" are all +1 million streams on YouTube. Guest appearances on "Royal Soldier" include Damien "Jr. Gong" Marley, Popcaan, Melanie Fiona, Mya, Phyllisia Ross, Tory Lanez two special multi-feature tunes with Yami Bolo, Junior Reid & Capleton ("Street Kings") and Dru, Sketch Carey & Alx ("Eyes On Your Body")

Tommy McCook’s mighty hornsman version of Yabby You’s “Jah Vengence” re-mastered and reissued in perfect style. This 7” finds the great multi-instrumentalist re-imagining the dark vocals of the original track as a slithering horns track that bursts to crescendo amid the heavyweight bass and drums. The B-side offers up echo-drenched dub.

A collection of contemporary reggae, dub and electronica, which marks a broadening of musical horizons for the label beyond reissues of lost African guitar dance music. The LP covers a range of Jamaican inspired sounds, including roots reggae, dancehall, dub and jungle, which may act as a taster for potential future releases.

The album was originally released in Nigeria by Tabansi Records and recorded at Afrodisia/Decca studio in Lagos. The Lp never really saw a commerical issue and was probably pressed in very few promotional copies for Radios and Djs making the original nearly impossible to be found nowdays.
Musically it comes with some dope , slow and one-a-way digital roots riddims filled with mad synths , deep conscious lyrics and a deep bassline, it's quite unique as the two main track comes with a raw Dub which is very hard to be found on any other African Reggae albums , the last track call “If I'm To Rule The World” is a very interesting blend of Reggae and Boogie.
We have been working together with the lead singer of the band , Sharon Escco Wilson that we met personally in Lagos, to finally make the album available worldwide.
The cover have been fully restored and the Audio remastered , in the LP we'll add an insert with Lyrics , original pictures from back in the days (and a few new ones) , a newspaper article from 1990 and an extensive interview by Sharon Escco Wilson.

"I Man A The Stal-A-Watt" gathers together 13 sure shots from Cornell Campbell blending the very best of his all-conquering hit run of forty-fives for Bunny "Striker" Lee alongside a stretch of crucial cuts produced by Joe Gibbs - from the 1970s - 80s classic era. The title is a boast from the early soundclash era when many of Campbell's tracks, here produced primarily by Bunny Lee, would play first on King Tubby’s Home Town Hi-Fi in Jamaica. The songs run the range from clash-ready standards like "Mash You Down" and "The Gorgon" to cultural commentaries like "Jah Jah Me Horn Yah" and "Bandulu" to the lover’s masterpiece "The Investigator" which leads off the set. Stretching into the early 80s, the collection includes two originals that would spawn countless re-interpretations, "Rope In" and "Boxing Around".