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A reissue of a classic dub/reggae album, originally released in 1982.

A reissue of a classic roots reggae album, originally released in 1982.

Heavy roots reggae album from 1988 by avant-jazz horn player Jamaiel Shabaka. Remastered and released as a double LP gatefold sleeve in an edition of 500. With its unusual jazzy/improv'd sonic essays among straight-up heavyweight roots tracks, saying that 'The Land Of The Rising Sun' is an unusual-sounding reggae album is an understatement, and far from a surprise: after all, who in the reggae world started improving for days on end with Sun Ra?

CD comes in a soft case, instead of the original crystal case. All booklets included.

"Skinhead Moonstomp Revisited" is a new recording of the classic album with Roy Ellis.

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…..

POP Punk Meets Prog Metal Meets SKA ON This Incredible Genre Defying AND Constantly Surprising LP ON Limited Edition Aqua Blue Vinyl For over a decade The Holophonics have been blending ska, pop-punk, prog rock, and hardcore into an electrifying and genre-defying package. While they gained some internet fame from several perfectly crafter cover songs and albums, it's all been an effort to bring the casual listener into the wild world of their original material... and combined with years of ceaseless touring, the band has gained underground acclaim from peers and fans alike. With their 'checkered past' of cover songs permanently behind them, the band is set to release their new album "Lavos"; an ambitious concept album that would fifit perfectly alongside the RX Bandits, We Are The Union, or Refused. A deeply personal album for singer Eric Daino, Lavos is a combination of energy discharge from pent up anxiety, and a space to try and heal personal wounds. Eric says: "Lavos is an album about the anxiety, fear, and shame of working through trauma. The lyrics deal with the visceral symptoms of surviving - both physical and mental - and came out quickly in large, unfiltered swaths that speak to a constant sense of pressing urgency. The music however, takes a far more meticulous and detailed tack. Obsessively pored over and checked and rechecked hundreds of times - every melody, chord, and rhythm reflect the intense scrutinization to which I would subject myself before being ready to share my experiences".

a Sino/Japanese twist.

In the early 1960s Justin Yap and his brother Ivan [aka ‘Jahu’] ran the Top Deck sound system from their family’s ice cream parlour and restaurant in Barbican, Kingston. The local success of the sound system encouraged them to venture into the recording business, and by 1962 Justin had recorded singers Larry Marshall, Ephraim ‘Joe’ Henry and Ferdie Nelson. The fledgling label enjoyed a modest local Jamaican hit in 1963, with trumpeter Baba Brooks and the Trenton Spence Orchestra's “Distant Drums” issued on Top Deck Records as the b-side to Larry Marshall’s hit “Too Young To Love”. As a fan of exotica composer Martin Denny, Justin had heard “Jungle Drums” on Denny’s 1959 LP “Afro-Desia”. His liking for Martin Denny would prove fruitful later, when Justin recorded the Skatalites in a mammoth all-night session in 1964 at Clement Dodd’s Studio One on Brentford Road.

By 1963-1964, hundreds of ska tracks were being recorded by Clement Dodd, Arthur ‘Duke’ Reid, Vincent Edwards, Vincent Chin, Leslie Kong and Prince Buster and others. Justin had linked up with Allen ‘Bim Bim’ Scott, a friend of Clement ‘Coxson’ Dodd, owner of the Studio One label who had already recorded the musicians who became the Skatalites.

Justin and Ivan organised a session in November 1964 at Studio One; it lasted 18 hours. The length of the session allowed for alternate takes to be recorded, but the highlights of the sessions were the five original compositions by Don Drummond – “Marcus Junior”, “The Reburial”, “Confucious”, “Chinatown” and “Smiling”. The first two are in tribute to the Pan-Africanist Marcus Garvey; “The Reburial” refers to the occasion of his interment in Jamaica in 1964, his remains having been brought from the cemetery in Kensal Green London, where he was originally buried in 1940, and reburied in King George VI Memorial Park Kingston [later renamed National Heroes Park].

Along with these originals were some well-chosen cover versions. Two came from the Duke Ellington songbook: “Ska-Ra-Van” is of course Ellington and his trombonist Juan Tizol’s classic composition “Caravan”, while “Surftide Seven” is Ellington’s “In A Mellotone”. The LP title track “Ska-Boo-Da-Ba” is a version of Bill Doggett’s 1958 “King” US 45 “Boo-Da-Ba”. “Ringo” had also appeared on Arthur Lyman’s “Taboo” LP [1958] as “Ringo Oiwake”. Originally it was sung by Hibari Misora – a very famous vocal song in Japan, recorded in 1952, the melody composed by Masao Yoneyama. Yet another tune copped from Lyman’s “Taboo” LP is “China Clipper”, composed by the pianist / arranger / orchestrator Paul Conrad.

The last track on this fine LP is “Lawless Street”, a feature for Roland Alphonso. Unlike the other Skatalites, Roland wasn’t a graduate of the celebrated Alpha School, like many of Jamaica’s top musicians from Bertie King to Yellowman. Alphonso was a graduate of Boys Town School in Denham Town. “Lawless Street” was another tune that was recorded twice at the session – the second version features vocal ‘peps’ and exhortations by DJ King Sporty.

By late 1966, Justin emigrated to the USA, settling permanently in New York. There he took up US citizenship and was called up to serve in the US Army in Vietnam, In the early 1970s he worked in computers and eventually drove a New York cab. In his all too brief involvement in the competitive Jamaican music business he certainly left his mark as a producer. He produced some of the best ska ever made, and the LP reissued here is perhaps the most coherent LP in that genre, deriving as it does from a single session.

The celebrated record producer at Randy’s Studio, Clive Chin:

“It wasn’t the fact that they [the musicians] really love Justin; it was the fact that Justin used to pay them the right money and make them comfortable. Make sure them have them smoke, them food, them drink, and after them finish they got paid.” Unlike many other producers, Justin actually attended the sessions.

It stands as his defining legacy in Jamaican music history.

Limited edition vinyl single from Hong KONG's top ska/reggae act who teamed up with modern British producer King Zepha foe this heavy 70s styled roots affair. Features B Dubbs on vocals/chatting, with a dub on the flip. Red vinyl in picture sleeve.

In 2024, a 7-inch that will bring tears to the eyes of all ska fans has been delivered! A cover of Jimmy Smith's "The Cat" with organ and tenor intertwined is also included. The first single by Mighty Caskets, formed around Ichimura of EX. Cool Wise MAN, is "green EYES," a bluesy, superb instrumental ska with a melancholy tenor saxophone melody and shuffle beat that hits the heart. In addition, the B-side features a garage-inspired cover of Jimmy Smith's "The Cat," which takes one's breath away with its thrilling and sensational organ tones. Recorded and mixed & mastered by E-mura (bim ONE Production).

Rude Bones, a pioneer in the Japanese ska-core scene, releases two of its latest releases on 7”!! This EP features a bold Rocksteady arrangement of the Northern Soul classic “I'm Where It's At” by The Jades! In contrast, “Losing Track” is an up-tempo ska number with a sharp and catchy melody that is sure to get ska dances and singalongs. Both are big tunes that symbolize the current Rude Bones and will resonate well with past and future fans.