Monday, December 1, 2008

SOUL JAZZ INNA DANCEHALL


Out Now is "Dancehall - The Rise of Jamaican Dancehall Culture" the book available or from Soul Jazz Records and all good retail and online stores.

‘Dancehall – The Rise of Jamaican Dancehall Culture’ released on Soul Jazz Records is an essential guide and who’s who to the phenomenal explosion of Dancehall in Jamaica in the 1980s and its subsequently rise throughout the world.

Released to coincide with the launch of Beth Lesser’s deluxe 200-page book of the same name (also published by Soul Jazz Records) featuring hundreds of amazing photographs and accompanying text, this new CD double-album features a pantheon of Dancehall stars - Gregory Isaacs, Sugar Minott, Sister Nancy, Tenor Saw, Sly & Robbie, King Jammy, Eek A Mouse, Yellowman, Frankie Paul and many, many more.

The album comes with extensive text by Steve Barrow, co-author of the acclaimed ‘Rough Guide to Reggae’ and features Dancehall classics throughout - capturing the vibrant, globally influential and yet rarely documented culture that has been mixing music, fashion and lifestyle with attitude since its inception.

Dancehall is at the centre of Jamaican musical and cultural life. From its roots in Kingston in the 1950s to its heyday in the 1980s, Dancehall has gone on to conquer the globe, spreading to the USA, UK, Canada, Japan, Europe and beyond. Dancehall is also a culture that encompasses music, fashion, drugs, guns, art, community, technology and more.

This ‘Dancehall’ double-pack CD is an essential reference for anyone interested in Reggae, as well as a jam-packed album full of 100% stone-cold dancehall classics. An A-Z of some of Dancehall’s finest moments.

The album features artwork and photographs taken from Beth Lesser’s new book as well as extensive sleeve-notes and comes as a double-CD pack and also a limited-edition two-volume double-vinyl LP release.


Some reviews of Beth Lesser’s forthcoming ‘Dancehall – The Rise of Jamaican Dancehall’ (which you can pre-order now for shipping next week):

“Lesser’s book is a vibrant anthology of all that mattered: the soundsystems, studios, producers, singers and deejays.” The Observer

“This superb book of Beth Lesser's photographs, supplemented by her empathetic text and wonderful candid interviews with many of the main players, gives us a unique view straight to the heart of dancehall reggae.” Steve Barrow, co-author of The Rough Guide to Reggae

“Inside the book features Dancehall and its luminaries, a back-drop of bass bins, heat-hazed colour and excellent knitwear, plus interviews, biographies and diversions into the music’s development.” Mojo

Also check these 2-page features in the following newspapers:

The Guardian

The Independent

The Sunday Times

www.souljazzrecords.co.uk/releases/?id=13647
www.souljazzrecords.co.uk/releases/?id=13466

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