Dubmatix presents Clash of the Titans - The System Shakedown Remixes

Last years System Shakedown handed over to some of the reggae world’s most talented remixers/producers read a full review at.........

Pat Kelly - Vintage Rocksteady

When it comes to rocksteady reggae of the late ‘60s Pat Kelly is sometimes a forgotten man, with the likes of Alton Ellis and Slim Smith stealing nearly all the accolades. This is something of an injustice as his beautiful falsetto voice is easily up there with the best and his standard of work is as good as any.

He was born in Kingston in 1949 and after leaving school in 1966, went to Springfield, Massachusetts in the United States where he spent a year studying electronics before returning to Jamaica. On his return he was invited to replace Slim Smith as the lead singer of The Techniques who were recording for Duke Reid’s Treasure Isle label. Kelly's falsetto voice was strongly influenced by the American Soul singer Sam Cooke and in combination with Winston Riley and Bruce Ruffin The Techniques easily maintained the success they had enjoyed with Smith. The first record they released with Kelly on lead was "You Don't Care", adapted from Curtis Mayfield's "You'll Want Me Back". The song spent six weeks at number one in the Jamaican singles chart, and was followed by further hits with "Queen Majesty", another Mayfield reworking ("Minstrel and Queen"), "My Girl", "Love Is Not a Gamble", "It's You I Love", and "Run Come Celebrate".

In 1968, Kelly himself decided to go solo and moved to Bunny Lee. His debut for Lee was yet another Mayfield cover, "Little Boy Blue" which was followed by "How Long Will It Take" with this song becoming the biggest-selling Jamaican single of 1969. It was also the first Jamaican record to feature a string arrangement, which was overdubbed when it was released in the UK on the Palmer Brothers' Unity label.

A Lee "Scratch" Perry-engineered album ‘Pat Kelley’ Sings was then hot on its heels and led to a £25,000 contract offer by Apple Records, which he was unable to accept due to existing contractual commitments.

Despite this commercial set back Kelly continued to record, having big hits for producer Phil Pratt in 1972 with "Soulful Love" and "Talk About Love", and returning to record with Duke Reid where he had another hit with a cover of John Denver's "Sunshine".  As singing work dried up a bit He fell back on his earlier training to work as an engineer at Channel One Studio and worked on albums like Johnny Clarke’s ‘A Ruffer Version’ and ‘Rockers Time Now’ as well as Jah Woosh ‘Dreadlocks Affair’ and the dub album Morwell Unlimited Meet King Tubby's Dub Me.

In 1978 he moved to production, producing his own Youth and Youth album and co-producing John Holt's The Impressable John Holt (Disco Mix) with Holt the following year.

The late 1970s and early 1980s saw Kelly recording more regularly again, with albums like ‘One Man Stand’, ‘Cool Breezing’, ‘Wish It Would Rain’ and ‘One In A Million’.

The last new recording I can find from Kelly is ‘Jesus Is The Answer’ released in the US in 1998 but although no new recordings are coming he is still active and recently performed with L.A Boss Reggae band The Revivers in San Francisco

King Jammy Specials At ReggaeRecord.com

ReggaeRecord.com is at it again with another batch of King Jammy dubplate specials all taken from the original master tapes.

The company have just released four 7” heavyweight vinyl records that include some rare dubplate specials originally recorded for Jammy’s Super Power soundsystem by artists such as Pad Anthony, Little John, Anthony Malvo, Johnny Osbourne and Thiller U, who recorded their songs at King Jammys Recording Studio, plus unreleased dubplate recordings by Junior Reid and US soul group the Chilites. These dubplates were then played against the likes of Black Scorpio, Killamanjaro, Downbeat, African Symbol and other soundsystems who tried to test Jammys Super Power, at various sound clashes and go some way to show why the Prince became a King.

For more information and sound bites visit ReggaeRecord.com

Bob Andy honored in Press Area Forum

Bob Andy honored in Press Area Forum

Reggae Room Forums

Reggae Room Forums

Fans - Artists - Labels - DJs - Reviewers all welcome

Gregory Isaacs – The Ruler (1972 - 1990)

On October 25^th last year the “Cool Ruler” Gregory Isaacs passed away at the age of 60. He was dubbed “The Cool Ruler” not only for his dapper style that often included a fedora style hat but also for the smooth delivery of his plaintive crooning that led to him being once described as “the most exquisite vocalist in reggae”. 

Read more about this album at........

DUBMATIX Presents Clash of the Titans - The System Shakedown Remixes

An epic Double Vinyl journey of remixes from some of the world’s most talented producers: Zion Train, G.Corp, Marcus Visionary, Liondub, Vibronics, Victor Rice, Duibvisionist, Mungo’s Hi-Fi, Aldubb, Nate Wize, TVS, Subatomic Soundsystem, Webcam Hi-Fi, DJ Shine, Eccodek & DJ Brace, through dub, dubstep, ragga, jungle, future dub and roots.

Now let Dubmatix tell you more …….

“The concept for this new release materialized in the summer of 2010: on a tropically hot (hot as hades) summer evening in Toronto, when myself and Karsten Frehe (Irie Ites Music) came up with the idea and immediately set about contacting some of the world’s premier dubheads and have them get involved and contribute a remix. What was to be just a 12” Vinyl release expanded into a Double 12” Vinyl Release, CD Release and Digital release. The remix material was so good and there was so much of it.
The album features an awesome line-up of great remixers/producers: G.Corp (Groove Corporation), Zion Train, Aldubb, Dubvisionist, TVS, Mungo's HiFi, Marcus Visionary, LionDub, Webcam Hi-Fi, Victor Rice, Vibronics, Subatomic Soundsystem and Nate Wize, with myself contributing an alternate version of the Dennis Alcapone track “Struggle”.  The resultant release is multifaceted, ranging from roots dub to steppers, more experimental approaches such as dubstep and future dub.  Dub has always been open for new styles and ideas! The voices featured on “System Shakedown” also put in an appearance: The Mighty Diamonds, Tippa Irie, Dennis Alcapone, Kulcha Ites, Jay Douglas, The Ragga Twins, Ammoye, Brother Culture and U Brown all feature with vocal parts, embellishing and enriching the futuristic sounds and vibes. Over the past months a great work has emerged and it is now poised I hope to go straight to the hearts and feet of dubheads all over the world.”

"This is a release that's guaranteed to smash up the place! TurnTableTerrorist say so!!!" (WLUW Chicago - USA)

REGGAE ROAST RECORDS PRESENT SENSI SKANK FEATURING RUBEN DA SILVA, MURRAY MAN, MANASSEH & PLACID

Reggae Roast Records has gathered some serious momentum over the past 12 months with critically
acclaimed releases from the likes of dub heavyweights such as Earl 16, Mungo’s Hi Fi, Nick Manasseh,
Kenny Knots and RSD (Rob Smith). Quickly building a reputation as the UK’s leading label for contemporary dubwise produce. Reggae Roast come with their brand new single; Sensi Skank, yet another home grown sliceof hard hitting digital roots the label has become synonymous with.

There’s no doubt about about it, Sensi Skank is set to be the Ganja Anthem 2012. This 5 mix release by
Ruben Da Silva featuring Skinnyman is set to shake speaker stacks across the land, and is already garnering support from DJ Hype and a host of other top DJs. the Track has been tastefully dubbed by Manasseh and remixed by D&B heavyweights Placid. Twist it all all together and fire it up, for a red hot, smoking release.

Ruben Da Silva, who is quickly becoming a major force in the British roots scene after his recent dance-floor
smasher ‘Bless A Sound’ has once again shown why he‘s one of the hottest new voices in town. The beautifully distinctive tone to his vocal carries the track as he begrudges the fact that he is criminalized for smoking the ‘righteous weed’ and forced to smoke undercover.
Skinnyman, the long time outspoken advocator of the legalisation of cannabis makes a rare but unforgettable
appearance, as ever his flow and delivery are second to none. In the same vain as his critically acclaimed album ‘Council Estate of Mind’, Skinnyman once again delivers a socially analytical commentary, which demonstrates why he is one of the most popular and well respected rappers ever to come out of the Britain.
Murray Man, a true veteran of the UK Roots scene, has been running sound systems since the 80‘s. More
recently he has turned his attentions to running his very own Mellow Vibes imprint. His distinctive Digi-Roots
production style has been smashing up dance-floors across the world with underground hits such as Crying Shame. Nick Manasseh became one of the most respected DJ / producers in British reggae when he began hosting his seminal weekly Kiss FM slot, which ran for over a decade. He has helped to generate an interest in Roots music across the UK with his killer dance-floor selections and crisp authentic production values. Manasseh has once again mixed and dubbed the latest Reggae Roast offering, adding depth, definition and his distinctive sound to the release.
Placid from the Undiluted Records camp, also the home of Ed Solo and Brockie, are on remix duties and come with a hard hitting Drum n Bass stomper that is sure to mash up dance-floors across the globe. Already
receiving plays from Junglist A-listers such as Hype (Kiss FM) and Sub Focus (Ram Records), the DnB refix sure brings some added heat to the release.

Keep you eyes and ears peeled for more exciting releases from the likes of Linval Thompson & Kenny Knots coming very soon on Reggae Roast Records.

Merritone Reissues From Dub Store Records

Earlier this year Dub Store Records reissued a selection of Ska rarities on 7” vinyl on the Federal Records' Kentone label, all beautifully presented with authentic labels and card covers. Now they have shifted their attention to the rocksteady era with no less than 40 songs across 20 singles presented on the Merritone label.

Merritone was founded in 1966 by Ken Khouri with the label taking its name from Winston Blake's sound system. Although not as well known as the likes of Studio 1 or Treasure Isle it was the largest record company of that time in Jamaica. Many songs were recorded with Ernest Ranglin, and fellow guitarist Lynn Taitt among its biggest stars. However many of theses songs only appeared on vinyl records in limited quantities in Jamaica with a small bunch of titles making it to the UK were they were released on the Island label. Due to this many recordings on the label are hardly known and are now considered being ultra rare collector’s items.

Dub Store are now making some of these unreleased, forgotten and hard to find gems available again and included in the roster are songs like ‘I’m Coming Home’ by Eddie Perkins who worked with Alton Ellis as the duo Alton and Eddy. Then there is Lynn Taitt’s remake of the ‘Batman’ movie theme, Henry Buckley sings ‘Beware Of All Those Rude Boys’ and showcases his conscious style with ‘If I Am Right’ plus there is early Prince Lincoln work with ‘Real Gone Sweet’ and ‘It’s Not Right’ that he performed as a member of The Tartans along with Devon Russell, Cedric Myton, and Berg Lewis. If this short list of some of the songs on offer doesn’t whet your appetite for more then check out ReggaeRecord.com

Brother Culture – City Of Vibes

Brother Culture the English MC from Brixton who brought us the fantastic album Isis has throughout his long career worked with the likes of Mungos Hi Fi, Dubmatix and major league dance act The Prodigy has now joined forces again with the Swiss production house Kinyama Sounds to bring us this 7-track EP ‘City of Vibes’.

To find out more visit......

Lack Of Afro - This Time

Lack of Afro, AKA British multi instrumentalist /producer/remixer/DJ Adam Gibbons one of our favourite funkateers here at Springline, has just released his third album ‘This Time’.

The album, as with the previous two, blends funk, jazz, hip hop, soul and 60s pop to create diverse and contemporary breakbeats and cinematic back drops. There are also shows signs of a growing maturity as this has to be his most wide and ranging collection of eclectic sounds. In the past listening to Lack Of Afro was a bit like facing a military big gun bombardment at times as the beats shook right through you, but here there are softer, silky, shimmering soulful sides as well.

These softer sides are primarily shown in two vocal cuts. the first is the exquisite single ‘A Time For..’ featuring the smokey Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye hybrid Wayne Giddens followed by the 60s pop-soul of ‘Fool’, with plucked orchestral strings a la Dusty Springfield and featuring Angeline Morrison who has worked recently with Frootful whose album ‘Colours’ was produced by Adam. These two vocalists also appear again on the album with Wayne on ‘What The Hell’ a more funky stax soul groove a kin to the sort of thing Raphael Saddiq has done on his latest album Stone Rollin’and Angeline on ‘The Importance Of Elsewhere’ which again rides a more funky beat, but this one leans more to a hip hop style while retaining her light soulful vocal.

The other two vocal cuts are the album opener and single in the making ‘Holding My Breath’ which features fellow Brighton dweller Jake Morley on a bounding Madchester beat and previous Afro cohorts rap duo Wax and Herbal T on ‘P.A.R.T.Y.’

the instrumentals is where the cinematic feel comes through with ‘Contusions’ having an afro-beat feel that could be the 21st century son or grandson even of ‘Shaft In Africa’ while ‘Little Fugue’ and ‘One For Bielski’ stray into beefed up Lalo Schifrinesque territory, the latter showing oriental influences, of say Enter The Dragon and Bielski is more Dirty Harry. Album closer ‘Lazy Lazarus’ sounds like a lost funked up, 60s garage band with slightly Latin leanings, you know the sort of thing you find in a Tarrentino movie.

‘This Time’ is an album of solid and diverse grooves that hints that it must surely now be only a matter of time before that big hit beckons.

Listen HERE

Buy    HERE

Sugar Minott - Hard Time Pressure

Last year VP released the 4CD Reggae Legends set on Sugar Minott shortly before his passing, that consisted of the albums “Buy Off The Bar”, “Rydim”, “Time Longer Than Rope” and “Rockers Awards Winner”, a sound clash with Leroy Smart, all recorded in the mid 1980s. Now they are following this up with “Hard Times Pressure”, something of a prelude to that set, with a 36 track collection spread across 2 discs that encompasses some of his best work from the late 1970s through to that time and the birth of digital dancehall reggae where he would earn the title of Godfather of Dancehall.........

To read more visit

Denja - Vampire Slayer

The second album from the little known Canadian artist Denja is probably one of the most obscure albums I have heard in a very, very long time.

‘Vampire Slayer’ takes traditional dub style leanings and throws into the mix some country and folk styling to create something that verges on the unique in a world that seems to becoming more and more dominated by dub-by-numbers offerings.

To read more visit.......

Bristol Reggae Explosion Vol 2 - The Review

The Bristol Reggae Explosion vol 2 1978 - 1983 sees Bristol Archive Records digging even deeper into the city's reggae heritage with a selection of rarities and several tracks that have never been previously released. It also serves as a poignant reminder of just how much unheralded reggae talent was out there back in the '80s.

For a full review read more at .............

Hollie Cook Debut Release

Hollie Cook’s self-titled debut album, released back in June of this year on Mr Bongo, is a beguiling affair as her silky, soft voice treads a fine line between sensuous and melancholy. She is backed by the production of Prince Fatty, with whom she has worked before, and the album bares all his sound making hallmarks as he puts together a dubby, ska, rocksteady montage that encapsulates all of reggaes finest qualities. This is further endorsed with guitar work from Dennis Bovell and Pioneers singer George Dekker plus some DJ chat from another Fatty cohort the impressive Horseman. A soul tilt is then added by singer and instrumentalist Omar.

Lyrically the album focuses on relationships, particularly those that are disaffected and tumultuous which really comes to a head on the dark, bassy throb of "Sugar Water (Look at My Face)" as she vents her anguish at having been messed around and damaged in some way by her man. A couple of songs some that may already be familiar with some are the inclusion of "Milk and Honey" that originally appeared on ‘Survival of the Fattest’ and was something of a small hit that brought both of them to wider attention after its use on the US television show Grey’s Anatomy. and single . "That Very Night" which appeared as a dub on last years Prince Fatty release ‘Supersize’.

Despite the sombreness of some of the lyrics there is something that is very enjoyable about Miss Cook’s slant on life and this blend of "tropical pop"; as the label calls it should appeal to many.