Search:b to reggae

Bunny 'Striker' Lee's standing in the Jamaican recording business has remained unassailable for over four decades.Known by many aliases including 'Gorgon'.
The legend of the Gorgon originated in Greek mythology some three thousand years ago and has become a common image in art, literature and in Jamaica...Music.
The name actually derives from the ancient Greek word gorgos which means 'dreadful' ,appropriate when one considers that the avalanche of Gorgon inspired records came as a direct result of the influence of the Rastafarian movement on the Jamaican musical mainstream and the dread locked hair of the Rasta brethren was likened to that of the Gorgon sisters.
''About her shoulders she flung the tasselled aegis, fraught with terror...and therein is the head of the dread monster, the gorgon, dread,awful....'' Homer

From 1968 through to the mid 1970’s the reggae beat began to slow down,some say due to the extreme heat hitting down onto Kingston Town and its surrounding enclaves. People needed something less strenuous to dance to. The Ska and Rocksteady Sounds (see 101 Orange Street KS007) that rocked Jamaica previously, had now found a slower tempo and become more ‘Dread’ lyrically to suit the times. Reggae music has always moved within the social climate it found itself in and this set here, as we ‘Return To Orange Street’ was ROOTS ROCK REGGAE TIME....

The Rastafarian message that runs through this collection of ‘Reality’, sometimes labelled ‘Sufferers’ music,is strong and works on many levels. It can come across on a heavy rhythm and vocal cut. Its example represented here by Prince Jazzbo’s ‘Dread in a Earth’ and ‘I Roy’s ‘Roots Man Time’, moving through to the popular new sounds of the DJ’s working over an old rhythm and alongside its existing vocal. As with Busty Brown working with Delroy Wilson's ‘Know Your Friend’ and Mr Jah Stitch working over Johnny Clarke’s ‘Roots Natty Roots’ to produce an even more dreader ‘True Born African’. The heartfelt lyric can also convey this message as we can see when Horace Andy laments ‘Where is the Love’ and Delroy Wilson again shows us on his ‘Who Cares’ cut. The great Twinkle Brothers also put the message across on their two cuts we have here, ’Too Late’ one of their lost classics if ever there was one and the thoughtful ‘It’s Not Who You Know’,being another prime example.

Orange Street itself is always at the heart of all reggae's musical changes and some singers also ride these waves as Mr Cornell Campbell shows us here with two cuts. The mournful ‘Too Be Loved’ and his uplifting ‘Girl of My Dreams’, which uses the same rhythm as our previously mentioned Prince Jazzbo’s 'Dread in a Earth’. Showing us that firstly you can’t keep a good rhythm down and secondly that two if not more great songs can work from the same source point. The light hearted ‘Vengeful’ lyric also worked in this period when artists spared off to each other on records to vent their frustrations. As we can hear here with Mr Lee Perry’s ‘You Funny Boy’. The song snipping back at a previous employer over what he felt were his misdoings to an under appreciated Mr Perry. We have culled these tracks together to show that the Dread Roots feel of the 1970’s came across in many guises and even in earlier songs these sentiments were also prevalent. As represented in Slim Smith’s almost bluesy feel in ‘Trying To Find a Home’, never a truer statement in Kingston's ghetto areas.

Well we hope you enjoy this musical journey and make a connection with messages portrayed here, as Mr Monty Morris points out on his contribution to this collection ‘Times Are Dread’.... Dread indeed.....

In den späten 1960er Jahren erlebte Kanadas größte Stadt einen musikalischen Aufschwung, als karibische Einwanderer Toronto zu ihrer neuen Heimat machten. Die besten Ska-, Rocksteady- und Reggae-Aufnahmekünstler jener Zeit - die Gründer von Studio One, Treasure Isle und Trojan Records - taten einfach das, was ihnen in den Sinn kam. Einer nach dem anderen gingen sie ins Studio und nahmen einige der härtesten Songs diesseits von Kingston auf. Gemeinsam überwanden sie die rassischen und kulturellen Barrieren und bildeten eine beispiellose und wenig bekannte kanadische Soul & Reggae-Community. "Jamaika to Toronto: Soul, Funk & Reggae 1967-1974" beschreibt diese entscheidende klangliche Migration im Detail. // Mit Jackie Mittoo, Johnnie Osbourne, Wayne McGhie, Lloyd Delpratt, The Mighty Pope, Jo-Jo Bennett, Eddie Spencer, Noel Ellis und mehr_ // 2024 erweiterte Ausgabe mit 20-seitigem Deluxe-Booklet mit Archivbildern, Künstlerbiografien und Essays // 2xLP-Set, läuft mit 45 rpm, in einem luxuriösen Klappcover // Zusammengestellt, und kommentiert von dem GRAMMY-nominierten Produzenten, DJ und Journalisten Kevin Howes (alias Sipreano, Voluntary In Nature) in Zusammenarbeit mit Light in the Attic // Yellow & Green ReVinyl, eine nachhaltige Alternative aus 100% recycelten Materialien //

Washington DC’s The Archives and Montserrat House, the label owned and operated by Thievery Corporation’s Eric Hilton, present Carry Me Home. A Reggae Tribute To Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson.
Carry Me Home is a highly ambitious collaboration featuring an array of guests (including Puma Ptah, Raheem DeVaughn, Addis Pablo and Kenyatta Hill) celebrating the works of the late, great poet and musician Gil Scott-Heron and close collaborator Brian Jackson.
The LP is standard weight black vinyl in a gatefold sleeve and includes download card.

The Rude Boy moniker has its roots firmly set in the downtown districts of Kingston, Jamaica.
Alongside the regular Ska/Rocksteady sounds coming out of the sound systems, there was an undercurrent theme to some songs that spoke of the struggles of the youth, of their confrontation, arrests and run ins with the establishment.
Some of these songs praised the Rude Boys for their stance and style while other songs were more in contempt with the Rude Boy's attitiudes, comings ,goings and violent behaviour.
For this release we have put together a set of tunes that the Jamaican Rude Boys would have been listening to at the sound systems on the lawns and street corners.
Not only the more obvious Rude Boy tunes like 'Gunmen Coming to Town' , 'Dreader than Dread', 'Moon Hop' but also some of the tunes that made the sound systems rock well into the night.
Hope you enjoy the set,,,,,

Soul Jazz Records' are releasing their long-out-of-print album 'Hustle! Reggae Disco' in a new expanded 2017 edition which now features five extra tracks. This ground-breaking album features non-stop killer reggae versions of original funk and soul classics in a disco style. Reggae disco updates of seminal classics by Anita Ward ('Ring
My Bell'), Chaka Khan ('I'm Every Woman'), Michael Jackson 'Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough,' Sugarhill Gang ('Rappers Delight' here performed by Derrick Laro and Trinity for producer Joe Gibbs) and more, all showing the hidden but inseparable link between the dance floors of New York, Kingston and London.

New bonus tracks to this collection include Derrick Harriott's funky take on Eddie Drennon's 'Do It Nice and Easy', the classic disco reggae of Risco Connection's take on McFadden and Whitehead's 'Ain't No Stopping Us Now' and the London rare groove lovers rock take on Barbara Acklin's soul classic 'Am I The Same Girl'.
'Hustle! Reggae Disco' has been one of Soul Jazz Records' best-selling releases since its first release 15 years ago (and subsequently featured heavily in the early Grand Theft Auto games!). This new edition comes complete fully re-mastered and with all original titles plus new tracks. This new expanded edition now comes a triple album (+ download code), CD and digital album.

'The effect of American R&B and soul music on Jamaican reggae is well documented, but the story doesn't stop there, for disco (and more so now for rap and hip-hop) have also been subsumed into the reggae mix, and while one might suspect that the resulting hybrid would die of its own implausibility, the feral mix of disco with reggae rhythms is so darn infectious that it hardly matters. Once you take your brain out of the frame and just let your feet go, this collection is a dancer's delight all done up in full-blown disco style, but with huge dub-style rhythm tracks ... if you're looking for an impossibly infectious dance collection, this is
it.' All Music

Don Cherry's downtown Paris funk masterwork produced in 1985 by Ramuntcho Matta and originally released by Barclay in France only, finally gets a worldwide release on Wewantsounds. Featuring French post-punk muse Elli Medeiros, avant garde poet Brion Gysin and cult Senegalese drummer Abdoulaye Prosper Niang (Xalam), this is a unique soundbite of Paris in the early 80s at its coolest when funk, jazz and new wave were mingling with sounds from Africa, Jamaica and Latin America. Newly Remastered, the album is augmented by a second LP worth of bonus tracks and a deluxe gatefold sleeve with a new essay by French journalist Jacques Denis (Liberation).

Following 2 acclaimed first editions, Stix Records presents the 3rd

volume of its Disco Reggae compilation series.
Like previous one, the 9 tracks comp is made both from productions
of the home labels now sold-out as vinyl, and from brand new
exclusive music by the like of Taggy Matcher, Mato or newcomer
Rosemary Martins, taking over classics titles from Donna Summer,
Stephen Encinas, Roberta Flack, Herbie Hancock, Steve Parks, or Inner City.
The perfect soundtrack to extend the summer!!

Volume 2 of dubs from legendary UK soundman Lloydie Coxsone, originally released in 1981.

Repress!

Volume 1 of dubs from legendary UK soundman Lloydie Coxsone, originally released in 1975.

2023 Repress Spice 1 is an undisputed West Coast legend, who first hit the scene after the N.W.A. and – closer to home – Too $hort explosion of the late ‘80s. As history showed, he continued that bloodline with finesse and authority. His nasal flow is menacing and strong, and fans have been consistently captivated by his ‘hood tales since his self-titled debut in 1992. If you want thematic range with your MCs, Spice isn’t that dude – he is all about crime tales and the perils of ghetto life. And he attacks that storytelling sweet spot with each new cut. Spice 1 boasted four singles by the time it was all said and done, and breezed to Gold status on the strength of cuts like the catchy “East Bay Gangster”; the heartfelt tales and truths of “Welcome To The Ghetto”; and the thick, grooving “In My Neighborhood.” He even produced the alcohol-themed “187 Proof,” another of the album’s singles, and the hands-down cleverest vocal outing on the LP. Sonically, the backdrops on Spice 1 range from plunky, keyboard-bassline funk to deeper, fuzzy ‘70s samples – and he sounds strong on top of both. “Break Yourself” is fueled with an electro-funk drive; “1-800 Spice” brings reggae flavor; and “Peace To My Nine” gets chunkier, with a well-placed P-Funk “One Nation Under A Groove” sample. Presented here on official retail vinyl for the first time since its initial release 26 years ago, Spice 1’s debut holds the test of time and carries the California gangsta flag with pride. Some colors just don’t fade.

King Tubby's Hometown Hi-Fi was one of the great Sound System in Jamaica.
It also proved a fantastic outlet for the Dub Plate Specials cut at Tubby's studio, providing exclusive cuts to be played out and to entice the dance's audience.
The tracks at the time were mainly cut over producer Bunny'Striker'Lee rhythms, that Bunny stored at Tubby's studio, 18 Drumilly Avenue, Kingston, Jamaica.
The versions were given eclusive plays at Tubby's sound before some finding their way on to vinyl, ass the b-side version cut to it's a-side vocal.
It proved so popular that the records were often brought fir its version side over its vocal counterpart.
We have compiled a selection of cuts that were all tried and tested on Tubby's Home Town Hi-Fi Sounf System and that worked a great set of Bunny Lee's rhythms in fine style.
Some of these cuts found a release as version b-sides but many on this set were exclusive Dub Plates unreleased until now.
As Cornell Campbell says on track one of the set 'King Tubby and Bunny Lee will never go away'
Hope you enjoy the set......

Craig Bratley’s sophomore album, Return To Bass, has been a long-time gestating, with a whisky-like distill time in the musical barrels from whence this came. His debut was in 2014 and 12 years later here he is again, in the blink of a, er, Jurassic age. In that time, he’s gathered a good deal of experience, released several musically varied 12-inches, as well as having Andrew Weatherall remix a few of his efforts (not completely surprising, since The Guv’nor also played Craig’s music).

Bratley has spent the last few years honing his musical and technical skills which are evident on this album, as are his influences, which can be heard on his impressively consistent back catalogue, include Italo-disco, British electropop, acid house and a slowed down version of Chicago house that lends it a heroin crawl. Added to that, though, is the dub reggae sound championed by King Tubby, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry and our own Dennis Bovell, which is much in evidence on this set.

It seems apposite, in the wake of the death of Sly Dunbar (and, less recently, his partner, Robbie Shakespeare) that Craig’s album is now appearing, since Bratley’s sound is imbued with a dub sensibility and the engine of the whole set is built around the thud that Sly & Robbie brought to their greatest productions; the song titles are clues: ‘Plasticine Dub’, ‘Return To Bass’ and ‘No In Between Dub’.

The LP Features standout vocals from Amy Douglas, Thomas Gandey, and Ola, plus funeral-march trumpet work by Tim Hutton.

San Francisco artist Ross Hogg has been grafting away on his grooves for many years. He has plenty of styles in his arsenal and here digs into some sun-baked reggae and lovers' rock. Up first, he reworks 'Rose Inna Di Dark', the title cut from the debut album by British soul singer Cleo Sol. Her angelic vocal rides a clean reggae rhythm with sleek melodies reflecting rays outwards. On the flip is 'Come Around & Kick It', a deep cut groove with an r&b vocal and classic reggae guitar riffs. It's a steamy combination that's designated to get plenty of backyard parties and beefy sound systems ablaze as we head into the warmer months.

Cheeba’s Reggae Sound Boys are unloading the bass bins again with another two slices of funky reggae beats for the dance, in their second release on ECR

VOICE OF THE VOODOO - Emerges through a haze of psychedelic dub sounds into a big break beat laden skank. Organ riffs are chopped up over the funky reggae guitar rhythm and the big bass grooves. With vocals and JA deejay scats coming in and out of the mix. This has been waiting for release for a while and the dubplate has been hammered all round the country the last 12 months or more !

SAY IT LOUD - The flip side is equally club friendly with a hard hitting combination of beats and rhythms - coming on like Jah Shaka playing a soundclash at Wigan Casino - when it explodes into a big soul-stomping piano loop and heavy Hammond flourishes. The vocals riff on the JB “Black & Proud” theme, with a dancehall flava to create a party vibe just right for the summer BBQs

Dj Moar with a new double banger !
A side is a crazy latin party hip-hop from New York to burn your dance floor !!
B side is a Disco Reggae Lovers with a spice of disco Edits and Dub vibe.

Soul Jazz Records’ long out of print classic ‘Studio One Funk’ collection is being re-released in three new one-off limited-edition coloured pressing 18th anniversary format editions!
Firstly, a heavyweight special limited edition one-pressing only red 2xLP vinyl + download. Secondly, there is also a new special limited-edition one-off pressing edition red-pressed CD enclosed in jewel case and slipcase. And thirdly there is a very limited unique new one-off pressing red-cased cassette format (200 copies only)! 18 years on from its original release Studio One Funk remains one of our Studio One releases most in-demand titles and like all our earlier special coloured editions is sure to sell out fast!
Studio One Funk is made up of rare and unreleased Reggae Funk from the vaults of Studio One. Ever since the birth of Funk in America, the sound has been an ever-present ingredient in the melting pot of Studio One’s musical output.
The music on this release is a combination of originals, US covers and versions of existing Studio One cuts. Jackie Mittoo shows his appreciation for Booker T and The MGs, the studio group at Memphis’ famous Stax Records with ‘Hang Em High’, itself a cover of a film soundtrack by Dominic Frontiere. Incredibly this version has never before been released. Booker T’s super-funky ‘Melting Pot’ is also covered by the little-known Underground Vegetables.
Other versions include Isaac Hayes’ classic Blaxploitation soundtrack ‘Shaft’ again by Cedric Im Brooks track - another unreleased gem, straight from the tape master. Motown gets a look in with Alton’s stripped-down version of the Spinners classic ‘It’s A Shame’, written by Stevie Wonder and Syreeta.
James Brown is apparent in spirit with the JBs-inspired groove on the super rare cut “Now” by Lee Arab. Lloyd Williams similarly does a fine Kingston-style version of the hardest-working man in showbusiness on ‘Reggae Feet’.
Version-wise, we have ‘Idleberg’, Cedric Im Brooks tough instrumental cut on Horace Andy’s seminal ‘Skylarking’. The little-known Prince Moonie gives us a rare DJ cut of another Horace Andy classic, ‘See A Man’s Face’.
Pablove Black’s cut of Sidewalk Doctor (A/K/A Poco Tempo) is one of a handful of Studio One releases featuring Augustus Pablo’s trademark instrument, the melodica, played by Black himself.
Add to these original cuts from Studio One’s heavyweight session players including Leroy Sibbles, Jackie Mittoo, Leroy Sibbles, Eric Frater, Leroy ‘Horsemouth’ Wallace, Richard Ace, Vin Gordon and more and you have one of the finest selections of reggae and funk you will ever hear.







"This collection goes deep into the Brentford Road vaults and unearths a rake of previously unreleased gems alongside hard to find classics. Heavy and inspirational, totally unique and essentially timeless." Straight No Chaser
"An absolute treasure trove for the collector as well as being great for the ears and feet. Jackie Mittoo's 'Hang Em High' is worth the price of the album on its own." Echoes
"A superb collection that shows how much many Jamaican musicians were influenced by the heavy funk belting out of American studios from the early seventies onwards.” Touch
"The most satisfying listening experience so far in the Studio One series." The Wire
"Rare and unreleased grooves from Jamaica's house of excellence." Mojo

Soul Jazz Records celebrate 25 years of working in partnership with Studio One with brand new editions of FIVE of their bestselling CLASSIC Studio One collections all released on limitededition one-off pressing coloured double vinyl. Also available in new limited-edition card wallet CD editions. The new edition featured albums are Studio One Funk, Studio One Dub, Studio One Ska, Studio One Roots and Studio One Classics. Studio One Roots set the standard for Soul Jazz Records’ long-standing series and features many of the classic artists from Clement 'Sir Coxsone’ Dodd’s mighty roster of reggae. This album includes Freddie McGregor, Willie Williams, Cornell Campbell, Alton Ellis, Devon Russell alongside some of the defining in-house groups of Jamaican reggae history - The Sound Dimension, Brentford All-Stars, The Skatalites, New Establishment and more. The album is filled with a mixture of seminal cuts and super-rarities from the vast vaults of 13 Brentford Road.

Stand-out tracks include Alton Ellis’s ‘Blackish White’, a surreal and powerful Afro-centric dream, Count Ossie’s Rastafarian drummers’ genre-defying interpretation of Booker T and The MGs ‘Meditation’, Willie Williams aweinspiring versioning of the Skatalites' seminal Rastafari anthem ‘Addis Ababa’ and many, many more. Original sleevenotes by Lloyd Bradley (author of When Reggae Was King), compiled by Mark Ainley (Honest Jons), high-quality Soul Jazz mastering, wicked images of Count Ossie and the Mystic Revelation of Rastafari on the cover, and a rare image of Clement Dodd and musicians inside the studio at Studio One on the full colour inner sleeves. “There isn't a weak number across these 16 tracks, from the Gaylads’ ode to ‘Africa’ and Devon Russell's version of the heavyweight ‘Drum Song’ rhythm, to stunning instrumentals such as Jackie Mittoo and the Cyclones with nyahbinghi drummer Count Ossie on ‘Meditation’, Lenny Hibbert’s sparkling vibe work over Mittoo's ‘Ghetto Organ’ and The Sound Dimension’s ‘Congo Rock.” Pitchfork “The music of this compilation is of a rare, rare beauty and is essential to anyone's reggae collection.” All Music

First time reissue of JP / US free jazz rarity.

The 1970s were Marion Brown’s most searching decade, a period during which he sought to move beyond the free jazz of the previous era and find more personal approaches to structuring improvisation and composition. After leaving New York for Europe in 1967, Brown began reshaping his music into what he described as “a more deliberate kind of music that had more structure to it,” pacing it so that moods and modes could develop over time. Albums such as In Sommerhausen, Afternoon of a Georgia Faun, Geechee Recollections, and Sweet Earth Flying trace this evolution: rhythmic structures moved to the foreground, harmony receded, and composition became a matter of orchestrating interlocking rhythmic parts as one would polyphonic lines.

Released in 1976, Awofofora is an overlooked but crucial entry in that sequence. At the time, its use of funk and reggae beats, electric guitars, and grooves drawn from contemporary Black popular music led some to misread it as a jazz-rock detour. In retrospect, it is entirely consistent with Brown’s methodology. As he admired in the Art Ensemble of Chicago, the stimulus comes from within the community. Here Brown filters Afro-Caribbean rhythms and funk through his own sensibility, abstracting their structural qualities rather than adopting surface style.

“La Placita,” making its first recorded appearance, layers distinct rhythmic phrases in a manner reminiscent of African drum ensembles, over which Brown and trumpeter Ambrose Jackson spin extended improvisations. The standard “Flamingo” is reshaped through diasporic rhythm and lyrical soloing, while “Pepi’s Tempo” and “Mangoes” harness crisp funk and reggae grooves to generate what Brown called a “manifestation of community” through collective improvisation. Even the overdubbed solo feature “And Then They Danced” reflects his structural thinking, ingeniously re-voicing a duet composition for two alto saxophones performed by one player.

This was the only recording by a short-lived band that briefly polarized audiences during festival appearances in 1976. Yet Brown consistently sought unity across change: different sounds, same principles — rhythm as structure, melody as architecture, collective improvisation, and above all, the primacy of tone. Awofofora stands not as a departure, but as a vivid synthesis of the elements he had been refining since the late 1960s, its grooves and golden alto lines conveying a sound drawn, in his words, “from life and from the world of experience.”

Soul Jazz Records celebrate 25 years of working in partnership with Studio One with brand new editions of FIVE of their best-selling CLASSIC Studio One collections all released on limited-edition one-off pressing coloured double vinyl. Also available in new limited-edition card wallet CD editions. The new edition featured albums are Studio One Funk, Studio One Dub, Studio One Ska, Studio One Roots and Studio One Classics.

Studio One Classics features a non-stop selection of stone-cold classic Studio One killers! Spanning 40 years of the legendary label, this album is a celebration of the music of Studio One Records and features a who’s who of Jamaican Reggae: Bob Marley, The Heptones, Horace Andy, Sugar Minott, Don Drummond, Prince Jazzbo & more. This collection contains numerous legendary tracks, including Bob Marley and the Wailers’ “Simmer Down”," "Love Me Forever" by Carlton & His Shoes, Slim Smith's "Rougher Yet," Horace Andy's "Fever,", Alton Ellis’s “I’m Just A Guy’, The Skatalites’ blazing ‘Confucious’ and loads more. Timeless stuff - every track here is indeed a classic, no-one can argue about that! Studio One produced literally hundreds of hits and this selection includes some of the label’s most enduring songs.

It is simply impossible to imagine modern Jamaican music without Clement "Coxsone" Dodd, founder of the iconic Studio One where virtually every singer and musician of note in Reggae cut their teeth. Studio One's output spans over four decades, all represented here. Coxsone Dodd pioneered nearly every new form of Jamaican music as it developed over time and this album includes Ska, Dancehall, Roots, Rocksteady, DJ, Lovers and more. This is probably the best entry of the many Soul Jazz Studio One releases if you're after a primer in the Studio One sound. Like it says on the wrapper 'Classics' pretty much sums it up

''Incorregible" is an album where sound becomes a symbolic form of expression and a tool for introspection.

With a sonic language that crosses borders and draws from diverse cultural influences, the album seeks to reframe electronic music as a bridge between the ancestral and the contemporary.

After years of exploring and experimenting with different musical genres such as punk, noise, witch house, reggaeton, Mexican tribal etc., I have arrived at a moment in my life where I seek a deeper, more intimate form of expression, one connected to my personal world.

Although I do not believe in God, I believe in the power of invisible worlds, in the strength of being, and in music as a bridge toward expanded states of consciousness.

This work is born from that conviction: the possibility of turning dance and sound into tools for connecting with the spiritual.

A sonic journey that seeks to connect with the universal rhythms of life through powerful percussions, chants that are poems, Andean instruments, and the hypnotic force of electronic music. Each piece is designed to induce a collective trance, where the body finds its natural place: movement.

Among its most significant moments are the poems in Nahuatl written and recited by Maribel Galicia, a native of Teotihuacán and a member of the Nahua people. Her words resonate like ancestral memories that dialogue with electronic instrumentals, reminding us that tradition and innovation are not opposites, but can dance together.

Tribal Sound System – Incorregible is a sonic ritual that seeks to: Create altered states of consciousness through repetitive musical patterns. Celebrate sonic diversity by fusing sounds from indigenous folklore, Andean instruments, elements of regional Mexican music, and contemporary electronic music. Honor cultural roots by re-signifying electronic music as a bridge between the ancestral and the contemporary.

This project is my way of affirming that music, dance, and shared energy can transform into a healing and transcendent experience. - Rosa Pistola

* Edition of 500 colored vinyl (transparent purple)
* Artwork developed in collaboration with Paris-based visual artist Caroline Ventura
* Including download code

i got a song, it’s gonna make us millions is the highly anticipated new album by Sirens Of Lesbos, led by sisters Jasmina and Nabyla Serag. The dynamic release is a vibrant showcase of the group's expansive musical range, blending R’n’B/Soul, Afrobeats, electronic music, and lo-fi indie pop into a rich, genre-defying experience. With its eclectic sound and captivating melodies, the album solidifies Sirens Of Lesbos as a standout force in modern music.

Featuring on the album are the singles “Room 333” feat. Kendrick-Lamar-collaborator Zacari, a futuristic R’n’B song with progressive club beats; the epic “Call Me Back” (feat. Drake-co-signed rapper SadBoi and the Kabusa Oriental Choir); and dub-infused reggae song “Let It Hurt”, plus new song “My Moon”, which draws inspiration from artists like Bruce Hornsby, Justin Vernon, and Jai Paul. Sirens Of Lesbos have earned widespread acclaim from outlets like CLASH, COLORS, Dork, Tsugi and Earmilk, with BBC 1Xtra’s CassKidd calling the collective “magical.”

As Black women living in the diaspora, Jasmina and Nabyla navigate the intersection of their parents’ collectivist North-East African culture and the Western emphasis on individuality. Questions of identity have always been central to their journey. While society often demands clear-cut definitions, the sisters have come to embrace their multifaceted identities: “We have always been many things.”

Both artists are deeply rooted in the technical and philosophical dimensions of sound. Jasmina recently completed her Sound Arts degree, and Nabyla is now finishing hers. Their academic pursuits have included creating abstract sound installations in exhibition spaces. However, their focus for the foreseeable future is on elevating the Sirens Of Lesbos project, writing and producing standout indie pop tracks, performing live, and delivering unforgettable experiences for their audiences.

—

The vinyl version of i got a song, it’s gonna make us millions is published by Präsens Editionen, a Switzerland-based publishing house and music label. Founded in 2011 in the process of launching zweikommasieben Magazin, Präsens Editionen has since released music on vinyl, cassette, CD, and digital formats—alongside magazines, books, and other printed matter. Recent audio releases include works by Martina Lussi, spalarnia, Magda Drozd, Anom Vitruv, Belia Winnewisser, and Red On, among others.

Ltd to 500 copies.

Following the buzz of his first LP DUBMAID, Tokyo-based producer MERMAID unveils his much-anticipated new LP, DUB FOREVER.

DUB FOREVER blends Reggae, electronic texture, his own vocals and references to classics — Bach's Air on the G String, Gossec's Gavotte, the traditional Japanese song January 1st, and more.

Crazy and tender Dub!

About MERMAID:
MERMAID is a Tokyo-based electronic producer and musician, deriving from the DDM (Dangerous Dance Music) crew associated with Tokyo record vendor Los Apson?.

Easy Beat Productions are pleased to announce their latest release, an upbeat horns instrumental which see's Solution Sound System operator and selector Mark Solution join forces with stalwart reggae trumpet player, D.Fullwood AKA D.Cosmic.

Regular attendees of Solution Sound System events will be familiar with this one as it’s been mashing up dances on dubplate for a little while now!

Listeners are treated to the main horns mix as well as a stripped back dub excursion.

Soul Jazz Records celebrate 25 years of working in partnership with Studio One with brand new editions of FIVE of their best-selling CLASSIC Studio One collections all released on limited-edition one-off pressing coloured double vinyl. Also available in new limited-edition card wallet CD editions. The new edition featured albums are Studio One Funk, Studio One Dub, Studio One Ska, Studio One Roots and Studio One Classics.

A blistering collection of non-stop Ska classic tunes featuring classic cuts from the originators of Ska alongside a heavy dose of superb rarities from the might vaults of 13 Brentford Road - pure fire! This compilation features classic tracks from The Skatalites, Bob Marley & The Wailers, Delroy Wilson alongside super-rare tracks from the likes of Ken Boothe, The Maytals, Jackie Mittoo, Tommy McCook and many more. Clement ‘Sir Coxsone’ Dodd’s musical empire was founded on Ska, the first explosive and most exciting music to come out of newly independent Jamaica. This album is a celebration of the music of Studio One Records’ seminal Ska releases and features a who’s who of some of the most important artists in the history of reggae music.

The dream team of Sugar Minott and Victor Axelrod returns with a deep rub-a-dub reggae take on The Notation’s low rider classic, “I’m Still Here”. Shortly after falling in love with the song via a 45 mix from Gabe Roth, Axelrod received a serendipitous message from the late great Minott saying he was in town and ready to work.

Sugar's effortlessly soulful vocals coupled with Axelrod and Co's sweet and spacious groove, transform the Notation's track into a slow , sticky revelation of love that's actually stable. The perfect soundtrack for discerning soirees and those moments where you have one foot out the door but need a moment of reflection.

I first encountered Pascal Comelade’s music thirty years ago—and nothing has sounded quite the same since. I was immediately captivated: he is an artist like no other, whose sincere and selfless love of music is always evident, especially in his tender reworkings of other people’s songs.

Comelade seems to work like a watchmaker: meticulous, precise, and obsessive—yet always drifting into something dreamlike. His music opens hidden doors, telling strange and beguiling stories filled with obscurity, kindness, and reserved humour.

Back then, my fascination was instinctive. Today, with a few more words at my disposal, I look to this exceptional 70-year-old French musician and feel exactly the same pull.

Métaphysique Du Hit-Parade is the first vinyl compilation devoted to Pascal Comelade’s favourite cover versions. It spans a forty-year career and traces sixty years of rock and roll history along the way. “Sheena Is a Punk Rocker” becomes a soft, soothing lullaby that may well have made the Ramones weep. Then there are his idiosyncratic tributes to Jonathan Richman (“Egyptian Reggae”) and The Kinks (“Sunny Afternoon”), alongside nods to formative heroes such as The Gun Club, Captain Beefheart, and MC5.

Two exclusive recordings stand out particularly: Bob Dylan’s “Girl from the North Country” and Nirvana’s “Come As You Are”—a song that shaped my early youth. Both were recorded especially for this release.

Jan Lankisch, January 2026

In 1979, Neil Fraser (artistically known as Mad Professor) founded Ariwa Sounds, the longest-serving and one of the most influential independently owned Reggae studios and record labels in the UK. From humble beginnings set up in the front room of Neil's home in South London recording on 4-track and homemade equipment, Ariwa would go on to record and release over 300 albums including works from some of the most impactful and storied artists of their time in the genres of Reggae, Dub, and Lovers Rock

Whilst our previous release in collaboration with Ariwa captured the label's early sound, a shared performance with Neil in Osaka and regular visits to his South London studio inspired us to assemble this 15-track compilation, showcasing the label's output across 45 years. Our release emphasizes some of the label's greatest vocalists: Johnny Clarke, Sandra Cross, Kofi, U Roy, Sister Nancy, Queen Omega, Aisha, Garnett Cross, Abel Miller, Horace Andy and more — presenting the Motown and Stax influences in the Lovers Rock, but also provides a glimpse into the dubbier and more experimental side of the label, showcasing Ariwa's commitment to quality but also their personality, philosophy and their humour. Love songs, break-up songs, socially engaged songs, dub experimentations — this compilation is not a "best of" Ariwa but a diverse and honest celebration of the label through the lens of Melodies International.

The compilation will be out in July in vinyl 2xLP, CD, digital formats, mastered from the original tapes by Frank Merritt (the Carvery), pressed at Optimal, artwork created by Jason Evans with design and assembly contributions from Nevil Bernard and Will Sweeney, animated teaser by Nevil Bernard and Melozine designed by Mafalda Meireles.

'Double Seven, released by Trojan in late 1973, was the last album Lee 'Scratch' Perry would release on the label for some considerable time, and it was essentially the final album project he put together before establishing his own Black Ark studio. Opening track 'Kentucky Skank' sets the tone with a slow creeper whose frying sounds underscore its role as a praise song to the Colonel's KFC recipes; the cosmic Moog blips come courtesy of Ken Elliott at Camden's Chalk Farm studio, also prominently featured on U-Roy's double-tracked, stereo-panned gambling ode 'Double Six.' David Isaacs' 'Just Enough' was cut a few years prior, which makes it slightly out of phase with the rest of the set, though the enigmatic 'In The Iaah' sounds mightily fresh, with its uncredited chorus said to come courtesy of the Wailers. Perry's own 'Jungle Lion' has hilarious roars from the maestro at the start, strangely grafted atop a reggae re-make of Al Green's 'Love and Happiness.'

'Overall, Double Seven melds the soul, funk, reggae and dub elements that were constant in Perry's work during this phase. His enhanced audio spectrum and endless reference points would keep his music continually apart from that made by his peers.'
—David Katz (excerpt from the liner notes)

Dirty Heads have built a career out of soundtracking the best moments of people's lives, and with '7 Seas' they're not slowing down. The RIAA Platinum Certified Southern California outfit returns with their much-anticipated ninth full-length album, building on their signature balance of carefree energy and reflective songwriting while inviting fans into their next chapter of freedom, positivity and forward motion. From sun-soaked, laid-back anthems made for a day at the beach to hard-hitting late-night bangers, the album moves fluidly across moods without ever losing the infectious Dirty Heads energy fans have come to love. With over 3 billion career streams worldwide and multiple #1 singles on alternative and rock radio, Dirty Heads have built a dedicated global following by seamlessly fusing reggae, hip-hop, alternative rock and pop.

Following his debut 12" on Futura Resistenza, Aukio Sound returns with a new release on Turbo Guidance Entertainment — a deep dub techno exploration rooted in heavy reggae influence, featuring the late Baba Ras. A solemn tribute to a singular voice. Like Rousseau's Tiger in a Tropical Storm, this record paints a dense, dreamlike fresco — where rhythm and texture grow wild beneath the surface. The record also includes a remix by Non Posso, a mysterious duo. Mastered by Carsten Dämbkes and pressed on 180g vinyl for the full listening experience.

Congo Lion was immersed in African, Afro-Caribbean and reggae music from an early age. Settling in Africa when he was a teenager, he was strongly inspired by artists such as Burning Spear, Peter Tosh or The Gladiators. Convictions and values carried by their captivating melodies, full of humanity and spirituality, echo the sensitivity of Congo Lion. “Word, power and sound” is the foundation of his creative approach, inviting a return to origins, and openness to others. Self-taught, he composed his first songs in English and Jamaican Patois under the name of Natty Congo, at the age of 16. Most of his recent collaborations have been alongside the renowned Reggae producer, Karigan. Recording at his Back to Basic Studio, to produce a Reggae Roots Vintage sound, without concession, harking back to the original creations & tradition of the 70s & 80s.

RANDY'S 50th ANNIVERSARY CHAPTER ONE / VARIOUS - First time on vinyl for Chapter Two second part of the acclaimed previously CD only set that was released to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Randy's Records. From Augustus Pablo's groundbreaking 'Java' to Carl Malcolm's UK pop crossover hit 'Fattie Bum Bum' Chapter Two showcase classic after classic from a all-star line up of the 70's reggae music greats including Black Uhuru, Horace Andy, Dennis Brown, Gregory Isaacs, The Heptones & Big Youth. Beautifully packaged with inner sleeves featuring rare photos and liner notes by reggae historian, Dennis Katz.

RANDY'S 50th ANNIVERSARY CHAPTER ONE / VARIOUS - First time on vinyl for Chapter Two second part of the acclaimed previously CD only set that was released to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Randy's Records. From Augustus Pablo's groundbreaking 'Java' to Carl Malcolm's UK pop crossover hit 'Fattie Bum Bum' Chapter Two showcase classic after classic from a all-star line up of the 70's reggae music greats including Black Uhuru, Horace Andy, Dennis Brown, Gregory Isaacs, The Heptones & Big Youth. Beautifully packaged with inner sleeves featuring rare photos and liner notes by reggae historian, Dennis Katz.

After running a sound system and studying electronics overseas, Spanish Town-based Harry Mudie began releasing rhythm and blues recordings by local performers, enjoying more concerted success during the reggae era of the late 1960s and mid-1970s, crafting lasting hits with artists like Dennis Walks and the Spanish Town-based toaster I Roy.

The first volume of the Dub Conference series, made with King Tubby, has stripped-down cuts of some of Mudie’s greatest productions, including ‘Lorna’s Dance,’ a percussion and horns take of ‘Caught You In A Lie’, and a strings cut of the Heptones’ ‘Love Without Feeling.’