Studio 16 Vinyl & CDs

Review: Jamaican trombone player Vin Gordon played in heaps of different groups throughout his most active years. He also worked under myriad variations of his own name and other monikers but few of his works compete with his 1980 album Way Over Yonder. A timeless document of roots reggae goodness, it has become increasingly hard to find and ever-more expensive when you do. This reissue redresses the market, though. Opener 'Easy Living' sets a cheery tone with plenty of Gordon's fulsome trombone sounds and those good time feelings never let up until the final track.

Review: Part of a fresh string of reissues of Love & Unity 12"s - one of many star aliases to grace the annals of South London reggae label Studio 16 - comes this headfirst collision between L&U and Seargent Pepper. Sharing similar instrumentals, 'I Just Don't Care' hears a blissful femme soprano glide elegantly across its bubblings - the instrumental is super well-rounded, sawn-off. On the B-side, meanwhile, there's Pepper's 'Cut From Master Tape', which hears Pepper toast the rhythm lackadaisically, as endlessly hazy dub effects resound and a janky double-time kick propels it all forward.

Review: Mellow Rose and Seargent Pepper's 'Imitation Love' proved a big-hitting reggae 45rpm when it first dropped and so now it has been reissued on this sweet, limited edition red vinyl 12". It first came on Studio 16 back in August of last year and is already worth a pretty penny on second hand markets. The A-side is a super sweet lover's rock sound with falsetto vocals up top, acoustic guitars and fleshy low ends sinking you into a romantic rhythm. On the flip, Seargent Pepper gets to work on 'Dub And Rub Ina Imitation Way' which is more sci-fi and futuristic in its sound designs, all with a hazy and stoner edge.

Review: This third volume of the Disco Devil Black Ark series pulls together 6 classics from Lee "Scratch" Perry's studio. 4 discomixes and 2 vocal/dub edits - the audio on these tracks has been extensively restored from original pressings yet it allows Perry's bizarre and wonderful tricks and techniques to shine through while maintaining the raw quality that made them so real in the first place. Jamaican roots music that's imbued with plenty of ganja spirit, from tricked out and cosmic to deep and more insular, brought about by one man's brilliant work behind the boards.