Review: The Alien Edits label and in-house and eponymous production outfit serves up a pair of banging, Summer festival primed house edits. The first is a shuffle, high inapt take on a Wailer's classic with the original vocals left in for maximum bait for dancers. On the flip, it's another stone-cold gem that gets the treatment with 'Abacadabra' reworked into a big, bubbly house sound complete with vocoded Steve Miller vocals coming back from the future to infuse it with irresistibly hooky energy.
Review: For the first time ever, these two crucial early reggae gems by one of Jamaica's most underrated voices are reissued together on a single 7". Originally produced by Dandy Livingstone and released separately in 1969 on Trojan's Downtown sublabel, both tracks have become prized collector's items with original pressings now commanding high prices by the second-hand sharks. This long-overdue reissue not only unites the two songs on one disc but also celebrates the soulful, overlooked talent behind them. 'You'll Lose A Good Thing' is carefree and earthy golden-era vibes and 'Love Me Tonight' is a nice loose-limbed rumble.
Review: Two-tone ska scallywags Bad Manners ruled the chart roost throughout the 1980s, racking up nine Top 40 hits and 111 weeks on the charts, fueled by a vary many memorable TotP appearance. By the late 80s, their chart success faded but they kept busy with Eat The Beat (1988), a collection of rarities and a standalone take on the 1969 Symarip track 'Skinhead Girl.' Later in 1989, Bad Manners offshoot Buster's All Stars released 'Skinhead Girl' with a fresh live ska twist, and this incurrent reissue of that flashpoint now also unveils the never-heard-before 'Skinhead Boy', which debuts in a foldout sleeve with liner notes by Lee Morris. Both songs are rife with nostalgia for a subculture mired in historic complication, and at times it's hard to distinguish whether the object of affection so considered is a real person or a representation of a genre and point in time: "she wore braces and blue jeans... she was mine."
Joe Gibbs & The Professionals - "Ghetto Skank" (3:00)
Review: In the mid-70s, reggae great Dennis Brown was on a creative high with producer Niney propelling him to stardom. However, around this time, he was transitioning back to working with Joe Gibbs, another masterful studio hand who would later cement Brown's superstar status. Gibbs had previously worked with him on the acclaimed Visions album, and this particular track was likely recorded during that era or slightly earlier. Despite its quality, the tune didn't reach the audience it deserved, largely due to Gibbs' lack of UK distribution at the time. For much of the seventies, Joe Gibbs remained sidelined in England, limiting the global impact of his exceptional productions, but reissues like this do a fine job of underlining his importance.
Review: 'Dream Racer I' is an instrumental reggae cover of the classic Japanese rare groove theme from the 1977-78 TV movie Matsuri Bayashi ga Kikoeru, originally by George Yanagi & Nadja Band. This mellow, rhythmic version features Robert "Dubwise" Browne's guitar and saxophone bringing some extra soulful depth that fans of Japanese rare groove will appreciate. The flip side offers a compelling dub mix, both expertly mixed by Steven Stanley, known for his work with Vortex Records. Vortex's take on 'Dream Racer I' is a fusion of reggae and vintage Japanese vibes that grows more enchanting with every spin.
Cornell Campbell - "Heading For A Mountain" (3:00)
The Aggrovators - "Joe Frazer" (3:27)
Review: This rare gem from Bunny Lee's famously accomplished catalogue gets a welcome reissue and pairs a hard-to-find 1973 Cornell Campbell B-side, 'Heading For A Mountain', which was originally released on Duke UK, with a cosmic dub scorcher. The Cornell vocal is a soulful yet obscure cut that floats over a rootsy rhythm with a gloppy and wonderful bassline. On the flip, The Aggrovators 'Joe Frazer' is named in honour of the late great heavyweight legend of the 1970s. It's a great example of early synth experimentation in reggae with some filtered and shape-shifting leads reaching for the stars as the earth rhythms keep things rooted. A crucial slice of vintage roots and dub, full of mystery, groove and invention.
Review: These are always in demand on the reggae circuit so it's no wonder both of the beloved tracks return to heat wax once again. A-side opener 'Miss Aranivah' is a skanking favourite from Ska Fever Vol. 1 back in 2021 that finally gets a well-deserved standalone release and brings its infectious rhythm to a wider audience. On the flip, 'Why Why Why?', first heard on Reggae Dynamite Vol. 1 in 2020, comes alive with a powerful new version. Junior Dell takes over vocal duties, joined by st?pan Janousek's blazing trombone for a fresh, high-energy twist. A double-sider for ska and reggae lovers old and new that bridges genres and generations.
Junior Dell & The D-Lites - "Just Can't Get Enough" (3:21)
Prince Alphonso & The Fever - "The Prince Of Port Antonio" (2:52)
Review: Reggae revivalists Original Gravity are back with another of their crucial 45rpms and this one again features regular contributors Junior Dell & The D-Lites. They are well known for their signature blend of vintage soul, reggae and ska and collide all those things here in a rework of the classic 80s Depeche Mode gem 'Just Can't Get Enough' with plenty of swagger and re-sung lyrics hitting different. On the flipside is Prince Alphonso & The Fever with 'The Prince Of Port Antonio', which is a superb horn-led rhythm with a playful energy and old school feel. Grab one while you can, these won't stay on shelves for long.
Junior Dell & The D-Lites - "Watch That Girl (Little Fatty Boom Boom)" (3:30)
Woodfield Rd Allstars - "Sharpen Up!" (3:11)
Review: Junior Dell & The D Lites so often and so brilliantly work together and this is another fin example of it. Red hot vibes and sunny soul flow freely throughout the airy and breezy 'Watch That Girl (Little Fatty Boom Boom)', which muses on a passing beauty with a lovely behind. It's a single bursting with catchy hooks and tight rhythms topped by Junior Dell's charismatic vocals and all coated in nice authentic lo-fi fuzz and analogue warmth. The Woodfield Rd Allstars provide a Hammond organ-laced groove with brighter melodies and still lush, dynamic instrumental backdrops that elevate the song's lively edge.
Review: Aya Nakano is a Japanese singer and songwriter from Kyoto who, now in her forties, began with the Kyoto City Junior Children's Choir aged just ten. She kicks off the brand new A Klass Japan label with this new reggae 7". The A-side 'Usually' is a dreamy mid-tempo reggae sound with clean digital synths, Eastern flutes that hint of Japanese heritage and Nakano's breezy vocals flowing up top with a carefree attitude. Flip it over and you get a 'dub mix E Mura' that strips away the vocals and allows more room for the bass to work while the meandering rhythm plays out like a blissful afternoon by the sea.
Review: First issued separately in 1969 on Downtown Records and produced by Dandy Livingstone (aka Brother Dan), this 7" recut remerges two much sought-after reggae cuts from the skinhead era. On the A-side is Desmond Riley's 'Skinheads A Message To You', a version of Dandy's own tune later revived in rudeboy form by The Specials, and delivered in Riley's understated yet insistent vocal style. The flip, 'Ain't That Loving You', finds him rework the Jimmy Reed classic into a strut-time early reggae rhythm, pairing raw soul sentiment with JA swing. Little is widely known about Riley beyond his handful of late 60s vocal singles, but his voice - clear, aching, unadorned - stands out among the countless one-shot singers of that time.
The Beat On The Street (feat Donovan Kingjay) (3:02)
Button Down (2:27)
Dis Sound Run Town (feat Horseman) (2:41)
Rudi's Serenade (2:35)
Review: Guillermo aka Existencia Pasajera is part of a new wave of artists from the Andes who is making rightful waves in the wider underground. He's got a few great releases dropping this year, and this one on the tasteful Prozpektiva is among them. 'Dreamless' starts off with an eerie piano progression that is suspenseful and noir as twitchy techno beats and synths bring an intergalactic feel. 'Universal Express (feat Dismal)' is a brightly melodic tech stomper with Italo overtones and then hints of garage underpin the nice and punchy 'Now Or Never'. 'Disco Cydonia' (feat Dismal)' best more wiry and weird again then 'Space Groove' closes out with more celestial energy and squelchy acid lines.
Review: Laurel Aitken's High Priest of Reggae album is an early classic of the genre from 1969, and it captures the ska pioneer at a pivotal moment when he was blending his Jamaican roots with the evolving UK reggae scene. It came on Pama Records and shows Aitken's versatility with cuts like 'Jesse James' and 'Landlords and Tenants,' both a testament to his storytelling lyrical prowess over inventive rhythms down low. Songs such as 'Haile Selassie' reflect his engagement with the burgeoning roots reggae movement, while the classic crossover jam 'Skinhead Train' nods to his influence on the skinhead subculture. This album earned Aitken the status of the "Godfather of Ska" and it's easy to hear why listening back to this reissue.
Review: Reggae pioneer Stranger Cole, active since the 1960s, celebrates his 83rd birthday with Royal, a new album produced by Boss Capone of The Upsessions. Following 2023's Kings and Queens, this record features 11 fresh tracks that echo the golden era of Jamaican ska. Though the origins of reggae are debated, producer Bunny Lee credits Cole's 1968 track 'Bangarang' as the genre's starting point. Decades later, Cole remains as creative as ever and now inspired by a nostalgic tour bus moment recalling his 1960s work with Patsy Todd, Royal feels like a heartfelt tribute to his roots in that it is timeless, soulful and full of history.
Culture & Prince Mohammed - "Zion Gate/Zion Gate DJ (Forty Leg Dread)"
Culture & I Roy - "I'm Not Ashamed/Under Tight Wraps"
Culture - "Two Sevens Clash"
Culture & Ranking Joe - "Bald Head Bridge"
Joseph Hill - "Informer Man"
Culture & Nicodeemus - "Disco Train"
Culture & Clint Eastwood - "Send Some Rain"
Culture & I Roy - "Natty Dread Taking Over/Invasion"
Culture & U Brown - "Innocent Blood/Rock It Up"
Review: This first-ever CD anthology of Culture's earliest singles captures the trio in their purest, most incendiary form. Formed in 1976 by lead singer Joseph Hill, with Albert Walker and Roy Dayes, the Jamaican group emerged under the name The African Disciples before becoming Culture and signing with Joe Gibbsione of Kingston's most revered producers. What followed was a run of revolutionary 7"s and 12"s, including the seismic 'Two Sevens Clash', whose apocalyptic prophecy shook the reggae landscape. These recordingsinow collected in full, dub sides and allichart the group's 1977 to 1981 run with Gibbs, a period widely regarded as their peak. Tracks like 'Zion Gate' and 'See Dem a Come' show their power not just as writers of militant roots reggae, but as spiritual messengers, blending dread prophecy with hypnotic riddims. Even in dub form, these versions retain urgency and weight, anchored by Hill's unshakeable vocal tone and Gibbs's rich, bass-forward production. Later work with Sonia Pottinger would push their sound further afield, but what's here is raw, righteous and definitive. Eight tracks make their CD debut, finally doing justice to an era of singles that shaped both Culture's legacy and the wider trajectory of roots reggae itself.
Review: Built on two decades of collaboration between drummer Sam Hobbs and bassist Neil Innes - no relation to the Monty Python and Rutles man of the same name - the pair's new ATA project blends rootsy Jamaican groove with the syncopated strut of New Orleans funk. Though technically a new release, it's more a continuation than a debut: the lineup includes jazz organist Bob Birch and session guitarist Chris Dawkins, drawing from deep wells of soul, rocksteady and r&b. Tracks like 'Grafter' and 'Bust Up' land squarely in the crossover zone between Studio One and The Metersiraw but slick, with a tight pocket and loose-limbed flair. 'An Autumn Sun' leans sweet and sentimental, while 'Strong Fish' pays organ-heavy homage to Jackie Mittoo's Hot Milk-era work. Elsewhere, 'Power Cut' and 'Night Bus' arrive with horn motifs that seem tailored to I Roy-style toasting, and 'Tough Swagger' is a heavy-lidded jam that could've wandered in off a Bunny Lee tape. But it's 'Iron Fist' that best captures the group's method: groove-first, melody-second, built on intuition and the friction of mismatched rhythms. Despite the vintage touchstones, it never feels like pasticheithe record balances reverence with invention, keeping one foot in Kingston and the other in Treme. For a group with so much history, it sounds impressively fresh.
Review: LA based Black Market Dub like to rework great artists of decades gone by through a new sound system lens. This time it is the great 80s pop duo Hall & Oates who get the treatment with six of their most well-known tunes all reworked at slower tempos, with natty guitars, horns and rolling rhythms bring a new and sunny perspective. 'Private Eyes' in particular sounds superbly laid back and sun kissed for Balearic sessions and 'Maneater' also does the business with the original vocals soaring over lazy chords and amidst oodles of echo and reverb.
Review: Gregory Isaacs has made a lot of terrific music over the years, but little as admired and commercially successful as 1982 album Night Nurse. Offering the Cool Ruler at his languid, soulful best, the set - kicked off by the sublime and much-loved title track - offers classic laidback roots reggae jams lightly sprinkled with nods to the changing musical culture of the period (subtle synthesiser lines, basically). On this 'deluxe edition', the impeccable eight track album is expanded to two CDs via a wealth of alternative dub 'versions' (including the deliciously jazzy, heady and spaced-out 'Cool Down The Dub' and the skeletal, sub-heavy 'Night Nurse Dub'), B-sides, alternative takes and "deejay versions" featuring toasters such as U-Roy, U-Brown and Ranking Barnabass. The definite version of one of the 1980s' greatest reggae albums.
Review: The elusive De Frank Kakra remains a mystery, his real name unknown, and his current whereabouts unclear. But the music tells its own story: rooted in Ewe heritage, Kakra cut his teeth as a percussionist and backing vocalist in the fray of Ghana's 70s highlife scene, with stints with K. Frimpong's Cubano Fiestas and the Vis-A-Vis band. Eventually fronting his own groups, The Professionals and The Diggit Ways, he went on to record countless scintillating sides with labels across West Africa, and this new compilation brings together many of said wax etchings from Nigeria, Ghana and Ivory Coast, handled with care by Michael Graves at Osiris Studio. It's the debut release from a label founded in gratitude to Kakra's music and the healing it sparked. Liner notes and archival sleuthing aim to piece together his story, and the hope is that someone, somewhere, might know what became of him.
Review: First released in 1975, this collaborative set between saxophonist Tommy McCook and producer King Tubby - with Bunny Lee pulling the strings - is a fluid blend of jazz-informed phrasing and stripped-back dub minimalism. McCook, a founding member of both the Skatalites and the Supersonics, had by this point cemented his status as one of Jamaican music's most versatile players, lending his tenor tone to hundreds of sessions. Here, Tubby reworks a batch of Lee-produced riddims to carve space for McCook's mellow, melodic leads, turning each track into a showcase of balance. With a backing bed by The Aggrovators, roots reggae and instrumental improvisation had truly found a rare common ground.
Review: A real favourite ever since its initial 1976 release, Rastaman Vibration sees a welcome return to heavyweight wax here with Tuff?Gong's limited-edition reissue pressed at their Kingston headquarters and hand-numbered. This LP, which was the iconic group's eighth studio album, marked Marley's first US Top Ten entry and delivered enduring hits like 'Roots, Rock, Reggae' and 'War'. These are some of reggae's most enduring tunes and the ones that keep the legacy of The Wailers alive decades on, and with a deluxe booklet and Tuff?Gong stamp, this edition is the most essential of them all and another worthy celebration of Marley's cultural impact.
Review: One of Bob Marley's most acclaimed LPs on reissue here, and it's an album that overflows with funk, poise, and defiant overtones. Marley recorded the album in 1977 after surviving an assassination attempt at his home in Jamaica. Following the attack, he left the country and relocated to London, and it's here that the collection was captured. At times a commentary on the political violence that blighted Jamaica during the era, other times joyful celebration, the music is some of the reggae icon's most potent. The hypnotic groove and chanted vocals of the title track are an obvious standout, as are the feel-good flex of 'Jammin' and the heartfelt vulnerability of 'Is This Love'. Presented as a double pack, all the music gets the groove spacing it so richly deserves.
Review: Neapolitan funk maestro Mystic Jungle returns with a new LP less than a year after the dreamy Words of Love with more astrally-charged electro/boogie/disco type wonderment. Dario di Pace's third full-length has been quietly brewing for years, shaped by studio shutdowns and shifts in location i and that patchwork journey adds a certain character to the gorgeously technicolour music on show. It's perhaps his most eclectic and free-flowing release yet: a bright, hazy blend of styles that feels both loose and deeply considered. On the dancefloor end, tracks like 'Secrets' and 'Some Lovin'' burst with disco grooves, searing guitars, call-and-response vocals and sultry sax lines. Elsewhere, 'Innervision' and 'Twilight' lean into lovers rock and wavy neon-dub pop, full of yearning, shimmer and otherworldly flourishes. Then there's the stoner sway of 'The Road' and 'Get Me Higher' i sun-soaked, psychedelic jams with zoned-out soul at their core. A richly immersive Amalfi joyride from start to finish, the Periodica fire just keeps on burning.
We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners who may combine it with other information that you've provided to them or that they've collected from your use of their services.