Review: Jet Set out of Japan comes through with superb reggae reinterpretations of some r&b hits on this fun 7". The A-side features Ahmir and Savana's soulful reggae remake of Keri Hilson's 2009 hit 'Knock You Down,' originally featuring Kanye West and Ne-Yo. It's full of yearning and lovestruck guitar lines. On the B-side, label head Lee Francis delivers a smooth, roots-infused version of Ne-Yo's 2006 heartbreak anthem 'So Sick.' Both tracks blend mellow rhythms with emotional melodies and make for a fresh, laid-back take on two r&b classics. They're going to sound great played nice and loud.
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: 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."
Review: A killer slice of classic 80s roots rub-a-dub here. Melody Beecher's standout track finally returns with his powerful voice and underrated reggae diva creds front and centre. Originally an obscure cover, the track features a star-studded rhythm section including none other than Sly & Robbie who bring heavyweight grooves to Beecher's soulful performance. Long sought after by collectors, this reissue was brought to life with the help of Paul Beecher and has been lovingly reissued and revived all the way from Houston, Texas. A real piece of vintage reggae and golden-era Jamaican sound.
Lewis Bennett & Donovan Kingjay - "Jail House" (3:43)
Lewis Bennett - "Jail House Dub" (3:25)
Review: Doncaster-based reggae producer (you don't read that often, do you?) Lewis Bennett teams up with veteran vocalist Donovan Kingjay for this new single, which is a heavyweight slice of spiritual roots and steppers. 'Jail House' delivers deep basslines, militant rhythms and conscious lyrics in classic sound system style. Kingjay's commanding vocal presence brings a timeless message of justice and resistance, while Bennett's production strikes a perfect balance between movement and meditative depth. This is a powerful, no-frills release for true roots heads, designed for the dubwise dance and built to shake speaker boxes.
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.
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: Jamaican crew Chosen Few's rare 1980s UK gem finally returns to wax after originally being released on Kufe Records. This elusive cover - made famous by Stax-signed soulsters The Dramatics - has seen multiple recordings, but here, Planets presents a definitive reissue of a much-loved track. Having collaborated closely with the band on this release, Planets ensures the new edition honours the song's original legacy while delivering pristine sound quality. Side A features the classic cut, while Side B offers a stunning trombone-driven rendition, adding fresh dimension to the timeless melody. Extremely hard to find until now, this reissue is a must-have for retro collectors and fans of 80s cover magic.
Review: A true gem from the golden era, reggae royalty Johnny Clarke's 'Love Feeling All Over' is a standout rework of Diana Ross's seminal 'Love Hangover' and it gets a fresh spin with this alternate mix. Stripped down and rebuilt for sound system culture, it brings deeper bass, rawer textures and a heavier, more hypnotic vibe than ever before. Pressed on a weighty 7" on Clarke's own Naphthali label, this version is tailor-made for selectors and dancefloor devotees and has long been a certified 80s classic. This dubby take brings new life to a beloved anthem that backs up claims that Johnny Clarke remains a foundational voice in reggae.
Review: A powerful roots anthem from the unmistakable voice of Daweh Congo here. 'Prophecy Reveal' is an invitation to get lost in his haunting tone and spiritual intensity, both of which were hallmarks of his role in the roots revival movement. Originally released in 2000, the 25-year-old classic blends conscious lyrics with a weighty digital rhythm to create a hypnotic, militant vibe. Daweh's mystical delivery brings urgency and depth to the message, while the B-side dives into rich 90s electronic dub territory by layering effects and echo for a deep sound rooted in spiritual and musical resistance.
Review: More than than a decade of growth and exploration fed UK reggae and soul singer Hollie Cook's newest Mr Bongo release; an unmissable reggae-pop fusion taking form as 'Night Night', which also marks a homecoming and a fresh chapter for the singer and aritst. With General Roots as her backing band and Ben McKone handling production and dub duties at Crosstown Studios, the single pairs strident guitar licks and glowing keys with a system-scalding bassline. Hollie's sericin-soft delivery is matched by the fire of Horseman - this his first studio link-up with her since that debut - resulting in a track that pulses with affective lift. A dubbed-out B-side rounds out the 7", spacious, packed with entelechy and flair.
Wicked Huffi Run (Dubquake 10th Anniversary dubplate remix 2016) (4:42)
Dub Dem Wicked (Dubquake 10th Anniversary dubplate remix 2016) (4:33)
Review: Danman and OBF originally released their 'Wicked HAffi Run' EP back in 2010 and it has endured in sound system circles and proper dancehalls ever since. For that reason, it is now pressed up to wax once more with the original and the dub joined by a pair of Dubquake tenth Anniversary dubplate remixes. In original form, 'Wicked Haffi Run' is a widescreen digi-dub cut with sleek and shiny synths, rasping astral leads and a spaced-out sound demands to be played loud. The various versions up the drum weight and dub quotient for even more impactful deployment.
Review: Danubian Dub hails from Vienna and step up to their own self-titled label with a deep, steppers-style cut that delivers conscious energy and militant grooves on one impactful 7". 'Move Dem' is driven by a thunderous bassline and echo-laden snares and has a nice ass-wobbling weight to it as it rolls up and down while I Nando's commanding voice delivers his own message. Though rooted in classic dub traditions, it has a fresh edge and sleek production aesthetic that very much places it nicely the here and now. The Smalltowndubz brings some more winky dubstep style bass weight to the flipside and both versions are sound system-ready anthems built for serious rotation.
Review: The Disciples return with a brand-new 10" on BSL featuring heavyweight instrumentals straight from Russ Disciples' Frontroom studio, all crafted and mixed entirely in full analogue style. This marks the first release from his newly equipped analogue setup and the results are great. Both cuts deliver deep, meditative vibrations and textured sonics that harken back to the golden era of dub production. Palpable warmth and unmistakable depth define 'Krakatoa's Vengeance' with its buffed metal chord work and stuttering, swaggering low end and 'Sacred Hills Dub' is a little more nimble and pacey but still infused with great synth work.
Review: Originally released as part of Dub Narcotic Sound System's Dub Narcotic Disco Plate series, 'Fuck Shit Up' has stood the test of time as a raucous blend of garage soul punk. The track made waves upon its 1994 release, with its genre-defying energy gaining instant admiration from artists like Beck, Chemical Brothers, The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion (who later covered it), and Make-Up. "We loved this piece of ramshackle punk funk when we first heard it on 7" in 1994 and we still love it now!" said The Chemical Brothers in 2025. Still a staple at underground dance parties, the track has amassed over 100,000 YouTube streams, so for the first time, it's now available digitally, paired with a fresh remix by Hifi Sean, best as former singer with C86/baggy heroes Soup Dragons.
Review: London's Mysticisms label spill valorous guts in issuing this new dub and breakbeat crossover record from Dub Specialists. Having emerged from te potent 1980s-90s fallouts that enshrouded the pioneering digital roots label Conscious Sounds, Dub Specialists tracked the storied meeting-of-minds that was and still is Douglas Waldrop, Piers Harrison, and Stuart "Chuggy" Leath. This time, the trio are heard teaming up with DJ Millie McKee and studio brain Matt Bruce to formate yet another splinter cell, as missionaries of Conscious Sounds' digital mission: to explore samplers and videogame sounds in dub and funk. Using an Atari 1040 running Cubase and armed with a Soundcraft mixer, this latest iteration hears drum loops and reggae basslines played over funk samples and layered with Petter's chords, crafting a series of short, DJ-worthy heaters. The result is unhindered by expectation and breaks many calcified digidub moulds, as on 'Funkin Dub', where speak n' spell garblings meet downtown funk licks and sonorant snare whacks.
Review: Jamaican vocalist Earl Sixteen's 1980 recording finally lands on 7" vinyl, produced by Earl Morgan of The Heptones and recorded at Harry J Studios. The vocal cut rides a familiar steppers rhythm also heard on tracks by Lacksley Castell and Black Uhuru - crisp, driving, and minimal in arrangement. Sixteen's delivery is measured that sits just above the groove without crowding the mix. The B-side features a dub version mixed by Sylvan Morris. It's restrained, focusing on dropouts and echo placement rather than full reconstruction. Both sides maintain clarity and space, typical of the era's late roots sound. A concise, well-pressed archival issue that foregrounds the essentials: voice, rhythm, and atmosphere.
Review: Froid Dub return to the dubbing fold full of cold sang-froid with new one 'Tears Maker Chant'. The landmark 50th release for the label and editorial Ransom Note, this new progeny of Paris duo Stephane and Francois, known both for their own distinctive productions and self-released Delodio label curations, offer a stripped-back, slow-smouldering blunderbuss of bass-heavy minimalia with the sliest of sly nods to Italo disco on the B, creating what they call "low-slung mood music. Measured, murky, magnetic. It's a debut outing on Ransom Note for the duo, and a sharp alignment with the label's taste for genre-blurring system oddities.
Review: You can hear the years in this one. 'Village Whispers' unfurls with the soft hiss of tape and misted chord echoes, each phrase placed with the care of someone who's spent a lifetime listening for silence to answer back. 'Noble Booth' is heavier, full of low-end weight and time-stretched decay - a memory half-recalled through fogged glass. Gubatz, who once conjured trance in rural North Germany and later acid on Cologne's fringes, returns here to dub techno not as genre but as method - patient, porous, ambient by instinct. These aren't tracks so much as settings: rooms that hold the ghost of movement, built for moments when nothing needs to happen.
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