[ aquarius records — Reggae Dub ]

A prime example of Trojan's strange marketing tactics. With the exception of a couple songs on volume two, all of the tracks on the two "Adults Only" cds are available for a much better price point, with a lot more tracks included, on the Trojan X-Rated Box Set. Kind of odd that they would reissue these discs just after assembling that collection, but I guess they gotta keep busy somehow.

What, you don't remember when our store was located on Constant Spring Road in Kingston, Jamaica? Awww, there's just no pulling the wool over y'all's eyes. You do know that Allan's initials are JAH though don't you? It is kind of a eerie co-incidence that. Honestly, Aquarius -- the Jamaican variant -- was a record store, recording studio and record label founded and run by Herman Chin-Loy, a Jamaican of Chinese and African descent. Along with having one of the hottest record shops in Kingston (picking the right name is crucial of course) he holds the claim to fame of releasing the very first dub record, Aquarius Dub and of being the man to introduce the world to Augustus Pablo and his magical melodica. Included here are 24 classic tracks -- vocal and dubs -- from Herman's vaults such as Augustus Pablo's "Aquarius Rock" and "Iggy Iggy", and cuts from Dennis Brown, Alton Ellis, Dennis AlCapone and more. It's a nice collection, the only downside being that there's an awful lot of rhythm recycling throughout. Comes with a nice full color booklet with a bio on Chin-Loy and his Aquarius enterprise.

MPEG stream: Aquarius Rock
MPEG stream: Sabata

A really nice collection of vintage roots, dub and reggae produced by the oh so smooth Bunny 'Striker' Lee. With his studio band, The Aggrovators at his beck and call, he recorded some of the best and brightest artists in the 70's reggae scene at King Tubby's legendary studio. With folks like Horace Andy, Linval Thompson, Cornell Campbell, Johnny Clarke, etc, you can be assured this is a really solid collection with a cohesive sound and mood thanks to Lee's stellar production. Most of these tracks had only ever been available on 10" vinyl before finally making it to cd (and lp!)...

MPEG stream: This World
MPEG stream: Wicked Babylon
MPEG stream: Ride On

This disc, originally released in 1989, is sort of a sequel to the "Golden Rain" title we listed last time. This one, also recorded by David Lewiston, was made on his first return to Bali in over 20 years. The changes that the island had undergone since his previous visit were somewhat of a shock (rampant tourism, noisy motorbikes everywhere, urban chaos) to Lewiston, who had previously been able to set up and record without so much as a thought to extraneous noise. This time round Lewiston rented out a local friend's art gallery and adjoining badminton court for most of these sessions in order to overcome the noise issue. And, for better or worse, he even went so far as to have the musicians rearrange their instruments in order to get a better stereo recording. What is really nice about this recording, hi-fidelity aside, is that it is a nice broad overview of some of the gamelan styles (and non-gamelan to boot) in Bali. The first track is a 12 minute recording of the opening parade of the Bali Arts Festival in 1987. Everyone loves a parade, and this one is no exception. You get to hear six different ensembles as they march past the recordist. This is followed by another recording of Gong Kebyar (that's the recording that required all the rearranging of the instruments), a recording of Balinese jew's-harp, and a really bizarre recording played on reedy instruments made from palm bark accompanied by percussion. Also included is a recording of gamelan salunding, which is an ancient Balinese gamelan made of iron. It sounds completely different than any other Balinese gamelan (almost like an ill-tuned gamelan), partly due to its being made of iron, but it's also a rather small ensemble with some of the most beautiful melodies in Balinese gamelan. The award for most eerie track has to go to Sadh Budaya Gamelan Gong Suling performing a piece for Semar Pegulingan entirely on flutes (with the addition of a few rhythmic instruments for structural purposes.) There's also an excerpt of Gender Wayang, which is the musical accompaniment to shadow play in Bali (see also the full disc also just reissued of this.) Plus another brief excerpt of Kecak and closed with one more Kebyar track. All on one disc!

RealAudio clip: Lagu Kodok
RealAudio clip: Gending Sekar Gadung
RealAudio clip: Tabuh Teluh

Oooh. A great dub/reggae comp always brightens our day. This one had us smiling all week. As the title indicates, it comes to us from Basic Replay, the reggae reissue subsidiary of Germany's Basic Channel techno label (shared with another great imprint, Honest Jon's of the UK), who are dedicated to bringing back crucial Jamaican jams (both hits and obscurities) that align with Basic Channel's dubby aesthetic, whether in the raw dub or digital dancehall genres... Over the past few years, they've brought out a bunch of great recordings from the '70s, '80s and '90s, and this is essentially an essential sampler of the label's releases, featuring 16 killer tracks from 13 artists, all of it (except for the White Mice and Keith Hudson cuts) on compact disc for the first time, as most of Basic Replay's releases have been 12" vinyl only. So now the turntable-impaired can get in on the action - or those who simply missed the 12"s. We should have been listing them all along, but didn't, though we have stocked a few in the store. This cd provides a convenient way to get with the program. Straight out the gate, Basic Replay proves how fierce this can get with the machine gun mayhem of Ackie's catchy "Call Me Rambo". Tough indeed. The rest of the disc's sixteen tracks are put on notice, and rise to the occasion. It's all such solid stuff, ranging from uptempo bangers like Professor Grizzly's even catchier "Fight The Professor", to mellowed out, slinky soulful cuts like Ijahman Levi's "I Am A Levi" (parts 1 and 2)... There's laidback instrumentals with echoing percussive dub effects exploding like depth-charge distortion detonations (Tenastelin's "Burial Tonight Version") and blissed-out Spaghetti Western stylings with melodious vocals (keyboard king Jackie Mittoo's "Ayatollah") and tick-tock electronic Geiger counter beatscapes (Prince Jazzbo's "Replay Version") and all sorts of other treats that fans of dub and reggae (and probably dubstep too, even though that's not what's on here) ought to swoon over. The other names on the comp we haven't yet mentioned: Chuck Turner, King Culture, Courtney Melody, Gregory Isaacs, Andrew Bees. We're not expert enough to explain how and why all these artists fit together historically and/or stylistically, maybe they don't, but the selections on this cd flow so nicely together. Superb, recommended!

MPEG stream: Call Me Rambo
MPEG stream: Fight The Professor
MPEG stream: Ayatollah

Collection of dub tracks originally released on the Wordsound label. Those who are already familiar with Wordsound and the "Crooklyn" dub sound probably have most of the tracks found here, but this make an excellent introduction to the unique world of Wordsound. Includes tracks from Spectre, Slotek, The Weakener (Mick Harris), Bill Laswell, Dubadelic and much more.

RealAudio clip: Dungeon of Dub
RealAudio clip: Mayday / Nightstalker

Good old Greensleeves comes through with a brand new series of collections. Along with their Biggest Ragga Dancehall Anthems of 1999, 2000 & 2001, they've rolled back the tape 13 years to throw together a double disc (or two part double LP if that's your preference) of their top picks of chart topping dancehall tracks from the birth of the genre in 1979 to 1982. 40 tracks in all from some of the original heavyweights of the genre like Barrington Levy, Johnny Osbourne, Yellowman, Eek-A-Mouse, Michigan & Smiley, Dennis Brown, (old timer) John Holt, Don Carlos and much more. Being on the cusp of the advent of full-fledged digital studio dominance of the Jamaican recording industry, there's lots of steam roller bass lines, phasey-chorused guitars and the occaisional synth percussion hit. We can't let this one go without a word about the cover. We're used to seeing dancehall collections with cheesy covers consisting of chicks in thongs, so we were kind of disappointed that Greensleeves backed out of an otherwise excellent cover photo for this one. A vintage snapshot of a stud posing in front of his Mercedes would be perfect save for Greensleeves' decision to plaster his body from neck to manhood with the album's title. Small grief we concede, but it had to be mentioned.

RealAudio clip: Bathroom Sex
RealAudio clip: Another One Bites The Dust
RealAudio clip: How The West Was Won
RealAudio clip: Bone Connection

Good old Greensleeves comes through with a brand new series of collections. Along with their Biggest Ragga Dancehall Anthems of 1999, 2000 & 2001, they've rolled back the tape 13 years to throw together a double disc (or two part double LP if that's your preference) of their top picks of chart topping dancehall tracks from the birth of the genre in 1979 to 1982. 40 tracks in all from some of the original heavyweights of the genre like Barrington Levy, Johnny Osbourne, Yellowman, Eek-A-Mouse, Michigan & Smiley, Dennis Brown, (old timer) John Holt, Don Carlos and much more. Being on the cusp of the advent of full-fledged digital studio dominance of the Jamaican recording industry, there's lots of steam roller bass lines, phasey-chorused guitars and the occaisional synth percussion hit. We can't let this one go without a word about the cover. We're used to seeing dancehall collections with cheesy covers consisting of chicks in thongs, so we were kind of disappointed that Greensleeves backed out of an otherwise excellent cover photo for this one. A vintage snapshot of a stud posing in front of his Mercedes would be perfect save for Greensleeves' decision to plaster his body from neck to manhood with the album's title. Small grief we concede, but it had to be mentioned.

Budget minded double disc dancehall collections from Greensleeves which feature the label's top picks for the years 1999, 2000 and 2001. What with 40 tracks on each one, they're a bit of a mixed bag. But with contributions from the likes of Capleton, Ward 21, Elephant Man, Sizzla, Lexxus, Barrington Levy, Mr. Vegas, Bounty Killer, Beenie Man, Buju Banton, Merciless and more, there's something for everyone here.

RealAudio clip: Boom Wha Dis
RealAudio clip: Who Am I

Budget minded double disc dancehall collections from Greensleeves which feature the label's top picks for the years 1999, 2000 and 2001. What with 40 tracks on each one, they're a bit of a mixed bag. But with contributions from the likes of Capleton, Ward 21, Elephant Man, Sizzla, Lexxus, Barrington Levy, Mr. Vegas, Bounty Killer, Beenie Man, Buju Banton, Merciless and more, there's something for everyone here.

RealAudio clip: Blood Stain
RealAudio clip: Tight & Right

Budget minded double disc dancehall collections from Greensleeves which feature the label's top picks for the years 1999, 2000 and 2001. What with 40 tracks on each one, they're a bit of a mixed bag. But with contributions from the likes of Capleton, Ward 21, Elephant Man, Sizzla, Lexxus, Barrington Levy, Mr. Vegas, Bounty Killer, Beenie Man, Buju Banton, Merciless and more, there's something for everyone here.

RealAudio clip: Pump Up
RealAudio clip: Bounce A Gal

Much like volume one, which we raved about a while back, this latest installment of Soul Jazz's Box Of Dub collection of dubstep and 'future dub' is as much a straight dub record as it is a dubstep record. Maybe even more so. Hence the 'future dub' descriptor in the title. Could well have called it modern dub or something similar. The dub element, while sometimes totally twisted into new shapes, is more often left relatively pure, a slab of classic old school dub, just slightly modernized, maybe with a bit of extra bass, or some haunting effects, but not much else. The power, as always, is in the BASS. And just like the first volume, this is an absolute killer. All the tracks here, whether they be shuffling classic dub or super creepy skeletal dubstep, are dark and slithery, with huge thick basslines, skittery dubbed out percussion, vocal fragments, warbly loops, hypnotic rhythms, all hovering somewhere between late night bliss out, and bumping slow motion dance floor destruction. The tracks are all distinctly dub, but in all sorts of shapes and forms, from Ramadanman's swirling dizzy shuffle, with strange little sonic flares and vocal snippets over a looped bassline and some modern electro shimmer, to the straight up soulful dub of Pinch's "Step 2 It" featuring the smooth soul croon of Rudey Lee, but like most of the tracks here, peppered with fucked up FX, thick undulating basslines, and all sorts of random sonic weirdness. The Cult Of The 13th Hour track sounds like a Kode9 outtake, super minimal, lots of record crackle over a looped Eastern Melody and an ominous spoken word vocal line, growling and muttering over a revved up Portishead rhythm track. Cotti's "Tamil Dub" sounds like a dubstep Muslimgauze, with buzzing sitars, and a killer throbbing bassline stutter, creepy animal calls, and slowed down vocal samples. Digital Mystikz contribute two tracks, the first some classic sounding dub, channeling the modern British sound of On-U Sound and the Dub Chemists, the second a more dubstep number, but with clanky kitchen sink percussion and horns, sounding like a slowed down Specials. Pinch offer up more dark and dangerous dubstep with their second track "Chamber", a super spare slab of low end sprawl, the drums a hiccupping stutter, the bass surfacing in big roiling waves, everything murky and mysterious, and ultra minimal. The disc closes out with Skream's "Sublemonal", another nod to the old school, with a super reverbed horn refrain over an ultra stripped down barebones dub workout, the snare reverbed into the ether, the bass smooth and shimmery. The more we listen to this, the less distinctly 'dubstep' it sounds, and the more it just sounds like some freaky outer space dub record, which is in no way a bad thing, just a bit surprising. Because of the dearth of decent dubstep and grime in the US, we're always hankering for more, so whenever a 'dubstep' record pops up, we're pretty excited and order it right away, but lest we forget, long before this new fangled dubstep, we loved us our dub, BIG TIME. So when someone takes a dub record and adds all sorts of buzzing bass, gets it all space-y and tripped out, low slung and speaker melting, haunting and ominous, pulsing and throbbing, we're pretty much sold.

MPEG stream: Every Next Day
MPEG stream: Wickedness
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Another nice dub collection mixed under the auspices of His Royal Majesty King Tubby and featuring musicians Sly & Robbie along with Aston Barrett, Carlton Barret, Carlton Davis, and Tony Chin. The original vocalists (Jr Byles, Augustus Pablo are all cut up nicely with classic fader and tape delay / spring reverb action.

WordSound's Crooklyn crew is back with an other comp of dark, low-slung beats and breaks. Just like the previous volumes, this is the illest of the "illbient", perfect for pumping on the stereo as you cruise in your car, headlights off, through the urban streets at night, looking for trouble. (We're not really suggesting you to do that, we're just trying to paint a picture here.) Usual suspects on board this time include: Spectre, Twilight Circus, Prince Charming, Bill Laswell, DJ/Rupture, Scotty Hard, Roots Control, Zion Train and others.

MPEG stream: Ph neutre
MPEG stream: Al Qaida (The Bass)

In our attempt to get with the program on the Dancehall tip, we have just received this brand new comp of some of the best. The first cd features tracks by Red Dragon, Yellowman, Cutty Ranks, Buju Banton, Beenie Man, Red Rat, and more. The cuts are varied, none as hard as the "Ring The Alarm" track (by Buju Banton, on 400% Dynamite) that got us all hot and bothered before, but most are still quite good, with lots of aggressive, driving bass. The second, bonus, disk has a genuine radio dj mix with toasting and all. Comes with some very 'SEXY' cover art.

Volume 2 in Soul Jazz's awesome series of Dancehall comps, a rough history of dancehall from the eighties and beyond, which for folks at aQ is of specific interest cuz you know we love us some dancehall, from the early days of reggae dancehall, to the super hard heavy modern raga dancehall, it all hits the spot, that groove, that rhythm, the sound, we can't get enough. This volume picks up right where the first one left off, with another collection of classic jams from tons of legendary dancehall artists: Lone Ranger, Nicodemus, Yellowman, Shabba Ranks, Early B, Papa San, Buju Banton, Barry Brown, Johnny Osborne, Tiger, Ini Kamoe, Half Pint, Professor Nuts (!) and tons more. The sound on this volume tends toward the more reggae side of dancehall's sound, groovy and mellow, lots of horns, shuffling rhythms (THAT rhythm), piano, that distinctive muted guitar strum, it's reggae but you can hear the dancehall sound taking form. The hardest tracks come from the folks you'd probably expect, Shabba Ranks, Buju Banton, and a lot of that has to do with their bad-ass growly rough ragged voices and their super intense delivery, but all the tracks here are awesome. Anyone into the various Trojan comps, the Soul Jazz Dynamite comps, all the Studio One collections, will definitely one this (and the first volume as well!). As with all the Soul Jazz releases, the cd version (not the lps, sadly) includes a massive booklet, with super extensive and meticulously researched liner notes and tons of amazing photos.

MPEG stream: Barnabas Collins
MPEG stream: Dog Better Than Gun
MPEG stream: Respect
MPEG stream: Vampire

Volume 2 in Soul Jazz's awesome series of Dancehall comps, a rough history of dancehall from the eighties and beyond, which for folks at aQ is of specific interest cuz you know we love us some dancehall, from the early days of reggae dancehall, to the super hard heavy modern raga dancehall, it all hits the spot, that groove, that rhythm, the sound, we can't get enough. This volume picks up right where the first one left off, with another collection of classic jams from tons of legendary dancehall artists: Lone Ranger, Nicodemus, Yellowman, Shabba Ranks, Early B, Papa San, Buju Banton, Barry Brown, Johnny Osborne, Tiger, Ini Kamoe, Half Pint, Professor Nuts (!) and tons more. The sound on this volume tends toward the more reggae side of dancehall's sound, groovy and mellow, lots of horns, shuffling rhythms (THAT rhythm), piano, that distinctive muted guitar strum, it's reggae but you can hear the dancehall sound taking form. The hardest tracks come from the folks you'd probably expect, Shabba Ranks, Buju Banton, and a lot of that has to do with their bad-ass growly rough ragged voices and their super intense delivery, but all the tracks here are awesome. Anyone into the various Trojan comps, the Soul Jazz Dynamite comps, all the Studio One collections, will definitely one this (and the first volume as well!). As with all the Soul Jazz releases, the cd version (not the lps, sadly) includes a massive booklet, with super extensive and meticulously researched liner notes and tons of amazing photos.

MPEG stream: Barnabas Collins
MPEG stream: Dog Better Than Gun
MPEG stream: Respect
MPEG stream: Vampire

Volume 2 in Soul Jazz's awesome series of Dancehall comps, a rough history of dancehall from the eighties and beyond, which for folks at aQ is of specific interest cuz you know we love us some dancehall, from the early days of reggae dancehall, to the super hard heavy modern raga dancehall, it all hits the spot, that groove, that rhythm, the sound, we can't get enough. This volume picks up right where the first one left off, with another collection of classic jams from tons of legendary dancehall artists: Lone Ranger, Nicodemus, Yellowman, Shabba Ranks, Early B, Papa San, Buju Banton, Barry Brown, Johnny Osborne, Tiger, Ini Kamoe, Half Pint, Professor Nuts (!) and tons more. The sound on this volume tends toward the more reggae side of dancehall's sound, groovy and mellow, lots of horns, shuffling rhythms (THAT rhythm), piano, that distinctive muted guitar strum, it's reggae but you can hear the dancehall sound taking form. The hardest tracks come from the folks you'd probably expect, Shabba Ranks, Buju Banton, and a lot of that has to do with their bad-ass growly rough ragged voices and their super intense delivery, but all the tracks here are awesome. Anyone into the various Trojan comps, the Soul Jazz Dynamite comps, all the Studio One collections, will definitely one this (and the first volume as well!). As with all the Soul Jazz releases, the cd version (not the lps, sadly) includes a massive booklet, with super extensive and meticulously researched liner notes and tons of amazing photos.

MPEG stream: Barnabas Collins
MPEG stream: Dog Better Than Gun
MPEG stream: Respect
MPEG stream: Vampire

Avid readers of the list know we love dancehall, from classic dancehall reggae, right up to the more aggro super heavy junglized ragga dancehall. And those same readers are probably well familiar with the Soul Jazz label, and their amazing, elaborate, painstakingly assembled, meticulously researched reissue compilations. Every one packed with classics and rarities in equal measure, always with a massive booklet packed with liner notes, info about all the tracks, anecdotes, photos and whatever else they can squeeze in there. You probably can tell where this is heading. Soul jazz releases now number in the hundreds, but they have yet to release a bum disc. This double cd keeps the streak alive BIG TIME. An awesome and comprehensive primer on dancehall reggae, done in the inimitable Soul Jazz style. Have a look at the artists: Yellowman, Tenor Saw, Chaka Demus And Pliers, Barrington Levy, Sister Nancy, Cutty Ranks, Super Cat, Cornell Campbell, Gregory Isaacs, Eek A Mouse, Clint Eastwood, and that's just the ones we know, there's also Half Pint, Reggie Stepper, Horace Ferguson, Toyan, Early B, Trinity, Lone Ranger, Michigan & Smiley, Triston Palmer, Lady Ann, Brigadier Jerry, Conroy Smith and more and more and more. And the tracks! A bunch of essential jams, some have found there way onto other comps, but many have NOT. If you're like us, that dancehall rhythm is just irresistible, such a killer groove, whether it's wrapped around mellow guitar and smooth crooning, or jagged melodies and rough and raw toasting, we just can't get enough. Pretty sure you're feel the same after filling your ears with all these jams. Includes tons of amazing photos as well extensive notes on each track, and each artist.

MPEG stream: Pumpkin Belly
MPEG stream: Murder She Wrote
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Never listed this on vinyl before, here it is... Avid readers of the list know we love dancehall, from classic dancehall reggae, right up to the more aggro super heavy junglized ragga dancehall. And those same readers are probably well familiar with the Soul Jazz label, and their amazing, elaborate, painstakingly assembled, meticulously researched reissue compilations. Every one packed with classics and rarities in equal measure, always with a massive booklet packed with liner notes, info about all the tracks, anecdotes, photos and whatever else they can squeeze in there. You probably can tell where this is heading. Soul jazz releases now number in the hundreds, but they have yet to release a bum disc. This double cd keeps the streak alive BIG TIME. An awesome and comprehensive primer on dancehall reggae, done in the inimitable Soul Jazz style. Have a look at the artists: Yellowman, Tenor Saw, Chaka Demus And Pliers, Barrington Levy, Sister Nancy, Cutty Ranks, Super Cat, Cornell Campbell, Gregory Isaacs, Eek A Mouse, Clint Eastwood, and that's just the ones we know, there's also Half Pint, Reggie Stepper, Horace Ferguson, Toyan, Early B, Trinity, Lone Ranger, Michigan & Smiley, Triston Palmer, Lady Ann, Brigadier Jerry, Conroy Smith and more and more and more. And the tracks! A bunch of essential jams, some have found there way onto other comps, but many have NOT. If you're like us, that dancehall rhythm is just irresistible, such a killer groove, whether it's wrapped around mellow guitar and smooth crooning, or jagged melodies and rough and raw toasting, we just can't get enough. Pretty sure you're feel the same after filling your ears with all these jams. Includes tons of amazing photos as well extensive notes on each track, and each artist.

MPEG stream: Pumpkin Belly
MPEG stream: Murder She Wrote
MPEG stream: Chop Chop
MPEG stream: Trash And Ready

Never listed this on vinyl before, here it is... Avid readers of the list know we love dancehall, from classic dancehall reggae, right up to the more aggro super heavy junglized ragga dancehall. And those same readers are probably well familiar with the Soul Jazz label, and their amazing, elaborate, painstakingly assembled, meticulously researched reissue compilations. Every one packed with classics and rarities in equal measure, always with a massive booklet packed with liner notes, info about all the tracks, anecdotes, photos and whatever else they can squeeze in there. You probably can tell where this is heading. Soul jazz releases now number in the hundreds, but they have yet to release a bum disc. This double cd keeps the streak alive BIG TIME. An awesome and comprehensive primer on dancehall reggae, done in the inimitable Soul Jazz style. Have a look at the artists: Yellowman, Tenor Saw, Chaka Demus And Pliers, Barrington Levy, Sister Nancy, Cutty Ranks, Super Cat, Cornell Campbell, Gregory Isaacs, Eek A Mouse, Clint Eastwood, and that's just the ones we know, there's also Half Pint, Reggie Stepper, Horace Ferguson, Toyan, Early B, Trinity, Lone Ranger, Michigan & Smiley, Triston Palmer, Lady Ann, Brigadier Jerry, Conroy Smith and more and more and more. And the tracks! A bunch of essential jams, some have found there way onto other comps, but many have NOT. If you're like us, that dancehall rhythm is just irresistible, such a killer groove, whether it's wrapped around mellow guitar and smooth crooning, or jagged melodies and rough and raw toasting, we just can't get enough. Pretty sure you're feel the same after filling your ears with all these jams. Includes tons of amazing photos as well extensive notes on each track, and each artist.

MPEG stream: Pumpkin Belly
MPEG stream: Murder She Wrote
MPEG stream: Chop Chop
MPEG stream: Trash And Ready

Soulful, funky reggae trax from Jam-aica circa the mid to late seventies. Most of the cuts here are covers of R&B or funk hits, stuff originally by Curtis Mayfield, Kool & The Gang, War, Bobby Bland, Isley Brothers, and others -- even Randy Newman (by way of

RealAudio clip: Slipping Into Darkness
RealAudio clip: Is It Because I'm Black
RealAudio clip: Mango Walk
RealAudio clip: mix)

About a year ago we wrote about a 12" split of a couple of Wackie's tracks that were both amazing in their own ways. The A-Side was Horace Andy's "Musical Episode", an extended 12" mix which is probably one of the best disco mixes we'd ever heard and the B-Side was an absolutely bizarre extended mix called the "Wack Rap" from 1979 and featuring some completely off kilter impersonations of the Sugarhill Gang. Well, Dis-Joint records, the fellas who released that 12", have put together a nice compilation of tracks featuring the aforementioned along with several singles -- new and old -- that their label has released. Now the vinyl-ly challenged can also join in on the enjoyment of these two tracks and then some. There's quite a few rare tracks here, including an instrumental mix of Ronnie Gee's "Raptivity" from 1980, Zap Pow's reggae homage to Kool & The Gang "Lottery Spin" recorded at Dynamic Sounds way back in 1976, plus some new dance floor cuts inspired from the old school by the likes of DJs Cool Chris & Romanowski, Ben Cook & Deep Fuzz, Dub Diablo and more.

MPEG stream: Musical Episode
MPEG stream: Wack Rap (Version Mix)
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In all of its shapes, forms and incarnations we do love dub! Whether it's vintage dub from Jamaica, or more contemporary sounds channeling dub through electronics like the Basic Channel camp and the new wave of dub-steppers. There is just something so intoxicating about the reverb, the echo, that seductive pulse that pulls you in and makes you never want to leave. Soul Jazz has struck gold once again with a two disc collection that brings together the best sounds of dub in many of its incarnations from the past and the present. In lesser hands this could come off as some haphazard hit and miss intersection of music spanning several decades, but what has made Soul Jazz a label to trust so much when it comes to reissues and compilations is what great taste and understanding they have of making records that flow and make sense as a whole. A record like this is perfect, combining the world of dub's pioneers and those who are now carrying the torch into the future. Dub was always such a futuristic and forward thinking movement as artists like King Tubby, Bunny Lee, Prince Jammy and Lee Perry found ways to turn the studio into a full on sonic time machine, a musical instrument unto itself. So along with tracks from those pioneers there are also folks like Kode 9, Harmonic 313, Roots Manuva and Disrupt, who have taken from the blueprints of that holy grail of dub and found new ways to make those echoes reverberate with such sizzling delight. Highly Recommended! PS there's a Soul Jazz Films dvd also entitled Dub Echoes that came out when this did, we have it in stock too but haven't had a chance to view it yet, should review it soon...

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Spanning the very roots of dub, with tracks like U Roy's "Wake The Town" dating back to 1970 and spanning up to nearly the present with modern remixes by erstwhile electronica artists, this disk is as much a nice dub mix as it is a history lesson of dub. There is even a several page dub history essay by David Katz (author of "People Funny Boy", the Biography of Lee 'Scratch' Perry.) Featuring Augustus Pablo, King Tubby, Scientist, Thievery Corporation, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Prince Jammy, U Roy, Kruder & Dorfmeister, Lee Perry, Sly & Robbie and much more.

RealAudio clip: King Tubby Meets the Rockers Uptown
RealAudio clip: Boof n' Baff n' Biff
RealAudio clip: Last Tango in Dub

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The latest in Soul Jazz's Dynamite series focuses on Dancehall classics, rarities and brand new tracks from the last 25 years to the present. Featuring current dub steppers, Digital Mystikz, and Ladybug (aka The Bug and Warrior Queen) from the digital/dancehall/grime scene amongst classic Dancehall originators, Lady Saw, King Tubby and Beenie man, this compilation features 21 non-stop dancehall party classics in all styles from digital rhythms, Nyabinghi drumming, and dub step to the lyrical vocal styles of Tippa Irie, Shinehead and Cecile. Get your freak on!

MPEG stream: Mi Ting Deh
MPEG stream: Dem A Bomb We
MPEG stream: Billie Jean

The latest in Soul Jazz's Dynamite series focuses on Dancehall classics, rarities and brand new tracks from the last 25 years to the present. Featuring current dub steppers, Digital Mystikz, and Ladybug (aka The Bug and Warrior Queen) from the digital/dancehall/grime scene, along with classic Dancehall originators Lady Saw, King Tubby and Beenie man, this compilation features 21 non-stop dancehall party classics in all styles from digital rhythms, Nyabinghi drumming, and dub step to the lyrical vocal styles of Tippa Irie, Shinehead and Cecile. Get your freak on! This double lp is part one of the two part vinyl Dynamite! Dancehall Style.

MPEG stream: Mi Ting Deh

The latest in Soul Jazz's Dynamite series focuses on Dancehall classics, rarities and brand new tracks from the last 25 years to the present. Featuring current dub steppers, Digital Mystikz, and Ladybug (aka The Bug and Warrior Queen) from the digital/dancehall/grime scene, along with classic Dancehall originators Lady Saw, King Tubby and Beenie man, this compilation features 21 non-stop dancehall party classics in all styles from digital rhythms, Nyabinghi drumming, and dub step to the lyrical vocal styles of Tippa Irie, Shinehead and Cecile. Get your freak on! This double lp is part two of the two part vinyl Dynamite! Dancehall Style.

MPEG stream: Dem A Bomb We
MPEG stream: Billie Jean

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY.

Not to be confused with the RZA's recent nom de guerre, Bobby 'Digital' Dixon is one of Jamaica's hot producers in the modern dancehall era, having cut his teeth as one of King Jammy's top engineers during the eighties. While this album's release is highly anticipated -- there being many rare cuts here -- the pall that hangs over this collection resides in the second half of dear Bobby's moniker: "digital". The press for the album seems to put it immediately on the defensive, with doubts expressed as to whether the cold and sterile world of the digital studio-- synth bass lines, drum machines and sequencers -- can express the humanity necessary for roots music. Proponents of the genre's developments can point out to nostalgic naysayers that Jamaica's music has always been in flux and that innovations in technology have gone side by side with those of rhythm and melody. Besides, given the economic restraints coupled with the fierce competitive nature of the island, it was only a matter of time before undemanding rack mountable gear began replacing session musicians. As fasr as being an appropriate spokesperson for this new recording M.O. in Jamaica Bobby Digital is certainly placed in a direct lineage from the days of old: having succeeded King Jammy who had, years before, brought reggae into the digital age after having worked for King Tubby. In his time Bobby Digital has worked with Jamaica's top vocalists, many of them highlighted here: Sizzla, Capleton, Shabba Ranks, Cocoa Tea, Yami Bolo and more. His innovative style is highlighted by his recycling of classic rhythms such as Bob Marley's 'Natural Mystic' and bringing them into the modern age. The failures that beset this collection lie not so much in the limitations of digital production, but in singers who sound like they're just going through the motions with cheesy modern soul style vocalisings. So where a rhythm of Bobby Digital's used by Morgan Heritage produces an almost unlistenable "Protect Us Jah", in the capable hands of Shabba Ranks' booming voice it's something grand. A majority of the cuts on this disc seem to suffer from this malady, alas. I'd almost be willing to write this whole collection off if it were not for the very first track by Garnett Silk, "Mystic Chant" (which uses the above mentioned Marley derived rhythm) which keeps nagging me to play this disc over and over. Over a stripped down and unchanging rhythm -- no bridges, no chorus -- Garnett Silk chants out scriptures from the bible. The tension of this track just builds and builds. It's friggin' heavy. Having gone through the album several times now, some other tracks begin to stand out as well so if the sample of "Mystic Chant" strikes your fancy you might consider droppping the dime for this one. Don't bother trying to track down a 12" of this one either, as it (and many others collected here) is an exclusive sound system cut that has only existed as a rare dub plate.

RealAudio clip: Mystic Chant
RealAudio clip: Protect Us Jah
RealAudio clip: Heart of A Lion

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY. Interesting collection of tunes documenting the Jamaican music industry's fascination with Westerns, Spaghetti and otherwise. Starting in 1969 with Lee Perry's "Django Shoots First" (curiously not included on this collection, though seekers may pick this track up on the excellent "Upsetter Collection" disc which Aq regularly stocks), inspired from Sergio Corbucci's 1966 film Django. A battle ensued when Joe Gibbs (who Perry had worked for previously) released the track "Franco Nero" (named for the actor who played the hero in the film Django). This was the beginning of many a musical gunfight between producers on the island that would last into the seventies.

On October 29, 2000, the United States Supreme Court ruled against the appeal of Mumia Abu-Jamal who, unjustly convicted of murdering a policeman, has been on death row for 18 years. This means the governor of Pennsylvania can sign the execution order at any time. The case against Mumia is completely fucked, if you hadn't already heard. Four witnesses said they saw someone else shoot the cop and flee the scene; two witnesses at the trial came forward and said they'd been forced by the police to lie under oath; the obviously-biased judge that has overseen his case from the beginning has sentenced twice as many people to death than any other judge in the country; the list of travesties goes on and on. If Mumia's life has ever depended on a public, international outcry of support, it's right now more than ever. So this benefit cd is one form of that: an impressive, internationally assembled roster of musicians all contributing tracks, most of them exclusive and composed specifically for and about Mumia. It's really, really excellent music -- a scintillating survey of utterly contemporary grooves -- from wailing reggae to downtempo triphop, righteous and fiery hiphop, dub, and jungle. Contributors include Roni Size, Primal Scream (with Augustus Pablo), Asian Dub Foundation, Fun-Da-Mental, Third Eye Foundation, Zion Train, Smith & Mighty, the Rootsman, Chumbawumba, and so many more. Double cd with fat booklet containing details of the case, quotes from the Declaration of Independence, Martin Luther King Jr, Rage Against the Machine, Amnesty International, and Mumia himself. And fascinating sections on the Black Panthers, the fucked up US prison system, other political victims like the Rosenbergs and Leonard Peltier, tons of contact and web-related info, and more. See here for more Amnesty International's detailed and complete report [http://www.amnestyusa.org/abolish/reports/mumia/content.html].

RealAudio clip: Digital Underclass
RealAudio clip: Minus 10
RealAudio clip: Furious
RealAudio clip: Star

Yay, repressed on vinyl, reggae fans rejoice... Here's our review from when we first listed this back in 2003: From the label that helped put out the swell Darker Than Blue compilation comes a new, even more obscure collection of great tracks. Everything on this collection comes from the vaults of the Canadian label / recording studio Half Moon, sort of a Great White Northern version of Wackies and every bit as good. Lots of crispy, crunchy hi-hats and boomy-muffled bass surround the vocalists in a sandwich of audio love. There's a really nice rootsy reworking of Michigan & Smiley's "Nice Up The Dance" rhythm with some vocals by Johnny Osbourne. Along with Osbourne many Jamaican stars came to visit and record with the in house Super 8 Corporation band during the eighties. Included on this set are Joe Higgs, Stranger Cole, Leroy Sibbles as well as the home team's own vocalists. In addition to the vocal tracks there's some really sweet dubs on here to boot, fairly stripped down in style with a little added instrumentation here, a little more spring reverb and delay there - very tasteful. The recording quality is very reminiscent of Lee Perry's early Black Ark era stuff, cramming as much signal onto the magnetic tape as will saturate (just caint do that darn thing with that digital crap!) Quite nice, a great collection filled with rarities.

MPEG stream: Why Did You Run Away?
MPEG stream: Black Society
MPEG stream: Sky Jacking Version

From the label that helped put out the swell "Darker Than Blue" reggae/soul compilation, comes a new, even more obscure collection of great tracks. Everything on this collection comes from the vaults of the Canadian label / recording studio Half Moon, sort of a Great White Northern version of Wackies and every bit as good. Lots of crispy, crunchy hi-hats and boomy-muffled bass surround the vocalists in a sandwich of audio love. There's a really nice rootsy reworking of Michigan & Smiley's "Nice Up The Dance" rhythm with some vocals by Johnny Osbourne. Along with Osbourne many Jamaican stars came to visit and record with the in house Super 8 Corporation band during the eighties. Included on this set are Joe Higgs, Stranger Cole, Leroy Sibbles as well as the home team's own vocalists. In addition to the vocal tracks there's some really sweet dubs on here to boot, fairly stripped down in style with a little added instrumentation here, a little more spring reverb and delay there -- very tasteful. The recording quality is very reminiscent of Lee Perry's early Black Ark era stuff, cramming as much signal onto the magnetic tape as will saturate (just caint do that darn thing with that digital crap!) Quite nice. Comes packaged in a nicely printed cardboard box. Our only regret with this release is that they shot the wad on the outer sleeve and neglected to include any liner notes, not even a cover for the actual CD case within. But we can't bitch too much, it's a great collection filled with rarities.

MPEG stream: Why Did You Run Away?
MPEG stream: Black Society
MPEG stream: Sky Jacking Version

MPEG stream: One Thousand Swords
MPEG stream: Hell Boat
MPEG stream: Problems
MPEG stream: Yamaha Ride

There's always been some sort of bond between punk rock and reggae: The Clash, Bad Brains, Fugazi, At The Drive In...whether it be in sound or simply in spirit. So Victory (home to some of the most essential NY hardcore of the past 10 years) has put their money

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY. We only have a limited quantity of these little gems, so be forewarned. Even before we started becoming inundated with "mash ups" and the compilations featuring them -- The Best Bootlegs In The World Ever, 2 Many DJ's, not to mention DJ Rupture's excellent mixes -- we were able to pick up, quite briefly, 7" releases which featured ragga dancehall a capellas remixed over the hot hip hop rhythms of the day. The labels printing these -- RMC, Special Remix & Killa -- printed short runs, and often the best mixes were long gone before we could even write about them. Those singles are long out of print and the labels that released them have all vaporized as well, but the folk(s) at Batty Bombaclaat have preserved some of the best for a brief second time around for the rest of us stuck in the digital realm. In all, nineteen tracks on this cd-r, each one amazing in its own way. For starters, the two genres -- hip hop and dancehall -- are taylor made for a good mash up. Hip hop's formation owes much to Jamaican DJ's and sound systems that supported them. In turn early Jamaican artists owe much of their inspiration to the early soul and R&B that was imported to the island at the early ages of the sound system. In recent years with the maturation of raggamuffin dancehall, and Jamaican artists cameoing on American hip hop artists' albums, the lines between hip hop and dancehall have been further blurred. Ward 21's first full length is a classic example of hip hop influenced dancehall, and Soul Jazz's excellent compilation Nice Up The Dance further illustrated the connections between the genres. The singles compiled on this anthology are more blunt than that, but the results are no less wonderful. Some, Like Lexxus' "Bounce A Gal" (which uses Missy Elliott's "Get Ur Freak On" as its rhythm) are great in their complete contrast to the original hit. When Missy's track came out it was impossible not to hear it 5 times a day; and of course, the rhythm was recycled many times by many artists from Timbaland himself to Kid 606. The great thing about the Lexxus mix is that Lexxus's voice is so anti-thetical to Missy's. He sounds like an insane person with a bad head cold who snuck into the studio. Other tracks, like Sizzla's "Never Want To Heard A Dem", best the originals. Mixed over M.O.P.'s "Ante Up", Sizzla's vocals turn an otherwise mediocre track into a fucking blood spittingly amazing one. The rhythm is so fucking great it would have been such a disappointment to let it get relegated to the dust bin of history with M.O.P.'s uninspired vocals on it. Along with the aforementioned Jamaican vocalists, included here are many of our favorites like Elephant Man, Capleton, Bounty Killer, Beenie Man, Merciless, Raegan, Danny English and more. Plus all the best hip hop rhythms of the cusp of the millennium are represented here: "Independent Women", "Ugly", Who's That Girl", "One Minute Man", "Can't Deny It", "I'm A Thug" and more. No rhythm tracks are repeated, for what it's worth, so there's no feeling of redundancy with this comp and it makes it a nice party mix to play. As an interesting twist, the disc closes with an inverted remix featuring Sensational's "Livin' It Up" over Beenie Man's "Who Am I". We're not sure where that one came from. As a final note, the original sources from which these tracks were culled, though most likely pressed in the U.S., were done in the Jamaican style: fast and dirty. In other words, there's lots of clicks and pops -- which the producers of this disc elected to preserve -- to increase that sense of authenticity while you listen. On cd-r, with covers nicely printed on vellum and card stock. Highly recommended!

MPEG stream: Never Want To Heard A Dem
MPEG stream: Bun It Down
MPEG stream: Livin' It Up

The latest Soul Jazz comp gives us eight reggae covers of disco hits originally by the likes of Sugarhill Gang, Chaka Khan, Diana Ross, Michael Jackson and others. While not as essential as the string of great Soul Jazz reggae comps (like the Studio One and Dynamite collections), there are a couple nice tracks here. The Blood Sister's rendition of "Ring My Bell" is the highlight, featuring dubbed out drums and bass and sweet vocals that get the echo treatment toward the end of the track. Latisha's soulfull take on "I'm Every Woman" seems more earthy and convincing than Chaka Khan's (or, uh,Whitney Houston's) version; the darker, richer sound somehow provides a more complex angle on femininity despite the same lyrics. The main stumbling point is Xanadu and Sweet Lady's extremely faithful cover of "Rapper's Delight." It's not like it's bad -- it sounds a lot like Sugarhill Gang's version but with female vocals -- but it's not particularly "reggaefied," and no new angle is provided, it's just a cover of a hit song that probably went over pretty well on the dance floor. Other tracks do give their targeted hits a reggae makeover, which is usually something of an improvement, but nothing super amazing. Hustle! also lacks the extensive, insightful liner notes of other Soul Jazz releases. Maybe that's because "reggae covers of disco hits" is about the extent of what you need to know.

RealAudio clip: Ring My Bell
RealAudio clip: I'm Every Woman