extraordinary reggae

This thread should just be about absolutely amazing reggae tracks by now.

Since the early 1990s Twinkle Brothers have been regularly collaborating with the Polish band Trebunie-Tutki in which they fuse reggae and traditional music from the Tatra Mountains.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKhC_0KSZks

just listen to the atmosphere and textures in this track. keith hudson was a master.

yeah i am listening to this album tonight, it is extraordinary

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vm8xGgMh4ro

heeeeeeeeaaaaaaaavvvvvvvvvyyyyyyyyyyy

think i could listen to nothing but lee perry and k hudson productions rest of my life and be content

thx for the heads up on that Keith Hudson track, never heard that before

that whole album (Rasta Communication) is excellent. did any other reggae producer use lap steel guitar before that?

chinna smith used it on occasion. RC was '78, right? don't know if i've heard anything w/Chinna playing steel lap prior to that tho.

chinna is credited on RC, so I'm guessing that's actually him on the steel lap?

must have been

that Vulcans album is so cool

seeing dog latin mention Aisha's wonderful Creator, reminded me of this song, which Aisha covers, tho I love the Faybiene Miranda original:

http://youtube/-phUA8P1wuw

was wondering if anyone knew the specifics of why it was banned. It mentions politicians and people heeding the call, but that's p small beer surely.

that mournful brass one of my favourite sounds in reggae - and I realise this is very well known, but it is extraordinary:

http://youtube/csZ-Vo4GwX4

(the ken boothe/i roy black, gold and green/red, gold and green track feels like the platonic ideal of this sound).

also - don't know enough to know whether its spurious to associate that sound with a strand of heavily politicised reggae of the 1970s (the songs here 75, 75, 72 respectively) but it seems right.

f'ing youtube, swear the embedding rules rotate on a daily basis.

I haven't seen it mentioned here yet, but dub-lovers should try and source the Scientist album "The Best Album In The World." It really is one of the greatest dub albums, and for a genre that can rely upon similar sounds a lot of the time, it's got a really special vibe.

doesn't sound like it was too unusual an occurrence.

Q: OK, the stations didn't have any obligation to explain to you why they banned your song, the authorities just banned whatever for whatever reason or purpose. But did you hear any explanation somewhere afterwards why they banned this tune specifically?

A: Sure. Oh, I heard that it was considered like sort of an outcry or call for people to resist or to sort of rise up against the government, which I thought was strange because of PNP at the time.

Q: Yeah, Manley.

A: And I was like... just really feeling them (laughs)! So I didn't know why they would've considered this... I mean, it was clear it was about Marcus Garvey. But I guess it was also clear that it was speaking directly to the hearts of the people. Because at the same time I think three tunes at that time that had been banned from not only radio airplay but supposedly sound systems wasn't supposed to be playing it either on the streets, it was 'War' (The Wailers) and 'Discrimination' by Ras Karbi.

(xpost. to myself. classy.)

will see if I can check out that album tho.

sometimes i get to the stage where i think i've heard most of the best reggae stuff and then something amazing comes my way, quite by accident

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31sbAMcIHSU

Christmas has me feeling generous:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDhRVljOQKc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOQ3Fd7v80I

Christmas a come - Eek a Mouse

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsBBhSSSjqA

can anyone recommend some spooky roots and dub? I don't mean stuff like 'Scientist rids the world...' which is a great album of course, but is a bit cartoonish and horror-show. I kind of just want something with a genuinely spooky vibe.

Yabby You

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wgJsHaaf3w

this Glen Brown/King Tubby album that got discussed recently on the Dub/Reggae: An Idiot's Guide thread, "Termination Dub (1973-1979)"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbztSVL8sxA

Heart of the Congos spooky as heck.

definitely. altho I figure everyone knows that album

dog latin there was some significant discussion of roots reggae w/ major dark apocalyptic vibes in this thread Dub / Reggae: An Idiot's Guide (which has tended to be the main reggae dub thread fwiw) including some various mixtapes created by outic that have exactly what you are looking for

main reggae dub thread fwiw

well older reggae/dub, more accurately, it is not the rolling thread to discuss current stuff obv

thx for the kind words marcos - i was trying to find a working link to one of those mixtapes but it looks like I deleted them :(

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIjOU3rC7uY

wayne jarrett satta dread followed by dub version, both spooky but especially dub version

xp ha i listen to those mixtapes all the time!

ohhh and this prince far i joint from one of the tapes is so dark

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w27ofotfIxI

i have been listening to a lot of big youth lately, prob my favorite 70s deejay and in general one of my favorite vocal presences in reggae music, i just love that hypnotic, manic chanting style he does that just builds and builds in tension into this like trance-inducing prayer

give praises the best example of this obv

huh I didn't know that Wayne Jarrett thx for the heads up on that one

that trinity album is so dope

B&F delivers yet again

whoah @ the acid rock fuzz guitar on this one!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqakUaCJQMs

thanks all!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-3KPnJFStI

I fell off the reggae reissue bandwagon years ago, but I picked up an album from Pressure Sounds the other day and immediately thought of this thread (which in my mind is basically for ~weird~ reggae): I-Mo-Jah's Rockers from the Land of Reggae: https://pressuresounds.bandcamp.com/album/rockers-from-the-land-of-reggae.

It has a scrappy, shambolic sound that reminds me of late Keith Hudson, Wackies, and Black Ark era Lee Perry (it's from 1982). I'm also reminded that PS started as a subsidiary of On-U Sound.

Cool!

rereading that post, I worry I'm overselling it with those three comparisons, but it's def worth checking out and if nothing else it makes me wish there were more backing choruses in reggae (and more women's voices in general)

I highly recommend reading the chapter on Pressure Sounds in Ian Preece's book "Listening to the Wind: Encounters with 21st Century Independent Record Labels". Pete Holdsworth who has been running the label since it's beginning is quite a character. Seems like he fell out with Adrian Sherwood a couple of times over the years:

"After a period of time, Adrian and me, we were getting on each other's nerves. He started collecting antique teapots. Bless him, in a way, he is what he is, he grew up in the home counties..."

I will check out Rockers from the Land of Reggae. Santic & Friends is my favourite PS release. I believe there is a second volume which is as good.

that book looks cool, thanks! iirc Blood & Fire had all kinds of weird drama going on too

And yeah "Down Santic Way" is pretty dope. Honestly, PS never got the love B&F did, but their discography is extremely consistent (though I only know it up until PS65 or so). I also picked up Rubadub Revolution—Bunny Lee productions in the "rub a dub" era—but haven't given it a close listen yet.

Here's a playlist of personal dub/DJ/reggae faves. I find a lot of dub gets boring or falls into formula, but these are the ones I find to be remarkable. Any suggestions for additions welcome

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4cfUquzRvYiuEpdIeXUmSC?si=CJoBAxcWRZinEaaJrVJVnA

got some good ones I know and some I don't (though good chance I've heard before...who can remember dub track titles??).

Some suggestions:
Think you need some more Scientist! If we're going for more atypical dub, I'd suggest "Clean Hands and Pure Heart"
"Melody Maker - Version 2: Harmonica and Bongo Dub" - Chuckles & Keith Hudson
And a track from "No Protection" wouldn't hurt would it?
Okinawan dub: "Tinsagu Nu Hana Dub" - Ryuku Underground
"Dub Plate Pressure" - Lee Perry
"Bad Things Dub" - Keith Hudson
"Planet Dub" - Harry Mudie/King Tubby
"Jam Love Dub" - Prince Douglas
"Private Armies Dub" - Vivien Goldman
"In tha Mix" - Dennis Bovell

Going to look up the ones in your list I'm not familiar with

ha both Joe Gibbs and King Tubby have albums titled "Majestic Dub". What is it you were saying about dub falling into a formula?

Nice one. thanks GD. I'll check these out

Any more vintage dub tunes that answer logical paradoxes in set theory?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2n9vxnfQ9w