“In my father’s house there are many mansions” is a biblical verse from the book of John that is rife with potential meanings. It is a significant saying in the culture of Rastafari and has been quoted in notable reggae songs by Bunny Wailer and Prince Far I. As the title of the debut album byAddis Swaby, son of Horace Swaby, it has an additional meaning: the continuation of a family legacy that has captivated ears around the world.
Fathers and sons in popular music are no longer novel or radical. The likes of Damian Marley and Vieux Farka Tourehave overturned the prejudice that a child cannot take up the mantel of a legendary parent. But the release of a set of melodica instrumentals played by the offspring of the late great Augustus Pablo is still an event that will cause ripples throughout the reggae community and beyond.
Addis Pablo has spent time in the company of his dad’s contemporaries such as Earl Chinna Smith while working busily with Ras Jammy as futuristic Jamaican production unit Suns of Dub. In My Father’s House is instead released by respected Dutch label JahSolidRock and produced by Marc Baronner who has helmed many of their releases. Over the muscular, workmanlike rhythms of Austria’s House of Riddim band – plus two from Ziggi Recado keyboardist Rekesh Dukaloo – Addis blows through the toy instrument popularised by his predecessor (now frequently abused by Damon Albarn and repeated ad infinitum without innovation by the UK dub scene).
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