Reviews

A worthy companion to volume 1 showing the dizzying diversity of Fashion’s output. n 2011 when London’s final Dub Vendor shop closed, owner John McGillivray and his friend Chris Lane decided to reissue their fondly remembered Fashion imprint. Their second Significant Hitscompilation continues in … Continue reading →

Scotland’s Mungo’s Hi Fi Sound are known worldwide for their distinctive post-industrial take on reggae and dancehall. Where many UK digital contemporaries were following the roots of Jah Shaka, it’s easy to imagine them as young Glaswegians more intrigued by … Continue reading →

In 2011 veteran deejay and U-Roy disciple Huford Brown announced a forthcoming King Tubbys album. That has yet to materialize but in the meantime he has recorded this collaboration with eccentric French illegal-party-organiser-turned-experimental-reggae-producer Laurent “U-Man” Ugolini and his partner, electro-Afrobeat … Continue reading →

Junior Kelly describes himself as a perfectionist. “I’m really critical of my work” he said back in 2010, “It keeps me hungry.” This may explain why, when Sizzla is announcing his 70th album, the lanky, late blooming Rasta rebel is … Continue reading →

“I decided my father’s work should go on. We will be chanting reggae music forever and ever”promised Kenyatta Hill, son of the late Joseph, once engineer for the harmony trio Culture, now its lead-singer. Judging by the decent sized gathering at the Islington … Continue reading →

Chezidek is an artist who took a few albums to get going but is now a byword for quality in roots music. He hit a high point with fifth effort for NYC’s Bobby Konders Inna De Road (2007) and continued … Continue reading →

These days most reggae fans will be aware that there is a growing live band scene in Jamaica with a roots inflection. Once an underground phenomenon, it has been eagerly reported by a European press, waiting for a cultural revival, … Continue reading →

Captain Sinbad was one of the generation of deejays who cast off when Jamaican music’s tide was turning between the 70s and the 80s. Like his contemporary Ranking Joe he was literally raised on a sound system, catching his break … Continue reading →

Freddie McKay is an enigmatic figure in the history of reggae – not least because of his anguished, eerie yet deeply human voice. Like the better-celebrated Delroy Wilson, he was more of a singer than a songwriter, but could imbue … Continue reading →