December 26, 2011
High Explosion DJ Sounds from 1970 to 1976 is the ultimate introduction to vintage reggae DJ sounds. This collection highlights the development of toasting through the recordings of the pioneering stylists of the 60s & 70s. Included here are performances by men now regarded as the founding fathers of the DJ sound. Among them are U Roy, Dennis Alcapone, I Roy, Lizzy, Scotty, Big Youth, Prince Jazzbo, Dillinger, Jah Woosh and Prince Far I. While 50 tracks surely doesn’t cover all of the essential DJ platters out there, this set serves up a quality collection appealing to newcomers and those who have been collection DJ sides for years. All killer and no filler. Check the tracklist here.
High Explosion DJ Sounds from 1970 to 1976; Trojan, 2003
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December 21, 2011
Festival Express is a rousing record of a little-known, but monumental, moment in Rock n’ Roll history, starring such music legends as Janis Joplin, The Band, and the Grateful Dead. Set in 1970, Festival Express was a multi-band, multi-day extravaganza that captured the spirit and imagination of a generation and a nation.
What made it unique was that it was portable; for five days, the bands and performers lived, slept, rehearsed and did countless unmentionable things aboard a customized train that traveled from Toronto, to Calgary, to Winnipeg, with each stop culminating in a mega-concert.
The entire experience, both off-stage and on, was filmed, but the extensive footage remained locked away until 2003, when director Bob Smeaton released the movie. A momentous achievement in rock film archaeology, Festival Express combines the long-lost material with contemporary interviews nearly 35 years after it was first filmed.
Enjoy this awesome documentation of what surely would have been an incredible ride to take.
Festival Express - Directed by Bob Smeaton and Frank Cvitanovich, 2003
Pt.1, Pt.2, Pt.3, Pt.4, Pt.5, Pt.6, Pt.7, Pt.8, Pt. 9, Pt.10
password = hippie
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December 18, 2011
A collection of productions and remixes from the mighty Kruder & Dorfmeister. Wickedly smooth vibes that have steadily stayed in the rotation, along with their other releases and side projects, for years. If you’ve never heard this, you’ve been missing out for sure.
Kruder & Dorfmeister – The K & D Sessions; G-Stone, 1998 Pt.1, Pt.2
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December 16, 2011
The incredible Charlie Hunter in a trio setting with legendary Jamaican guitarists Earl “Chinna” Smith and Ernest Ranglin. Forget the artwork, this one’s all about the six strings (or eight strings if you’re Mr. Hunter).
Charlie Hunter, Earl “Chinna” Smith and Ernest Ranglin – Earth Tones; Breadfruit Music, 2005
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December 11, 2011
This Slightly Stoopid album is ridiculously good from start to finish and amazing to consider that this whole set was laid down in one take while live on the air at ROCK 105.3 KIOZ, San Diego. This one is constantly on the hi-fi and is perfect while chillin’ on the beach with my feet in the sand and looking out towards the Andaman Sea.
Slightly Stoopid – Live & Direct: Acoustic Roots; Jr. Varsity, 1999
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December 7, 2011
This compilation – based on Ranking Joe’s 1980 vinyl LP Round The World and featuring tracks with producer Dennis Brown and Black Uhuru – captures the 20-year old deejay at the peak of his dancehall dominance. It illustrates perfectly the dictum “It ain’t what you do, it’s the way that you do it”, featuring the deejay in full flow over some of Dennis Brown’s productions of the period. The Black Uhuru tracks, recorded with Sly and Robbie just before the group launched itself on its international career, have long been unavailable; these cuts – as with Dennis Brown’s vocal on ‘Bubbling Fountain’ – are making their first appearance with this album. Killer cuts contained within. Check it.
Ranking Joe – Zion High; Blood and Fire, 2003
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December 4, 2011
A stellar set of funky, hot Afro-influenced tracks from the 60s and 70s golden period of the seminal Discos Fuentes label in Colombia. An irresistible mix of Salsa, Cumbia, Boogaloo, Tropical Funk, Chicha and more.
To understand what this compilation refers to as the ‘Afrosound of Colombia’, you have to acknowledge the profound role of African cultures in Colombian life and music. The story of the Afrosound is a tale of transformation. It tells of the enslaved African peoples who were taken to Colombia, who mixed with Europeans and indigenous inhabitants (by force or choice), and were eventually set free, as well as the escaped cimarrones (maroons) that lived in palenques (fortified settlements) and continued their own traditions. The Afrosound sings of a double Diaspora, first the trek in chains during the infamous Middle Passage from the Motherland of Africa to the so-called New World, then much later, the migration from the plantations to the cities.
This release deals with the unique sounds produced as a result of the inventive mixing of pop and roots that took place in the urban confines of the Discos Fuentes studios, far from Colombia’s coastal regions. For our purposes, the invented term ‘Afrosound’ can serve as the title of a thrilling and sometimes odd soundtrack that chronicles the diffusion and evolution of the musical culture from those coastal regions as it was brought inland, where it was translated, simplified, mass marketed, manufactured, modernized, “whitened”, globalized, recycled, and then sent back to the world at large, disseminated from the cities of Medellín and Bogotá, where the major bulk of the music production industry resided in the 50s through to the 70s.
The unifying factor for the collection is that the tracks all have something to do with African roots or influences in one way or another, and they mark a period of sonic experimentation, self expression, upheaval, rebellion and rebirth in the industry, nurtured by Discos Fuentes and its stable of musicians, producers, and engineers. Enjoy the Afrosound of Colombia!
The Afrosound of Colombia Vol.1; Vampisoul, 2010
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December 3, 2011
December 1, 2011
Analogue Studies and Mellow Orange present Bossa Break Vols.1 & 2. It’s an exploration into classic Bossa Nova sounds that were mixed and compiled by the man called Question.
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November 30, 2011
Donat Roy Mittoo, aka Jackie Mittoo, is an unsung hero of Jamaican music and quite possibly its most important. Born on March 3, 1948 in Brown’s Town, in the Parish of St. Ann, Jamaica, he first began playing professionally at the age of thirteen with various bands such as The Rivals and The Sheiks and it was around this time that he started hanging out at Federal Studios and playing with the cream of Jamaican’s musicians who from June of 1964 would become known as the Skatalites.
In 1959 Clement ‘Coxsone’ Dodd was recording artists at Fedral Studios when he came into contact with Jackie Mittoo. Dodd was so impressed that he asked Jackie to run the sessions at his new studio, Studio One, located at 13 Brentford Road in Kingston when it opened in 1963.
Mittoo and Dodd recorded thousands of tunes throughout the Sixties. When the Skatalites split, Dodd formed a new studio band, The Soul Brothers, under Roland Alphonso’s direction. Alphonso was responsible for the horn arrangements whilst Jackie wrote the music. Jackie went on to lead the session musicians changing their name to the Soul Vendors and later to Sound Dimension. Jackie wasn’t just the leader, he was a creator as well, giving the bass player his lines, writing the chords for the guitarist, playing keyboards himself as well as arranging the recordings.
The artists recorded during this period included Ken Boothe, Bob Andy, Alton Ellis, The Wailers, The Heptones, Marcia Griffiths, John Holt, Slim Smith, Delroy Wilson and many, many, many others. Additionally, he laid down superb instrumental music. This body of music is not only the foundation of Reggae, constantly being covered and versioned, but an incredible artistic and creative achievement in it’s own right.
If you’ve never heard of Jackie Mittoo, then do yourself a favor and pick up this introduction. To hear all the man’s vibes, you have a hell of a lot more digging to do as his catalog is unfathomably deep. I can assure you one thing though, your time will be well worth it as it is loaded with some of the best sides to ever come out of the island.
Jackie Mittoo - Tribute to Jackie Mittoo; Heartbeat, 1995; Disc 1, Disc 2
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November 28, 2011
Monk Higgins plays tenor sax and organ on these fantastic early-70s Funk-Soul sets that came outta the Los Angeles scene.
Monk Higgins – Heavyweight; United Artists, 1972
Monk Higgins – Little Mama; United Artists, 1972
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November 25, 2011
In the late 1950s a polio epidemic hit Jamaica. Three of the many youths who fell victim to the disabling impact of the virus were Cecil Spence, Albert Craig and Lascelle Bulgin, later to be known respectively as “Skeleton”, “Apple” and “Wiss”. The boys formed a vocal trio whilst inmates of Kingston’s Mona Heights Rehabilitation Centre, eventually becoming known collectively as Israel Vibration.
As the doctrines of Rastafarian faith began to spread through the island of Jamaica the youthful trio fell under its influence and they began to grow dreadlocks – with the result that they were expelled from their ‘caring institution’. For around the next five years they lived on the streets on the streets of Kingston, literally busking a living, until adopted by the Twelve Tribes of Israel organisation. Other Rastas had refused to work with them through the belief that Jah had caused their disability as some form of punishment for previous wrongdoings.
Audiences at live performances were dumbfounded at the sight of three handicapped young men delivering Rastafari’s righteous message via their own trademark – real time dubbed vocals – whilst joyously skanking away on their crutches!
While the group has over twenty albums, spanning three decades, in their catalog, it is true to say that they have never surpassed the initial achievement of the first album, that enduring classic – The Same Song.
Israel Vibration – The Same Song; Pressure Sounds, 1995
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November 23, 2011
It’s been a long time coming for this to finally make its debut. Pleased to offer a small glimpse of what my eyes have gazed upon since living in the Land of Smiles and exploring the surrounding area. Enjoy!
The Goldbrick Gallery; Photography by Ryan Nerone, 2007-2011
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November 22, 2011
Massively funky sounds from the Hammond B-3 organ of George Semper, who was also the owner of Inner City Records. Dirty, jazzy, and nasty. Well worth tossing this one in the crates.
On “Get Out of my Life, Woman”, you can hear the drum break from Cypress Hill’s “Insane in the Brain”; and, on that note, did you ever know that the noise sample they drop in that song is a horse!? Awesome!
George Semper – Makin’ Waves; Imperial, 1961
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November 19, 2011
