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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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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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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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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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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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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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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Been chillin’ in the ol’ stomping grounds of the ATL for the past few weeks and my normal flipping through the crates has been on hiatus. Instead, WCLK has been dominating the hi-fi. Love revisiting the sounds from Clark Atlanta University, especially The Soul of Jazz show, in the late afternoons, hosted by Jamal Ahmad who crushes it on the daily. Beautiful sets to delight the ears!

Here are just a few cuts that had my head noddin’. A couple new platters, “We Live Today” from Derrick Hodge featuring Common and “Get Started” from Mark de Clive-Lowe featuring Omar and Sheila E, that just dropped in recent weeks and the stellar “Rebirth of the Cool” cut from the DJ Cam Quartet from a few years back. Dope!

Derrick Hodge – “We Live Today” featuring Common

Mark de Clive-Lowe – “Get Started” featuring Omar and Sheila E

Unfortunately, I can’t embed the MdCL cut, but I highly recommend you click here to listen. Seriously on-point sounds from his Renegades LP.

DJ Cam Quartet – “Rebirth of the Cool”

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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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