In the 80s there was a whole vanguard of awful[/b] British reggae acts that reached international notoriety, Aswad, Steel Pulse, LKJ etc.
Two hatteur points off for failure to utilise the "Yeah, that just happened" graemlin.
I would suggest that, although I respect your opinion inasmuch as you display good taste in reggae, and at the very least you know what you like, this remark betrays a significant degree of unfamiliarity with the range of those acts' catalogues. I don't celebrate them in their entirety, I should add, but each of them have done at least three killer albums.
Steel Pulse - Handsworth Revolution/Tribute To The Martyrs/True Democracy LKJ - Dread Beat An' Blood/Forces Of Victory/Bass Culture Aswad - Not Satisfied/Live And Direct/Rebel Souls (a bit crossover, this one, but as good as crossover got in the 80s)
If all you know is their late-period stuff, then fair enough, because they all fell off as the years went on. Aswad, however, remain one of the best live acts I've ever seen, and in their late 70s/early 80s heyday, Steel Pulse were no mugs either.
um, all the 80s ON U SOUND is pretty much unfuckwithable: prince far i , new age steppers, creation rebel, singers and players, mikey dread, bim sherman, etc. i still ride for adrian sherwood.
Aswad and Steel Pulse (and for that matter Pato) all started out more roots than their later more pop incarnations. Pulse played some concerts in the early 80s that stand alongside the best live reggae ever. Later they returned with the weak-ass tinny rock ish. Pato and Tippa Irie did a big big ep back in the day. When I met them for a radio show, they complimented the mixing I did on the air while they played doubles ping pong against my buddies in the back room.
These days there is a modern roots scene in the UK, a lot of em disciples of soundman Jah Shaka, who became a cult figure in the 80s (these are the dudes on the Blood & Fire forum).He popularized the "steppers" beat (four-on-the-floor militant reggae).
If you all want to start hatting, the lead singer of UB40 just split!!
Funny thing is, even they get some street cred for their very first lp, Signing Off.It was actually pretty good.
um, all the 80s ON U SOUND is pretty much unfuckwithable: prince far i , new age steppers, creation rebel, singers and players, mikey dread, bim sherman, etc. i still ride for adrian sherwood.
um, all the 80s ON U SOUND is pretty much unfuckwithable: prince far i , new age steppers, creation rebel, singers and players, mikey dread, bim sherman, etc. i still ride for adrian sherwood.
that first singers and players record w/ bim sherman and prince far-1 is sick!
keith levene playing reggae is kinda neat...
um, for present day anglo-jamaican stuff there is still tons of steppers stuff coming out... some good stuff... jah shaka is still putting out stuff...
dubstep def has a heavy jamaican influence, tho sometimes, like jungle it takes the cultural signifiers of reggae (random vocal samples, gunshots, siren fx) more than the actual feel of the music...
um, all the 80s ON U SOUND is pretty much unfuckwithable: prince far i , new age steppers, creation rebel, singers and players, mikey dread, bim sherman, etc. i still ride for adrian sherwood.
yeah, dubstep seems to have taken over a lot of the uk underground; right now, it's all starting to sound the same except for digital mystikz, skream, and shackleton... the bug and warrior queen stuff also sounds really good, as do all of the twilight circus soundsystem releases -- not really uk, though.
It Frickin' sux to have to thread jack your own thread but I wasn't really hoping for a plebiscite on 80s reggae music but rather an update on what's the what in the Anglo-Jamaican community now. Anything interesting, good?
Not really recent but, if you like singers/lovers rock, Bitty Mclean worth checking. His album On Bond Street on Peckings backed by Tommy McCook and the Supersonics is classic imho. There are some other Peckings releases worth a listen as well i.e. Old School Young Blood. But really, as someone else mentioned, Germany has been putting out a lot of quality reggae music especially production-wise.
Dennis Bovell has some interesting 80's english reggae moments and some of the 80's soundsystem crews in england were pretty cool in their own right and not as derivative as the bands already mentioned. Like Faux said fashion label, saxon sound all that cool stuff. And i'll add to that some of the lovers rock style stuff is a good sound for those interested in smoother more modern soul takes on the genre. But as for the original question, ex Jamaican musical communties in England nowadays are heavy into the revival scene or the whatever soundsystem mutations people are creating nowadays - dubstep shit.
I ride for Steel Pulse (True Democracy), the first couple of LKJ LPs. Not much a fan of Black Uhuru but I will also back Black Slate & Black Roots. I just sold my copy of London Posse "Gangster Chronicle", it didn't age well.
Those are just Jamaican releases on UK labels, not UK music really. If that's the case, I'll take the Barry Brown on Selena 12".
DocMcCoy"Go and laugh in your own country!" 5,913 Posts
um, all the 80s ON U SOUND is pretty much unfuckwithable: prince far i , new age steppers, creation rebel, singers and players, mikey dread, bim sherman, etc. i still ride for adrian sherwood.
False Rasta[/b]
Dudes, trust me, Adrian Sherwood has forgotten more about reggae than anyone on this board will ever know.
DocMcCoy"Go and laugh in your own country!" 5,913 Posts
um, all the 80s ON U SOUND is pretty much unfuckwithable: prince far i , new age steppers, creation rebel, singers and players, mikey dread, bim sherman, etc. i still ride for adrian sherwood.
False Rasta[/b]
Dudes, trust me, Adrian Sherwood has forgotten more about reggae than anyone on this board will ever know.
i was kidding. I have a couple of ON U 10"s. I thought they were ok. Prince Fari was the best.
Comments
I agree with this statement 100%.
um, all the 80s ON U SOUND is pretty much unfuckwithable: prince far i , new age steppers, creation rebel, singers and players, mikey dread, bim sherman, etc. i still ride for adrian sherwood.
These days there is a modern roots scene in the UK, a lot of em disciples of soundman Jah Shaka, who became a cult figure in the 80s (these are the dudes on the Blood & Fire forum).He popularized the "steppers" beat (four-on-the-floor militant reggae).
If you all want to start hatting, the lead singer of UB40 just split!!
Funny thing is, even they get some street cred for their very first lp, Signing Off.It was actually pretty good.
REGGAE VALIDATED!
that first singers and players record w/ bim sherman and prince far-1 is sick!
keith levene playing reggae is kinda neat...
um, for present day anglo-jamaican stuff there is still tons of steppers stuff coming out... some good stuff... jah shaka is still putting out stuff...
dubstep def has a heavy jamaican influence, tho sometimes, like jungle it takes the cultural signifiers of reggae (random vocal samples, gunshots, siren fx) more than the actual feel of the music...
dubstep remix of richie spice's marijuana:
yeah, dubstep seems to have taken over a lot of the uk underground; right now, it's all starting to sound the same except for digital mystikz, skream, and shackleton... the bug and warrior queen stuff also sounds really good, as do all of the twilight circus soundsystem releases -- not really uk, though.
Not really recent but, if you like singers/lovers rock, Bitty Mclean worth checking. His album On Bond Street on Peckings backed by Tommy McCook and the Supersonics is classic imho. There are some other Peckings releases worth a listen as well i.e. Old School Young Blood.
But really, as someone else mentioned, Germany has been putting out a lot of quality reggae music especially production-wise.
yes.
aswad live
Essential comp from Pressure Sounds for anyone interested in quality (early) UK reggae. Surprised it hasn't been mentioned.
and yeah, those releases are top quality >/= those on blood and fire -- another uk name that has yet to be dropped
Dudes, trust me, Adrian Sherwood has forgotten more about reggae than anyone on this board will ever know.
"Sticks Man" was a bitd classic, too.
i was kidding. I have a couple of ON U 10"s. I thought they were ok. Prince Fari was the best.
Brixton
DivShare File - brixtnreggae.wav