1972 masterpiece by Phyllis Dillon, one of the most iconic Rocksteady singers. A total 12 tunes sung neatly in a rocksteady manner with sweet melodies and slow rhythms.
1974's "Natty Locks Dub" is well sought-after by reggae afficionados and viny collectors alike. Producer Winston Edwards left Jamaica to reside in the UK in 1974 and through his strong connections with reggae luminaries such as Joe Gibbs, Lee "Scratch" Perry and King Tubby began to travel back and forth between London and Kingston (JA) to bring back recordings to issue on his Fay Music label in the UK. In 1974 he issued his first dub album, the heavy hitting Natty Locks Dub featuring rhythms built at Lee Perry’s Black Ark and Joe Gibbs' new studio with overdubs done in the UK. These early dub tracks have a mystical atmosphere all of their own, cool, jazzy, melodic, with a great sound.
Treasure Dub captures Arthur ‘Duke’ Reid at the controls, transforming his Treasure Isle productions into spacious dub workouts. Bass and drums take centre stage as vocals and instruments flash through echo, reverb and sudden drop-outs. Rooted in Reid’s hugely influential Kingston studio work, it’s a potent dose of Jamaican dub from one of the producers who helped define the sound.
Devon Russell pays homage to Curtis Mayfield on these ten remakes recorded in the early '80s. A favorite among Jamaicans, Mayfield's songs translate well via Russell's crusty falsetto. The title track, a speedier, bouncier "We the People Who Are Darker Than Blue," one of Mayfield's most introspective songs, stands out, as does the frenzied, up-tempo, positive "Move on Up," which utilizes the engaging horn arrangement and ultra soulful bassline that made the original irresistible. But the title track is just too short -- Mayfield's mantle piece off his first solo album was a marathon-length fist pumper. Russell does justice to both "Never Too Much Love" and "The Makings of You." Curtis Mayfield and old-school reggae fans will find these interpretations pleasing. ~ Andrew Hamilton
Brought to life in 1976 on his small imprint Stars, In Dub is one of the most sought after Tappa Zukie album. Alongside Man Ah Warrior it is a mandatory purchase for any reggae lover more akin to the spacey reverberation of the studio facilities. With his deep, rumbling bass and the prodigious engineering of King Tubby (the album was cut at his own studio) the record still maintains his adventurous tenure. This crucial re-issue present the complete original tracklist with the addictions of two extra tracks. Dig deep into the ark-eology of dub side.<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DXl7e7BbI5Q?si=tckc7kJqvCk7b6Cg" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Scientist was only 20 years old when, working with fellow producer "Junjo" Lawes, he came up with this 1980 stunner, a sinuous groove party with cartoonlike special effects (a lot of bongs and boings like pans hitting one another, blips and squeals that sound like a Pac-Man game). All the "song" titles are references to boxing (a motif that Scientist was obviously mining for all it was worth), and all are great individual bits of dub sound that cohere into a meaningful whole. As it says on the jacket, "This ya a youthful sound fe come mash y'down."
‘Original & Vintage Dubs’ is a collection of 18 unique dub plate mixes from Fashion’s legendary A-Class Studio.
The album features live and digital rhythms built in the 1980’s for various projects, some of which never saw an official release.
The dub mixes were were initially shared to a select circle of sound system operators to be cut and played as exclusive dubs.
For the past thirty years these tracks have been swopped and traded between collectors and members of the sound system fraternity, and now the time is right for the music to be made available to all dub addicts and music lovers, especially as the album has never been pressed on vinyl.
The tracks on the 'Original & Vintage Dubs' album were all mixed at the A-Class Studio by the Dub Organiser.
One of two fine LPs Scientist cut from Linval Thompson rhythms -- the other is the even more impressive Scientist Meets the Space Invaders -- Scientist Encounters Pac Man finds the onetime King Tubby protege forging his patented minimal sound, a landscape resplendent with steely piano, depth-charge drums, and futuristic dub effects. Scientist also delivers one of his most progressive mixes here, deconstructing the originals down to their skeletal base and adding just the right amount of mixing board-generated Echoplex and reverb. And helping out considerably with the heady proceedings, the early dancehall period's greatest band, the Roots Radics, lay down the brutal rhythms and subtle keyboard and guitar interjections. Plus, one gets another of artist Tony McDermott's spectacular comic-book covers, this time depicting all of the studio Svengali's horror-movie nemeses from album jackets past (vampires, zombies, Frankenstein, those space invaders, and now the computer game's star of the day, Pac Man). A mind-warping yet eminently enjoyable way to check into dub central. ~ Stephen Cook
A very welcomed reissue for this rare Jackie Mittoo album, originally released in 1979 on unknown label, Rite Sound inc. The original release was sold without a jacket, adding a mysterious vibe to the whole thing. The dubby effects-intensive sound of the album extends from "Russian Satelite" to the whole side A, with "Harder Than The Rest," "Stepping Tiger," and "World Of Love" being an excellent triptych of note. The thrill of Jackie's crazy keyboards intertwining with the floating dub sound like a heavenly space is beyond description. Space is the place.
Money Maker is a rare 1978 release by the great Jamaican organ wizard Jackie Mittoo. A must have instrumental reggae classic which blends a series of killer-riddims originally laid down at Studio One and Mittoo's highly infectious gritty funk organ work.
Released on Cherry Red in 1981, Threat To Creation spotted the collaboration between two mystical entities : Creation Rebel and New Age Steppers. Forerunners of the british dub scene the two bands shared several members, a who’s who of the On U-Sound school and key figures of the Bristol and London scene. Adrian Sherwood is – obviously – the man behind the desk a craftsman on its own, a character with no borders and one of the most sought after producer of the time. The supergroup is ran by post-punk stalwarts Bruce Smith (The Pop Group) on drums and Keith Levene (PIL) on guitar. Ari Up of The Slits sits on piano and organ, while masters Crucial Tony is both on bass and guitars. Members of African Head Charge – bass player George Oban, Eskimo Fox and Style Scott on drums – are welcomed addition to the line-up. Threat To Creation is still recognizable as an album ahead of its time, a futuristic blend filling the gap between the Jamaican heritage, the so-called (post) industrial revolution and the studio witchery of the whitey man.
Rare dub reggae emerges from the vaults in the shape of this late-1970s set produced by one of Jamaica's lesser-known talents, Ossie Hibbert. Hibbert, who was primarily an engineer and keyboardist, favors a drum-heavy mix (courtesy of the legendary Sly Dunbar) laced with horns. Seen as the dub companion to Gregory’s classic ‘Mr Isaacs’ album it boasts six mind-expanding Cool Ruler dub treatments plus four further speaker-shakers to showcase the Revolutionaries in full-effect.
He incorporates a few of the sonic eccentricities, like wailing babies and train whistles, popular with better-known figures like Lee Perry on a variety of vintage rhythms, notably Gregory Isaacs' "I'm All Right" and Dillinger's "Take a Dip." Casually elegant, Hibbert provides a naturalistic soundstage against which the ace session band the Revolutionaries skank their stuff, smooth and easy.
A dub album of Morwell Unlimited aka The Morwells isn’t exactly the kind of album one expects to be reissued as they never reached the stature of vocal groups like The Mighty Diamonds, The Viceroys, The Itals, and The Abyssinians. However, they managed to make an impact on the musical history of Jamaica that lasted way beyond their early days as a struggling roots group and therefore it’s only fair they get the credits and respect they truly deserve. Morwell Unlimited consisted of Maurice “Blacka” Wellington, Eric “Bingy Bunny” Lamont, and Louis Davis. Of those three members, the late Eric “Bingy Bunny” Lamont is probably best known as the guitar player who, together with bass player Errol “Flabba” Holt, formed the Roots Radics in 1978. Dub in the album format really started to make an impact on the reggae market in 1975 and the Morwell Esq.’s set Dub Me was among the first to come out that year.
Copilot said:
Released in 1990 as the tenth installment in Mad Professor's acclaimed Dub Me Crazy series, Psychedelic Dub stands as one of the defining works in his celebrated dub catalog.
Fully licensed, all tracks remastered ! Bim Sherman’s seminal second album from 1978 returns in true showcase style, complete with both vocal and dub versions. Recorded at Randy's and Channel One, the record features the legendary mixing touch of King Tubby's Studio, with Jammy at the controls. Rhythms are delivered by top-tier musicians from the Roots Radics and Soul Syndicate. Back in print with its original Jamaican album artwork!
Originally released in Canada in the early eighties featuring Scientist's deep & heavy mixes of Bunny Lee produced riddims featuring some of Jamaica's best musicians of the time Bobby Ellis, Sly Dunbar, Ansel Collins and many more.
Originally released in Japan in the early 1990s, "Make Me Know It" offers a glimpse into a moment when reggae and lovers rock were taking root in unexpected places. The record pairs Chieko Beauty's understated vocal style with Miyazaki Izumi aka Dub Master X's production, resulting in a sound that feels equally informed by Jamaican traditions and Tokyo's rapidly expanding musical landscape. Built around a subtle interpolation of Manuel Göttsching's E2-E4 – already immortalised by Sueño Latino – the record brings together musical traditions that, on paper at least, have little reason to meet. Chieko Beauty would go on to become one of the defining voices of Japanese reggae, collaborating with artists including Mad Professor, Yann Tomita and Emerson Kitamura. This 7" revisits an early chapter in that story.
First released in 1977, this album marked a new dawn in reggae music, blending lovers rock sweetness with deep roots vibrations. Remastered with 2 bonus tracks.
Vital 1977-’79 dubs by the wee legend, all cooked up long, strong and odd at his fabled Black Ark Studio for DJ play and dancers’ satisfaction.
Holding 40 minutes of golden era dub heat, ‘Disco Devil Vol. 1’ spotlights Lee “Scratch” Perry at a crest of his innovative powers. The title cut is a certified all-timer, full of chants, cauldron bubble and ten tonnes of bass that would be sampled in a ‘90s anthem by The Prodigy. Likewise he takes all the time needed to crease your Clarks with a 9 min discomix of Junior Murvin’s sparrow-voiced trotter ‘Roots Train’, and nearly 10 mins of the unreleased Seven Leaves disco mix to ‘Such is Life’, cooling Lord creator’s croon on duskiest sway and FX balm, next to soul-stir fire of Winston Watson’s ‘Dispensation.’
Recorded at Black Ark Studio, Kingston Jamaica and features some of Perry's most cavernous and deep dubs. Far reaching dimensional frequency riding of a spiritual vibration and inspirational quality. Technical virtuosity and experrymentation at the service of beauty and wonder.
Copilot said:
A compilation of essential 1970s recordings by pioneering female reggae singer Jennifer Lara, who contributed session vocals and harmonies to numerous classics for the legendary Studio One label. Showcasing the warmth, depth, and unmistakable presence of one of Jamaican music's most underrated voices, this collection highlights a key figure in the evolution of reggae and rocksteady.
