MUSIC

Hard to find early 80s roots vocal album from Delton Screechie, voiced over tuff militant roots rhythms at Harry J's then voiced and mixed at King Tubby's studio.

Early recordings and dubplates. Gritty, diggers’ selection of sides originally out on Wackies, Aires, Earth and co; plus some tough dubplates featuring Leroy Sibbles and Stranger Cole. Sibbles chips in his own Guiding Star rhythm from Studio One days, re-worked at Bullwackies; and reputedly that’s him undercover on the opener with Little Roy, ripping off Glen Brown’s Wedden Skank.

Great late 70s roots DJ album from Beris Simpson aka Prince Hammer riding some of the tuffest rhythms of the day from Channel One. Featuring The Revolutionaries with Prince Jammy, Errol Thompson and Crucial Bunny at the controls.

Founded in 1977 by Berris (operator), Wolfman (selector) and Jagger (mike man), Man Fi Bill and Killer, Moa Anbessa International has established quickly as one of the UK top sound systems of the late 70s early 80s. Based in Battersea (SW London), after having made its first steps with Lord David Hi Fi, Moa Anbessa International played successfully until 1981 the main sounds of the time like Jah Shaka, Coxsone, Fatman, Front Line, Stereograph, Jah Tubbys, Quaker City, Mafia Tone, Quantro or Jungle Man. In 1980, the Moa Anbessa International label released his first production recorded in Jamaica.

Scientist's 1981 Dub Classic! Invader-themed "SPACE INVADERS" is back on vinyl! Co-produced by Mikey'Roots' Scott and Linval Thompson, backed by Roots Radics, one-drop meditation DUBWISE!

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

After running a sound system and studying electronics overseas, Spanish Town-based Harry Mudie began releasing rhythm and blues recordings by local performers, enjoying more concerted success during the reggae era of the late 1960s and mid-1970s, crafting lasting hits with artists like Dennis Walks and the Spanish Town-based toaster I Roy. The first volume of the Dub Conference series, made with King Tubby, has stripped-down cuts of some of Mudie’s greatest productions, including ‘Lorna’s Dance,’ a percussion and horns take of ‘Caught You In A Lie’, and a strings cut of the Heptones’ ‘Love Without Feeling.’ Excellent!After running a sound system and studying electronics overseas, Spanish Town-based Harry Mudie began releasing rhythm and blues recordings by local performers, enjoying more concerted success during the reggae era of the late 1960s and mid-1970s, crafting lasting hits with artists like Dennis Walks and the Spanish Town-based toaster I Roy. The first volume of the Dub Conference series, made with King Tubby, has stripped-down cuts of some of Mudie’s greatest productions, including ‘Lorna’s Dance,’ a percussion and horns take of ‘Caught You In A Lie’, and a strings cut of the Heptones’ ‘Love Without Feeling.’ Excellent!

Classic deep dub roots album originally released in 1980 on Yard (J.A.) & Shanachie (U.S.A.) music by the heavyweight Rockers All Stars with mixes by King Tubbys, Prince Jammy & Augustus Pablo. Great repro original cover of the band in the studio plus King Tubby in his back yard. Nice pressing from OnlyRoots.

Vera Dvale, aka DJ Sotofett, the popular DJ/producer who runs the ever-popular Norwegian lo-fi house label Sex Tags Mania with her brother DJ Fett Burger, is back with Good Morning Tapes! This DJ set features a carefully selected selection of tracks from the golden age of Roots Reggae from his vast collection. This 100-minute long session of roots, rocksteady, lovers rock, and dub-out skankers is a sequel to the “Music Is Kinship” tape released here in 2020, this time recorded at an outdoor party at GMT in 2022. This time, it was recorded at an outdoor party at GMT in 2022.

Get Wise gathers ten standout tracks from Horace Andy, recorded between 1972 and 1974 with producer Phil Pratt. Originally released in 1975 on Pratt’s Sunshot label, this collection features a string of expressive early singles, including alternate takes on classics like ‘Root Of All Evil’ (‘Money, Money’) and ‘I Don’t Want To Be Outside’ (‘Zion Gate’). With his unmistakable falsetto—shaped as much by Otis Redding and Smokey Robinson as Alton Ellis—Andy had already marked himself as one of reggae’s most distinctive voices. Backed by the ever-reliable Soul Syndicate Band (featuring the likes of Sly & Robbie, Aston “Family Man” Barrett and Earl “Chinna” Smith), the tracks were recorded at legendary Kingston studios Channel One, Black Ark, Dynamic Sound and Randy’s Studio 17, with engineers including Lee Perry, Errol Thompson and Ernest Hoo Kim. Get Wise is a vital document of early Horace Andy—soulful, rootsy and essential listening for fans of classic ’70s Jamaican music. Liner notes by JR Gonne.

70年代中頃のBlack Ark 時代の音源を集めた、サイケデリックなダブ満載のアルバム。

Dynamic Sounds upgraded to 16-track recording in 1972 and King Tubby purchased, again with the help of a deal brokered by Bunny Lee, the old 4-track equipment and the MCI console from their Studio B. The four tracks now gave him a far wider scope to work with, and he began to create a new musical form where the bass and drum parts were brought up while the faders allowed Tubby to ease the vocal and rhythm in and out of the mix. It was only a matter of time before Tubby's dub plate experiments began to make it onto vinyl and the first-ever King Tubby album releases would feature a collection of his mixes to a selection of Strikers' rhythms. So please sit back and enjoy this historic set of sounds. These releases were the first to carry the name of King Tubby and the first to credit the great musicians that contributed so much to the rhythms that made these albums possible.

All rhythm tracks by Bunny Lee at Studio One. "This form of music started in the dance halls in the early '60s by some of the pioneer record producers. Mainly Lee 'Scratch' Perry and Bunny 'Striker' Lee, by both of whom I've been tremendously influenced... As a youth, from Jones and Trench Town, I've learned you must have an adequate power amplifier, right preamp and speakers... For the right sound and effect, King Tubby's 'the dubmaster' is a must, knowing when to bring in the rhythm and leggo the bass and drum. This album, it's clean, heavy and right effects; we digged into the rhythm vault and came up with ten of the hardest rhythm tracks. You'll be convinced that this is the King Of Dub." --

Skeleton EP is the first solo work by Siva, who is also known as the leader and bassist of the instrumental reggae band Version Brothers while also running the reggae apparel brand RASTAFA Riddim in Hachioji, Tokyo.

The EP was recorded using analog equipment at Vibes House Studio, which Siva has been building over the past ten years. He played all the instruments himself, recorded onto a reel-to-reel multitrack recorder, and handled the mixing on his own. The project began with a simple question posed by the label owner—a friend of Siva's for over 15 years: What would happen if Siva, whose musical career had always centered around live performances and collaborations, created everything entirely by himself?

Rooted in the groove and spirit of roots reggae, the EP also incorporates unexpected sonic effects that emerged organically during the recording process. Moreover, with mastering by Pole, an artist and engineer known primarily for his work in the realm of electronic dub, the record gained a unique texture that sets it apart from conventional reggae.

In an age where AI automation is taking over music, this work stands out for its raw groove and primal creative spark—offering something that speaks to the listener.

Released on Aug 8, 2025

Mastering & Lacquer cutting by Pole (Scape Mastering, Berlin)

Recording assistance by TYPE-K

Artwork by Taizo Watanabe

The Dubplate series comes to the label’s spiritual home of Hackney, the stomping ground of the Douglas “Dougie” Waldrop and his Conscious Sounds label with the spin off Dub meets Funk project, the music of the Dub Specialists are presented with extended re-edits by label owners Piers Harrison and Stuart “Chuggy” Leath, alongside rising DJ star Millie McKee and studio boffin Matt Bruce (Vanity Project). Formed in 1989, the Conscious Sounds label and Conscious Music studio have been mainstays on the UK Digital Roots scene to this day, working with the likes Bush Chemists, Johan Dan, Kenny Knots and Pablo Gad. The Dub Specialists was a project created by Dougie to put aside studio sessions and explore a new interest in samplers, working with friend Chris Petter (Love Grocer) and his interest in Jazz and Funk. Using the Atari 1040 running Cubase, with a Soundcraft mixer, drum loops and Reggae basslines were played over Funk samples and layered with Petter’s chords to create a series of short tracks for DJ play. Releasing 3 albums between 1995 and 1999 on the sub label Crispy Music, they have more recently been gaining cult status. The tracks chosen all come from the first and increasingly sought after LP, Dub To Dub Break To Break and have been extended, stretched, looped and dubbed by the label family to form a club friendly EP. From the dance floor jams of Dub De Funk and Funkin’ Dub to the deeper Movin Ya and Murderous Style this is a unique fusion of Funk and Digidub that fits perfectly the ideals of the Dubplate Series.

Definitely ahead of its time, Black Jade approach was very sophisticated, creating more than a serious cult in downtown London. While their debut ‘Contempo’ was a ‘religious’ dub affair, their sophomore album showcased a more rootsy direction. Published as a mere private press in the second half of the seventies, the album is finally available in a long overdue re-issue.

This exclusive compilation showcases the very best of Tappa Zukie's productions from 1988 to 1994, featuring an all-star lineup of legendary Jamaican vocalists and backed by top musicians such as Sly & Robbie and Clive Hunt. Each track has been remastered and is available together on vinyl for the first time ever. "When your mother and your father forsake you, the Lord God Jah will pick you up."

These were the words spoken by the people of Trench Town (Kingston, Jamaica) to a young Tappa Zukie, who began running away from home at the age of twelve. Drawn to the allure of the Rude Boy gangs, Tappa was captivated by Kingston’s thriving Sound System culture, where every neighborhood pulsed with music. It was in this vibrant environment that the young Tappa Zukie first began deejaying, quickly gaining recognition as a rising star in the dancehall scene.

This early success solidified his deep connection to music, as he developed a sharp intuition for what the dancehall crowds craved. Over the next two decades, Tappa would find both fame and fortune as a deejay, but his influence reached far beyond the mic. He became known as a visionary producer, founding the Stars label, which became a platform for legendary artists like Prince Alla, Junior Ross, Horace Andy, Knowledge to name a few during reggae's golden age of the 1970s Roots era.

By the mid-1980s, as Jamaican reggae evolved both in style and production techniques, Tappa responded by launching Tappa Records. This album is a carefully curated selection of ten tracks from Tappa Records, spanning the years 1986 to 1994. These ten tracks—produced by Tappa Zukie—highlight some of Jamaica’s finest singers and deejays, and while the music reflects the shifting styles of Jamaican music at the time, the deep influence of Roots is unmistakable. The themes of Roots music are still front and center, not just in the lyrics but in the very fabric of the production itself, a sound that has since become known among reggae music addicts as "Digital Roots."

Tappa Zukie and his talented array of musicians developed a sound that remains fresh even today, a testament to their creative vision. It has since become a reference for modern reggae producers, especially within the sound system scene, where Tappa's innovative work continues to inspire and set the standard for the next generation of reggae music.

An epic B2B2B mixtape from NYC, brought to life by longtime Bredrens and frequent collaborators Zebrablood, Rainstick, and Marcus Burrowes.

The 90-minute mix is heavily spiced with tuff digi dubs, conscious deep cuts and Blazer edits, all dubbed and bass-maxxed by BLZR to nourish you with raggamuffin upfulness.

Rough Trade release limited edition 7-inch singles boxsets to celebrate label's formative years (1978-1993) Having consistently released music by innovative, visionary, and transformative artists, Rough Trade have been defining record collections since their first release in 1977 (RT001 saw the shop help French punks Metal Urbain put out single Paris Maquis), continuing to release cutting edge albums and tracks right up to, and including the present day, with their current roster boasting the likes of Amyl and The Sniffers, Pulp, Jockstrap, Anohni, Dean Blunt, Sleaford Mods and many more. Now, to mark 45-plus years of the label, its co-MDs Jeannette Lee and Geoff Travis have indulged in a rare retrospective look, personally putting together two boxsets featuring some of their favourite singles released by Rough Trade during its formative years. Accompanied by new sleeve notes featuring the pair's recollections, impressions and opinions, these limited-edition collections are no bog-standard trawl through the back catalogue but a personal look at the hits, gems, bangers, growers, underrated classics and more. Chronicling Rough Trade's emergence from behind the counter of the West London shop of the same name in the late 1970s, the first boxset in the series fizzes with the daring, Do It Yourself attitude that underpinned punk and subsequent musical expressions that surrounded the label's birth. "Typically for Rough Trade there wasn't a strategy,” says Jeannette of her and Geoff's enduring partnership at the heart of Rough Trade Records. "We just jumped in and hit it off. So, we've stuck together!"

Bringing together over 50 of Jamaica's greatest session musicians, whose work spans from the birth of reggae in the late 1960s until today, Roots Architects is the largest gathering of Jamaican musical talent on one all-instrumental album. Never before have so many veterans, who helped create the immortal rhythms that made reggae internationally successful, been assembled to play on new material without vocals. This project aims to celebrate and pay tribute to the unsung heroes of reggae music: the rhythm builders or Roots Architects. Following the outstanding success of the first chapter of the project, From Then 'Til Now (2024), Fruits Records is pleased to reveal the dub album From Dub 'Til Now. A veritable immersion in the mythical sound of Kingston studios in the late 1970s. Dub master Roberto Sánchez sublimates the work of the Roots Architects with wildly inventive sound experiments. Reminiscent of the finest years of King Tubby, Lee "Scratch" Perry and Scientist.

The project is the brainchild of Swiss keyboardist and producer Mathias Liengme. In 2013, he travelled to Kingston, Jamaica, to produce The Inspirators project, an all-star album gathering Leroy ”Horsemouth” Wallace, Lloyd Parks, Earl ”Chinna” Smith and Sangie Davis, the four of them acting both as musicians and vocalists. This first experience in Kingston studio life paved the way to what would become the Roots Architects project. In February and March 2017 Mathias Liengme travelled for the fifth time to Kingston to record as many of reggae’s greatest living veteran musicians as he could. With the help of a few of these Architects like Robbie Lyn, Fil Callender or Dalton Browne, he managed to gather over 50 session musicians aged 60 to 85 on nine instrumental songs.

Roots Architects are legends back together in Kingston studios doing what they do best: creating instrumental music all together!

The album includes the excellent track "Rasta Forever," which explodes with hypnotic and blissful dub techno sounds accompanied by powerful narration by Horace Andy.

Jim Coles’s fifth instalment of his best-selling ‘Acid Dub Studies’ series arrives in the form of the third set of original works exploring the infectious sound of the 303 bass-line in a dubwise setting. The album takes in traditional dub mixing approaches in a digital and roots/digi-dub style whilst also making space for more electronic and ambient processes to close the project.

‘Acid Dub Studies III’ arrives after 2 years of touring the material in a live setting at festivals and clubs including CTM at Berghain, Les Nuits Sonores, and Andrew Weatherall's Convenanza festival and is the culmination of some 5 years of experimenting with a style that has been met with critical acclaim, reaching far and wide into many a DJ’s box having been noted by some as a truly ground-breaking approach to working with the 303.

A four-piece band based in Tokyo.
Initially playing reggae/dub music, the band gradually developed into an innovative fusion of diverse musical influences, such as jazz, soul, psyche pop, new age, and exotica.
The sound is based on groove and euphoria, with nostalgic melodies.
They have performed at iconic events in Japan such as Fuji Rock Festival, and also have been looking overseas since they performed in Canada(Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver) in 2019.
The new EP "Ramble In The Rainbow"(2024) is their first international release on the US label Peoples Potential Unlimited.
The work shows their musical maturity, drawing inspiration from Sun Ra, Lee "Scratch" Perry, and Yasuaki Shimizu.

The distinctive mystic croon of Daweh Congo charges a militant, digi roots anthem from 2000, reissued at a nicer price by Belgium’s Roots Vibration after 2nd hand prices have climbed

Back in the sun (or moonlight) for first time in 25 years, ‘Prophecy Reveal’ secretes Daweh Congo’s Rasta gnosticism on a swole sub and sloshing digi drums punctuated by tuff snares, found brighter and spare in hypnotic fashion on the dub-pinged B-side version.