MUSIC

The long-overdue revival of Bim Sherman’s catalog begins here. These essential recordings will become widely available again for the first time in decades, opening a new chapter in the appreciation of one of Jamaica’s most distinctive voices and representing a major moment for reggae and dub aficionados around the world. This reissue series will not only preserve his legacy but will also offer listeners the chance to experience the depth and timeless resonance of Sherman’s work in its full glory.

Bim Sherman—born Jarret Lloyd Vincent, in Westmoreland, Jamaica—holds a unique place in reggae history. Emerging in the mid 70s, his ethereal, haunting vocal style quickly set him apart from his contemporaries. He was soon collaborating with the top producers and musicians of the era, including Adrian Sherwood and the On-U Sound collective, bridging the gap between roots reggae and experimental dub and laying the groundwork for the fusion of Jamaican sounds with the vibrant underground scene in the UK. His career, from Kingston to London to Mumbai, was marked by an artistic daring and spiritual intensity that has earned him enduring respect across generations.

The centerpiece of this reissue campaign is Ghetto Dub from 1988, a record that distills Sherman’s artistry into its most potent form. Originally released in a limited number, the album embodies the stark yet soulful beauty of dub production. With its reverb-drenched drums, cavernous basslines, and echo-laden atmospherics, Ghetto Dub transforms Sherman’s various tracks into spectral presences that drift in and out of the mix. The arrangement and production—minimal yet profoundly textured—captures both the raw urgency of Jamaican street culture and the forward-looking experimentation of the UK dub scene. Each track unfolds like a meditation, balancing grit with grace, density with space. Ghetto Dub is more than an album; it is an immersive soundscape that reaffirms Bim Sherman as one of reggae’s most otherworldly and visionary figures.

Presenting the 2nd in the series of Persian remix EPs, following the bumping Dub House remakes from Picasso, the label is joined by Yorkshire’s own young electronic folklore master, a fast-rising name, Miles J Paralysis. Whereas Picasso took the first Dubplate ‘Space Within Art’, here Miles J delves in to the follow up ‘Smoke Dub’, turning out a selection of dubwise cuts that build on the dark electronics of his excellent debut releases for his Crying Outcast label. Yorkshire born and based, with a love for the Moors, as well as the teachings of lore, magick and mysticism, this young producer has been emersed in music since a young age, with a penchant of Dub, Hip Hop and Reggae. Starting with Survival Dub, the anthemic Ragga Dub original morphs into 2 parts, first heading down Paralysis’s alley of dark and brooding production marrying perfect touches of the vocal samples, before the amen break builds the track to the light. Smoke Mari follows, the languid Digibreaks chugger, utilizing Linval Thompson’s iconic vocals, now comes as a deep meditative Dub excursion. Stripped back to a raw essence, the vocals whirl, while hypnotic keys and dub bass complete the psychedelic mosaic. There Is No Love is modern dub style, off beat syncopation, reverb, tape delays, a lifting melody and some heavy vocal sampling all in the mix. The breakbeats of the original are jettisoned for an assurity of 4/4 thump, the atmospherics seeking the dark corners. “These are the last days; can’t you see the sunshine?” Zatoichi’s Troubles ends the pack, the trip hop, Depth Charge dub bass cut transforms at the mixing desk of Miles J in to Dub Techno territory; haunting, melodic. Miles J’s love of the deeper side of electronic music explored. Club music but not produced for clubs. A perfect synergy of old and new. Made for the discerning. Folklore the Mystery.

Mysticisms’ returns to the music of the Conscious Sounds label and their short-lived but highly prized Dub meets Funk project, Dub Specialists. Created by label head Dougie Waldrop and Chris Petter (Love Grocer) to explore their interest in samplers and a love of Funk and Jazz. A hugely respected “Digital” and “Roots Reggae” label, Conscious Sounds has been a mainstay of the East London digidub sound for over 30 years. Dub Specialists released 3 albums on the Crispy Music sub label, they have recently gained considerable interest in digger circles, with rising prices to match. As with their first Dubplate outing, the release features extended re-edits by the label and friends, this time featuring versions by Lexx, Miles J Paralysis, Chuggy and Vanity Project. Working with the simplicity and skill of his studio craft, Dougie utilised the Atari 1040, Cubase and Soundcraft mixer to effect. Petters’ chords sit atop reggae basslines, funk samples, loops and this time, a heavy dose of cut up vocals in to the mix. While the first EP came from their debut album, Breat To Break, here the source material for the re-edits comes, in the main, from their second outing “Dub To Dub Beat To Beat”. A more expansive album that also dipped in to 4/4 rhythms and touches of House / Techno. Opening track Dynamic Duo is a 4/4 stepper bomb – with comedic samples from Adam West’s iconic interpretation of Batman – expertly extended by long-standing DJ, producer and edit master, Zurich’s own Alex Storrer aka Lexx, who dials things to max for a club stop. A new name on many lips, Miles J Paralysis takes it all back down with a beautifully drawn out, acid-tinged tripper. Bumpin’, the mid-tempo groove sucks you in, psychedelic and mind expanding. The flip returns to the more traditional Dub Specialists vibes of Breaks’n’Funk’ cut ups, first with (co-)label head Chuggy’s faithful extension of Heavy Dub. Featuring the classic Ijahman Levi’s vocal, the breaks flow and piano / horns stab, a dance floor shaker for the discerning. To close, secret studio fixer to many, Matt Bruce again dons his Vanity Project moniker to perfectly tease and live dub (out) the half-stepper, Reality Dub and close this latest in the Dubplate series.

Street Druid merges acoustic, manipulated and electronic sound using saxophone, synth, voice, guitars & drum machine, and features drum kit from Mercury-nominated artist, Moses Boyd.

It features artwork by Byzantia Harlow. It is at once tender, psychedelic and fierce. It is not interested in genre or category. It lasts just under 45 minutes.

A prelude for the future, hands join to cast a peace spell. Consciousness is vast water seeking divine essence and meaning where colours merge and refract. The street druid walks through the night, a benevolence in the darkness, guiding you home. Immersed in noise, life can feel empty, like hollow vessels, a sentient interlude. At times we are found in Gaia's rhythm, kinetic and rebuilt, transcending through the impact of sound on the body. Every moment is a new change, a new challenge, a new life, we must ride the wave if we are not to be caught adrift or drown. Trying to keep hope intact, we must not retreat into fear, recognise we all live here in Longville and stop the fire before it engulfs us all.

RSD exclusive, fully licensed ! Never reissued and long lost, this UK dub foundation album Addis Rockers is the brainchild of Tony Addis from the legendary London studio “Addis Ababa.” This hidden gem helped define dub music in the 1980s. Remastered and featuring the original cover design.

300 pages, 175 x 129mm paperback w/ litho printed cover & french flaps. We mint our short run book publishing imprint, The End books, with a collection of flyers for soundsystem dances, clashes and blues parties from across the UK between the early 1970s and mid 1990s. Comes complete with introduction by David Katz (People Funny Boy: The Genius of Lee 'Scratch' Perry, Solid Foundation: An Oral History of Reggae) and outroduction by Kevin Le Gendre (Don't Stop the Carnival: Black British Music, Children of the Ghetto: Black Music in Britain). Colour scans sit alongside scuzzy photocopies amassed over several years with the assistance of multiple archivists, the material presented in A Night to Remember is not just valuable musical history, but the story of a community and a culture that would revolutionise sound in the UK. "The flyers collected in A Night To Remember speak to the burgeoning sound system underground that flourished in Britain in the 1970s, 80s and early 90s. There are held events on hallowed ground as well as lesser-known sets. Flyers for house parties remind that shebeens remained an important feature of social life in black communities and the many sound clash and cup clash events emphasise the rivalry and camaraderie that has always been at the heart of the culture, as friends go head-to-head with their dub plates, vying for that definitive crown. Dances featuring guest appearances by name-brand artists such as Sugar Minott, Lone Ranger, Barrington Levy and Admiral Bailey, as well as sound systems such as Jack Ruby, King Jammies, Ray Symbolic, Arrows, Black Scorpio and Metro Media remind how closely the local sound systems remained to their Jamaican roots, even as sounds such as Saxon, Unity, Java and Diamonds carved out a distinctly British niche. All hail the enduring sound systems of Britain – long may they reign!" — David Katz Special shouts out to Ruff House & Jeremy Collingwood.

The opening 12” salvo from the Ital Counselor Record Stable has arrived. The fruits of a long bubbling idea to bring back from the sands of time the moral thrust and crystalline conviction of the mighty Martin Luther King Jr. in a dubwise style. In a time like now as the individualistic ethos of the Century of the Self arrives at its logical end game we call all massive and crew to sit tight and listen keenly… A double A-side bass thriller with a message for the ages, NOT ENOUGH, features the musical legacy of two dear friends and two of our favorite contributors to the global reggae sound system community. JAH WARRIOR meets RSD (Rob Smith)…Paired together for the first time ever in a back-to-back dub conference… Side A sees JAH WARRIOR bring the weight and force we have all come to expect from Steve Mosco’s 25 plus year body of work. Like sheering frequencies bouncing off the brutalist architecture of our modern urban landscapes, his rendition is direct and to the point. MLK’s words lay on top of a horns man stepper ready built to rattle speaker boxes outernationally. Brace yourself… Side AA features a re-imagining of Jah Warrior’s cut by the stalwart of bass culture Rob Smith under the guise of his RSD moniker. All dubb’ers will recognize the name. From Smith & Mighty, More Rockers and Blue & Red Rob has influenced a generation of fans, sound system operators, and selectors worldwide. This Re-Rub keeps up the quality, the subtly and sub that we have come to appreciate from his body of work.

Label co-founder Conrad Pack returns to SELN with what is in essence a Dub EP, but so much more. The failsafe formula of stepping percussion and “ital” bass lean on a familiar soundsystem nature with engulfing pads finishing the job to evoke a true BIG SMOKE FEELING. Although the melody itself wouldn’t sound out of place in a UK Drill number the song overall still touches on DIY ++ sonics (yes it’s as good as it sounds if not better). Recorded during the height of the Scram era, masterminded by Leeway (Guy Gormley), and hosted by the late soundsystem luminary Julian Fairshare at Ormside Projects, the influences are crystal clear; Steppers-esq, leaning heavily on London’s musical legacy past and present, whilst still pushing for SOMETHING NEW. Praise EP will be available as a limited edition Vinyl (edition of 200) and digital download. You can catch Pack performing a special live set at our forthcoming 'late night event’ at Ormside Projects on 4th October alongside Kerrie, Jah Vibemaster & Sam Clarke.

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.

LP version on CLEAR vinyl in PVC sleeve with double-sided printed clear plastic insert. CD version is the mini replica of the vinyl version, in slim plastic case with clear insert.

“Love Will Tear Us Apart” should have been the band’s most shining moment…instead it became their tragic swan song. Released just a month after frontman Ian Curtis’ heart wrenching suicide, the song came to be seen as the unheeded warning of the impending tragedy.

This special edition LP features all three versions of the song that transformed Joy Division from mere band into legend. In addition to the original single version, we have two versions remixed by American producers Don Gehman of John Mellencamp fame (the “radio version”) and Arthur Baker (who also produced a hit single for Africa Bambaataa around this same time).

The remaining tracks include “These Days” (which appeared on the original “Love Will Tear Us Apart” single), along with “Transmission” (their debut single released in 1979) and “Atmosphere” (originally released as a France-only single) in 1980.

Cruddiest nightglyde steez by the mysterious Sister Marion, voiced by Mass, for John T. Gast’s 5 Gate Temple A must check for anyone feeling Dean Blunt’s circle or Tribe of Colin, ‘B Safe’ scries early ‘10s road rap styles thru JTG’s murky crystal ball with Mass seemingly rapping from the other end of a long corridor over a blend of dungeon synth vamps, road rap/proto-UK drill and dread soundsystem rumbles, revealed in starkest terms on the version.

An air of ancient ritualism cloaks Modern Love’s midnight meeting between UK producer MOBBS and French-Egyptian spellcaster Susu Laroche, carving out a channel between hexed trip hop and shoegaze that’s one part DJ Screw, one part MBV, operating within a long shadow of influence cast by Curve, Leila, Cocteau Twins, Nearly God.

Clasping chiral energies on their debut collab, MOBBS brings a history spanning shadowy production work for big name artists to the grimly stylised vein of performance art and musick explored by Susu Laroche, an Egyptian-French with strong binds to chthonic contemporary London. 

Their maiden sacrifice heightens the senses to blends of monotonic, sandalwood scented incantations and carpet-burned downbeats swept in slurred dub. Songs are subtly variegated in tone to spell out shifting plays of light evoking bedsit antechambers and warehouse innards lit by iPhone candle or extractor hood and emergency light bulbs on their last lumens. 

It's music that's as elaborately serrated and blemished as early MBV, but positioned in a vastly different cultural landscape, drawing from hip-hop, drone, psych and basement noise. The pair’s range of cultural obsessions maintains a precarious balance between shadowy histories and an asphyxiating present; all too often, when the past is projected it's thru a mollifying, nostalgic lens, so their critical, prudent hybrid sound is a vital, chilling corrective.

From the bell-ringing, chain-rattle jag of ‘Throne’ thru the sleepwalker drift of ‘Roam’, and concrete plangency of ‘Forest’, the marriage of MOBBS’ illusive textures with Laroche’s feel for analog image and film (as evinced in her art for the likes of Blackhaine and Mica Levi) imprints their sound in gauzy layers that leave fleeting impressions on the mind’s eye. At their heaviest, Laroche’s arcane declarations descend in impressive enactments, undressing the excesses of over-glossed trip hop to reveal and revel in the sound at its starkest, sexiest, for new waves of washed up souls.
 

You Never End is the third album from Moin (Valentina Magaletti, Tom Halstead and Joe Andrews) out via AD 93 on the 25th October.
This record marks Moin’s shift into a new phase with vocal collaborations across the album from Olan Monk, james K, Coby Sey and Sophia Al-Maria.

The album’s collaborators all have voices that are alluring in their own right whilst hard to pin down: from james K’s ethereal, reverb drenched vocals, Coby Sey’s words that bounce and echo across London’s concrete streets and Olan Monk’s emotive songwriting, while artist Sophie Al-Maria’s voice and thoughts are known to stretch across her multidisciplinary practice as an artist, filmmaker and writer. The unique mystique of each collaborator is maintained throughout the record while simultaneously opening Moin up to new possibilities, in a gentle shifting alchemy.

Continuing their enigmatic re-configuring of the traditional band, Moin use a mix of conventional and unique production and compositional techniques. Subtly re-framing the current conversation about what band in 2024 needs to be, Moin walk the line between what's reassuringly familiar and what's unsettling and inquisitive. You Never End is a more sensitive record in sentiment, it re-contextualises grunge, shoegaze and indie rock with a weirdly comforting melancholy while still sounding direct and alive.

The vocal collaborations bring the most articulate moments and lucid emotion while still remaining uniquely within Moin's established world. Alongside this, the record fine tunes the elements of electronic production that have always been a feature of the band's unique sound in a deeply subtle way. Elements are simpler and more direct, offering robust functional support as well as textural and emotional resonance. Together they show the potential for both practices to intertwine. 

Isle of Jura is proud to present the first reissue of 1992 Digi Dub heater ‘Slow Down’ by Villette Holmes. Produced by the late Cedrica Anthony Hamilton, better known as Soljie, this release captures a master at work. A veteran engineer at the iconic Channel One Recording Studio, Soljie’s innovative approach at the mixing desk made him a giant of the reggae and dancehall scenes. He was the sonic architect behind many hits of the era, notably serving as the mixing engineer for Shabba Ranks’ seminal Grammy winning albums As Raw As Ever and Xtra Naked. In 1990, he launched his eponymous label, Soljie Records, which became a vehicle for his own distinct productions. ‘Slow Down’ is a quintessential Digi Dub production, balancing a heavy, driving rhythm with strong melodic hooks and a dreamy crossover feel that transcends the genre. Licensed from Soljie’s son, Chioke Hamilton, this reissue comprises the original version and Dub, alongside a previously unreleased Extended version. Pressed on 140g vinyl and housed in a striking 3mm spine, full colour disco sleeve designed by Bradley Pinkerton.

Bella Union are delighted to announce the release of The Fall's ‘Grotesque (After The Gramme) Live!’ - the latest release from POPSTOCK records, which builds on the success of the critically acclaimed ‘Slates Live!’. Sourced, mastered and designed by the musicians who played on the original LP, and with insightful liner notes by Henry Rollins, ‘Grotesque Live’ presents fascinating versions of all the seminal 1980 album tracks. Available on limited edition vinyl, CD and cassette on 25th October.

Double heavy 1980 dub showdown by two London sound system titans, engineered by Prince Jammy and featuring Mikey Dread, Scully, Barry Brown and Johnny Osbourne on board.

Hard, or at least spenny, to find OGs 2nd hand, ‘Dub Confrontation Shaka (Warrior) Vs Fatman (Killer)’ is understandably sought-after as a shining example of pure dub tekkerz from its golden era. Ken ‘Fatman’ Gordon’s A-side renders the rhythms and vocals with coolly measured, judicious boing and 3D plangency, hitting hardest on the effortless traction of ‘Jahovian Dub’, whilst Jah Shaka weighs in a killer B-side of rhythms re-arranged with additional, signature drum lines and swirling sirens, as on the deadly ‘Dreader Dub’, a skeletally stark ‘College Dub’ and the simmering zinger ‘Afrika Dub’.

Tending to his crop with dreams of rotation, Bruce sows and scythes four new grains in the porky mill. Of this strange fruit, that further explores his increasingly familiar, hyper-real and sonically surreal work within this current “movement,” he finds his foothold once more in a wild world intensity: fear and fury grappled in equal measure.

What's more, in celebration of the plentiful harvest thus far, (let alone in the interest of seed diversity), Bruce invites four fellow reapers to the farm, offering their recipe from the spoils of the label's yield:

Vancouver based Brit-abroad, dj_2button pulls apart 'The Hand,' with his 'Accidental Mood Mix,' to be reborn as an Odyssian 13 minute stomper: "a fight of emotions, of light and dark; in quiet protest to the incessant fear mongering that slowly numbs us on a global scale." Balearic shores can be seen glimmering in the distance, whilst you are dragged by part man part (very horny) bull into the depths of dancefloor madness.

re:ni proves she is the captain of her own ship as sweet SSRI numbness billows in the sheets and fraying, dubwise halyards tether and tear through her devilishly elegant 'sertraline queen mix'. polyrhythms plotted and percussion plundered; the vocal from 'Golden Water Queen' sounds oh so sweet in the claws of its new Regina.

Hotly titted deep house reviver, fka boursin empties clips with their bubblegum 'boomkat mix,' of 'The Price,' swivelling the original's brash and bawdy bonce, to face a 120 reality we all need to wake up and start sniffing. Sprinkled with trauma on an icing of a bassline more than a little rood, boursin is packing enough cake for the whole function to take home in (dreadful) goody bags (and even allowed compression in the mastering - mental).

Last and indubitably not least, from lying somewhat dormant in the depths of UK dance music legend, none other than flippin' Untold (!?) rises to seal the release with typically megalithic prowess. Proving he was just resting his eyes for a bit, his 'A1 Mirabelle Mix,' weaves and whips an otherworldly beauty, technically tantalising 'Dham's Jam' in adornments both sour and sweet. It's nothing short of a cloaks and daggers banger, primed for the darkest of dancefloor cosmic moments, and serving as a little less-than-warm-reminder that Untold’s presence in the world of dance music is crucial as ever.

Frankly, if you couldn't tell from all the verbose waffle, they have all absolutely smashed and finessed it: they were all approached after expressing a real resonance from the previous releases and it's such an honour to have them and their fantastic visions on the label.

Available digitally or on high quality cassette, the final chapter of the Poorly Knit's first act has been woven whimsically into the fraying folds.

David Lewis was hardly eighteen years old when he and two friends, bassist Nigel Smith and drummer Gordon Barton uprooted themselves from Belfast and set their sites on the Big Smoke. With the move came a record deal with CBS and a rebrand from The Method to Andwella’s Dream. Now known as a cult psychedelic classic, their first and only LP under their full title Love & Poetry touched on just about every genre that was hip at the time, cross-pollinating folk, jazz, progressive rock, united by Lewis’s brilliant songwriting in the form of kaleidoscopic instrumentation and imagery.

Fully licensed, all tracks remastered ! Earth Running, originally released in 1979 on the Tappa's Stars label, can be considered the Jamaican's toaster's maturity album. Lyrics here are rooted in the "ghetto life" as always. A work with an international flavour: On Side B, two convincing dance tracks, the anthemic funkfest "Freak" and "One More Chance", often championed by DJs in the following years. A work that explored new territories, a mandatory re-issue for all authentic reggae lovers.

This is a critically important work in dub history by Prince Far I & The Arabs, originally released in 1978. The recording features performances centered on the Roots Radics rhythm section, recorded in Jamaica and subsequently overdubbed in the UK. The mixing was handled by key figures in UK dub, including Adrian Sherwood, Dennis Bovell, and Mark Lusardi. The result is a clean yet profound dub album that successfully merges Prince Far I's signature sound with the innovative UK aesthetic.

At Our Best! were one of the greatest and most influential bands to emerge in the early 1980s as part of a new wave of independent acts. DJ John Peel championed them, playing their singles repeatedly and inviting them to record a session for his programme. Wry vocalist Judy Evans and brutal yet melodic guitarist James Alan who’d met at art college in Leeds fronted Girls At Our Best!, the proto-Indie band that formed from the ashes of Alan’s 1977 punk band SOS! Pleasure, the sole album, reached number two in the Indie Chart. It was an album so different from the rest of the post-punk indie pack that you can still play it now and completely baffle new listeners. As John Peel said about Roxy Music, it just doesn’t seem to relate to anything else.

After following Luke Blair's work for approaching two decades from his 2007 debut as Lukid on Actress' Werk Discs, we're humbled to present a new album on Death Is Not The End. Following relatively hot on the heels of 2023's Tilt (his first in 11 years, not counting his work with Jackson Bailey under the Rezzett guise) Underloop brings Blair's innate knack for building loops and sound structures further to the surface, while allowing his ear for emotional expression to be dialled up a notch.

Those fortunate enough to be familiar with Lukid's work as a DJ will be aware of how distinct his ability is to seamlessly disappear into loop-based abstraction and back again seemingly without blinking, and often Underloop feels much like a collection of the sludgey interludes and foggy sketches that underpin his sets. Blending apparently ramshackle melodies and textures and pulling them together into an undeniable whole, Blair's tendency for pairing the simple and the indescribable with an understated vigour is fully on show here.

Deeeeeep from the Ariwa archives... all unreleased music on here. Sounding absolutely essential to us. Dates of production uknown at time of writing... The A Side is a Mad Professor produced version of Aisha's 'Give a Little Love', given the UK treatment. The Dub is a proper roller. Side B is the unheard African Message Dub (Parts 1& 2). Recordings ft Jah Shaka on bass, Norman Grant (Twinkle Brothers) on Drums, Sgt Pepper and Mad Professor on the desk. Masterful UK Dub from these key figures.... pulled out of nowhere.

Discover New Decade Of Dub by Mad Professor and Jah Shaka on Ariwa Sounds. A UK Dub collaboration from 1996, with Phasers set to stun. Musical and restrained throughout. TIP!