Drei Soundsystems auf zwei Floors, VoKü und mehr.

@ the Soundsytem Floor:
MoonBass hi+fi meets Graograman HiFi + Special Guest: KING DAVID
inna “Roots Reggae / Steppas Dub” STYLE

@ the Rocksteady Lounge:
Freedom Fighter Soundsystem present
Goldfinger, Peculia Man und Dr. Jekyll
inna “Rocksteady / Jamaican Ska / Reggae” FASHION

@ Kili Wiesenweg 5-7 / Berlin, S-Bhf Ostkreuz @ 23.3. — 22 pm

Mehr Infos auf FB.

melancholic, despairing and hopeful, first class conscious Roots Reggae with wailing organ, heavy rhythms, dreamy vocals, and a message

hatte ich mal über Taj Weekes geschrieben. Hier ist das neue Video vom Album “A Waterlogged Soul Kitchen”. Professioneller und leider etwas weichgespült im Vergleich zu tunes wie “Hollow Display” (charmant-dilettantisches Video hier), das fette, blubbernde “Angry Language” oder “Orphans Cry“, trotzdem noch sehr gut.

Im Record Collector ist eine wunderhübsch aufgemachte Liste mit 10 Toptunes pro Jahr, das Jamaica unabhängig ist, erschienen. Die Auswahl ist nett und die Preise wirken realistisch, was an der Mitarbeit von Michael de Koningh und Mike Atherton liegen dürfte.

Jamaica was declared independent on 6 August 1962. Celebrations of the nation’s 50th birthday – in typically exuberant style – have been going on all year. Despite the best efforts of its athletes, writers, artists, chefs, comedians and actors, and the legions of less celebrated but no less vital figures who have exported their labour worldwide, there is no doubt that it’s the music of the island that has really made Jamaica’s mark on the world.

Incredible Boss Sounds. The King does Rock Steady and deep Roots. Wait til you hear “Crying in the chapel”. Via.

Der Jamaica Observer berichtet über Ken Boothe neues Album:

SINGER Ken Boothe is getting ready to release Journey, his latest album. Recorded and produced at his Kingston home studio, the album, according to Boothe, is a statement on his life. [...] Known to most fans as a rocksteady and lovers rock artiste, Boothe goes contemporary, trying some dancehall on Journey. “There is nothing wrong with dancehall music. It’s a 80/20 thing,” he said. According to Boothe, 80 per cent of the genre is good, but the problem is the 20 per cent. “That 20 per cent can mess you up,” he said.

Jamaica’s greatest new artist of the last couple of years is going to release a LP on Peckings, soon. I guess the tunes are going to be similar to what Tarrus did for Peckings on 7″ (Chocolate, on the “Hold on” rhythm by the Maytals, Leslie Kong production).

The Jamaica Gleaner describes how Reggae is less and less appreciated in Jamaica:

“Dem selector yah a kill the music where it come from. Reggae music is the foundation and it should be included in the juggling like any other genre. A lot of foreigners have been asking me ‘why when they come to Jamaica they don’t hear reggae music?’ When I am abroad it is different because it is played in the dancehall in Trinidad, California and Europe,” Warrior King said.

Beth Lesser is going to publish her book “Rub-A-Dub Style: The Roots of Modern Dancehall” for free on her homepage in two weeks. Watch out!

This July, the book “Bunny Lee: Reggae Going International 1967 – 1976″ by Noel Hawks and Jah Floyd is going to be released.

Omnipresent on the Jamaican music scene for over four decades, Bunny Striker Lee is one of the most important figures in the industry. He started producing records in 1967 and struck his deal with Island Records in 1968. He was one of the first Jamaican producers to break into the national charts and holds the record for the longest consecutive spot at number one in the Jamaican charts with ‘Stick By Me’. This is the unembellished story of the legendary Reggae icon, told to and inscribed by Noel Hawks and Jah Floyd over the course of five years.

No further information so far.