Lee "Scratch" Perry RIP

The Upsetter

As others have commented, Lee "Scratch" Perry was so full of life and boundless, crazy genius-level creativity and talent that it seemed like he would be walking this Earth forever. So his death on Sunday, August 29, 2021 at 85 feels like a sucker punch to the head (forgive us for taking you for granted, "Scratch").

His musical legacy as producer, songwriter, dub master, and performer is almost unparalleled in the history of reggae music. And the vast body of work he leaves in his wake--surely a daunting endeavor to consume in its entirety--is a magnificent gift that will keep on giving to anyone exploring or rediscovering his music for eons to come (the 1997 3xCD compilation Arkology, which collects the top cuts he recorded at his Black Ark studio, is an amazing place to start).

I'm certainly not alone in thinking that Perry's greatest productions were The Congos' Heart of the Congos ("Children Crying" is one of the most brilliant reggae cuts ever recorded) and Max Romeo's War Ina Babylon (ditto for the title track). I'm also partial to The Upsetters' Super Ape (1976), Perry's Roast Fish, Collie Weed & Corn Bread (1978), and his collaboration with Adrian Sherwood and the Dub Syndicate Time Boom X De Devil Dead (1987).

I reviewed a fair number of Scratch's recent releases and reissues for this blog, which are linked below. While his output in his later years may not have matched the heights of the Black Ark years, it was still incredibly good and often extraordinary. All of these releases are worth checking out.

Lee "Scratch" Perry: Heavy Rain LP (2020)

Various Artists Black Ark Days: Play On Mr. Music LP (2020)

Max Romeo Revelation Time reissue (2020)

The Upsetters with Vin Gordon Musical Bones reissue (2020)

Lee "Scratch" Perry: Rainford LP (2019)

Lee "Scratch" Perry with Peaking Lights and Ivan Lee Life of the Plants EP (2019)

Lee "Scratch" Perry: "Big Ben Rock" 7" (2019)

Lee "Scratch" Perry: The Black Album LP (2018)

Lee "Scratch" Perry: Game of the Throne EP (2018)

Lee "Scratch" Perry and Subatomic Sound System: Super Ape Returns to Conquer LP (2017)

Various Artists: Sound System Scratch: Lee Perry's Dub Plate Mixes 1973-1979 LP (2010)

If you need a refresher on Perry's life and musical career, make sure to read the excellent Perry obituaries in The Guardian by Peter Mason and New York Times by Jon Pareles.

Play on, Mr. Music!

+ + + +

Duff Guide to Ska Fast Takes: The Upsetters with Vin Gordon "Musical Bones"

Studio 16
LP
2020

(Review by Steve Shafer)

Musical Bones is part of a trilogy of instrumental albums--along with Kung Fu Meets the Dragon and Return of the Wax--that Lee "Scratch" Perry produced in 1974 at his own legendary Black Ark studio, which he had just completed building in the backyard of his home in the Washington Gardens section of Kingston in late 1973. These three albums were first released in 1975 in the UK on Dip Records (a London-based label operated by JA ex-pat Dennis Harris) in extremely limited numbers--only 300 of each LP were pressed (Musical Bones and Return of the Wax on white labels with "Upsetters" stamped on them) and, of course, are now almost impossible to find. While the other two albums in this trilogy were Bruce Lee/Kung Fu movie-inspired tracks (Kung Fu Meets the Dragon, in particular, is a great set of dubby reggae instrumentals featuring Augustus Pablo's melodica, and all sorts of odd and wonderful sound effects), Musical Bones differs in that it's almost single-mindedly focused on Vin Gordon's extraordinary and emotive trombone playing throughout, with The Upsetters providing the rock solid reggae foundation that allowed Gordon to strut his jazzy, improvisatory stuff on. Perry played it very straight as producer here--his wild and unorthodox production tendencies are fully in check; this is Gordon's showcase. Several tracks are immediately recognizable: "Coco-Macca" is a loose cover of Don Drummond's "Green Island"; "Fly Away" is a version of Sound Dimension's evergreen "Real Rock" riddim (Gordon, of course, played on the original); and "Raw-Chaw" is a medley of sorts of The Skatalites "Addis Ababa" and Don Drummond's "Eastern Standard Time." Others cuts are quite good Perry originals, including "Labrish" (which he had also used for a single with Bunny "Striker" Lee) and the lovely "5 Cardiff Crescent" (Perry's address in Kingston), which sports some fantastic piano playing by Winston Wright and is the one track on the album where the horn line is fully incorporated into the song (as opposed to riffing over the riddim). Despite having performed on an amazingly large number of essential ska and reggae recordings, Vin Gordon's own studio output is relatively limited, so it's terrific and fitting to have Musical Bones and his official 1980 debut Way Over Yonder (which I reviewed) back in print for fans to appreciate and devour after all of these years. 

Duff Guide to Ska Bullet Points: Vin Gordon, Park Rangers

(Reviews by Steve Shafer)

• Despite having been Studio One's trombonist-in-residence following the tragic death of Don Drummond, and performing on hundreds of key recordings for top ska and reggae acts (including Lee "Scratch" Perry, Bob Marley, Burning Spear, The Heptones, The Ethiopians, Culture, Big Youth, Horace Andy, Mad Professor, Mighty Diamonds, Bob Andy, Keith Hudson, Augustus Pablo, Max Romeo, King Tubby, The Skatalites, Tommy McCook and the Supersonics, Alton Ellis, The Revolutionaries, Aswad, and many more), Vin Gordon's public profile has never quite matched that of his peers Drummond and Rico Rodriquez (he's only mentioned a few times in Steve Barrow and Peter Dalton's Reggae The Rough Guide and Colin Larkin's The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae for playing on other people's records--and doesn't even have his own entry in either book; while Gordon's nickname "Don D., Jr." is meant to be complimentary, perhaps it has kept him trapped in Drummond's shadow). Many ska and reggae fans know his trombone sound, but not his name. Recent collaborations with producers/musicians Al Breadwinner and Nat Birchall--including last year's superb African Shores (read my review of it)--have helped to rectify this situation, and Studio 16's reissue of Vin Gordon's masterful 1980 debut album Way Over Yonder (vinyl LP, Studio 16) should seal the deal. Produced by Errol "ET" Thompson (who also was the recording engineer on much of Rico's Rico Jama a few years later), backed by a fantastic band including Lloyd Parks, Sly Dunbar, Winston Wright, Bobby Ellis, and Tommy McCook, and released on Joe Gibbs Music, Way Over Yonder is a brilliant instrumental reggae album that makes judicious use of solos to show off Gordon's incredible chops without overpowering his bandmates' excellent performances. In addition to Jamaican jazz versions of standards like "Easy Living" and Lovable You," this album features two amazing medleys, "Fiddler Rock" (AKA the "Swing Easy" riddim, which is the song "Tradition" from Fiddler on the Roof) with "Real Rock" (Gordon plays on the original Sound Dimension riddim; ET adds some ocean wave effects that work quite well); and the standards "Summer Time" and "Blue Moon." Gordon also covers one of Don Drummond's greatest compositions "Green Callie" (AKA "Green Island"), as well as his "Confucious"--and there's a lovely original by Errol Thompson, the title track "Way Over Yonder." This album has been out of print for years--original pressings are almost impossible to find, so make sure to grab a copy now. Gordon's Way Over Yonder deserves an honored spot in your collection right next to Rico's Rico Jama and Drummond's The Best of Don Drummond. 

• Anyone who picked up Little Roy's Battle for Seattle--an album of phenomenal roots reggae Nirvana covers produced by Prince Fatty and Mutant Hi-Fi (read my review of it)--knows that since Kurt Cobain and co's songs contain great, enduring melodies at their core, they're ripe for being recast within wildly different musical genres. Japan's Park Rangers' new single "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (vinyl single, Parktone Records, 2020; available through Juno Records), which Little Roy didn't cover, is a terrific companion piece to Roy's LP for fans who want more of this. Park Rangers' skinhead reggae version of this grunge-pop staple channels Jackie Mittoo and Winston Wright--so much so that you'd think that the copyright on the label is dated 1969. The flip side is a stripped down reggae take on Kool and the Gang's 1974 hit instrumental "Summer Madness" (one of the most sampled R and B hits of all time) that keeps the original's signature synth washes and multi-octave upward glissandi. There are cool Japanese spoken word bits in the mix, too. On a related note, in 2016 Park Rangers (AKA Inokasira Rangers) released an awesome digital album full of instrumental skinhead reggae covers of classic punk and post-punk cuts called Rangers Patrol 1977​~​1982 UK! Highlights include their versions of The Clash's "(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais," Dexys Midnight Runners' "Geno," The Undertones' "Teenage Kicks," The Buzzcocks' "What Do I Get," Ian Dury and the Blockheads' "Sex and Drugs and Rock'n'Roll," The Jams' "The Bitterest Pill," and their extraordinary deconstructed cover of The Damned's "Neat Neat Neat," which is Prince Buster meets James Brown and The Upsetters.

+ + + +

Duff Guide to Ska: Year of Reviews--2019--Part V: Mark Foggo's Skasters, Lee "Scratch" Perry!

(Reviews by Steve Shafer)

Mark Foggo's Skasters Ska Pig Returns (LP, Jump Up Records, 2019): For anyone counting, Mark Foggo's Skasters released their debut album Ska Pig 30 (!) years ago (I first encountered them in '89 on Skank Records' Ska For Ska's Sake compilation), hence the title of their new album, Ska Pig Returns. Throughout the decades, Foggo and Co. have been remarkably consistent in creating album after album of incredibly high energy, sing-song-y, slightly demented, but always entertaining 2 Tone-influenced ska (think Madness' "Land of Hope and Glory"/"Baggy Trousers" meets Ian Dury and the Blockheads' "Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick"/"Reasons to Be Cheerful, Part 3") and their latest record doesn't disappoint! There's a stomper about encountering a woman on a train and thinking "she was the one, I was sure" but having her turn out to be the dreadful Theresa May and telling her off; a song about trying to make the best of things in increasingly dire times what with the planet dying and "Trump as boss" ("Eat Up Your Weeds": "Things are never as bad as they seem/But you never wake up from this one bad dream..."); and "Dum Diddy Die," a powerfully dark nursery rhyme of nonsensical sounds and disturbing couplets ("I've got to get a gun/And I got and fight the enemy/There's a very good chance/That maybe it's the end of me." But then there's the upbeat "Do The Monkey" (detailing the indignities the monkey in the zoo must suffer to get on); "London" is a really lovely, New Wave-tinged, unconventional tour of London ("Saw the queen and changed the guard/Breaking in, it wasn't hard/I just used my Oyster card/Had to beat the Scotland Yard/When I tried to steal the crown/The Beefeaters came and cut me down"); while the awesome "Rats and Mice" is about taphophobia, a fear that was much more widespread during the Victorian age ("Please build my coffin air-tight/But leave me for the rats and mice/And put me in a shallow grave/In case there's been a mistake/And I'm still alive!"). As you might infer from all this, Mark Foggo's Skasters' Ska Pig Returns seems like a blast--'cause it is!

Lee "Scratch" Perry Heavy Rain (LP/CD/digital, On-U Sound Records, 2019): This is the wild and massively good dub version of Perry and Adrian Sherwood's recent collaboration Rainford (reviewed by the Duff Guide here)--that actually overshadows its source material (and they include a few new cuts, too!). Heavy Rain plays to Perry and Sherwood's strengths as versioners; they're masters at revealing the dub versions not represented by, or hidden within, the official version (even if they created it in the first place). Perry and Sherwood have made space for the Rainford tracks to recombine, mutate, and augment--and their work reimagining the songs and adding effects, and blips and beeps both natural and synthesized is nothing short of brilliant. The deserved attention-getter is the incredible "Here Come the Warm Dreads" (the dub of one of Rainford's best tracks, "Makumba Rock"), with Brian Eno (get the punny title of this track now?) working his magic on everything coming out of your stereo's right channel. Perry's anti-capitalist/greed broadsides are largely traded in for the truly great Vin Gordon's melancholy, yet all-vanquishing trombone lines--and Gordon's playing is nothing short of magnificent on the now jauntier "Crickets in Moonlight" (original: "Cricket on the Moon"). Perry's "Autobiography of The Upsetter" is transformed into "Heavy Rainford," a wonderful conversation between a bluesy harmonica and reggae trombone (Vin Gordon, again!). The three new tracks that they slip in here are of the same calibre and fit in seamlessly. "Dreams Come True" is a slumberous cut that creates a musical twilight zone between the real and imagined (and this is apparently some of what Perry sees: "Mick Jagger/Tripe and banana/Rolling home from work work/Feeling kind of peckish/Flying to his home/To have his favorite dish/Ackee and saltfish"). "Above and Beyond" features both violin and sax lines ebbing and flowing over a strutting riddim, while "Mind Worker" (Perry: "I move brains and I transfigurate minds") has these amazing jazz piano breaks in the midst of a serious reggae groove. Heavy Rain has to be the best reggae album of 2019 and is certain to go down in history as another Perry/Sherwood masterpiece.

+ + + + 

Duff Guide to Ska: Year of Reviews--2019--Part IV: Vin Gordon

(Review by Steve Shafer)

While Don Drummond and Rico Rodriguez may be more familiar to ska and reggae fans than Vin Gordon (AKA Don D., Jr.), there's no doubt that they've heard Gordon's trombone playing, as he's performed on hundreds of crucial ska, rocksteady, and reggae recordings (that's him on the foundational "Real Rock" riddim with Sound Dimension) and helped establish the classic and enduring Jamaican ska and reggae trombone sound, along with Don Drummond and Rico Rodriguez, who were fellow alum of Kingston, JA's Alpha Boys School's music program under bandmaster Lennie Hibbert. (Gordon's Discogs entry is over 20 pages and includes his work on classic releases for just about every significant reggae artist you can imagine, including Lee "Scratch" Perry (he both performs and has writing credits on Scratch's latest albums, Rainford and Heavy Rain), Bob Marley, Burning Spear, Aswad, Coxsone Dodd (he was Studio One's main trombonist), The Heptones, The Ethiopians, Culture, Big Youth, Horace Andy, Mad Professor, Mighty Diamonds, Bob Andy, Keith Hudson, Augustus Pablo, Max Romeo, King Tubby, The Skatalites, Tommy McCook and the Supersonics, Alton Ellis, The Revolutionaries, and many more--he even recorded a ska LP during the 2 Tone era, which I picked up in the late '80s). Having said that, the number of albums released under Gordon's own name are relatively few, given his talents and the scope of his career.

UK reggae producers/musicians Al Breadwinner and Nat Birchall (a celebrated jazz performer in his own right) had this in mind as they were planning their next Sounds Almighty album of roots reggae instrumentals with Gordon--and decided to turn it into a full-on Vin Gordon album instead. What's wild is how this record came together. Birchall composed the instrumentals for the album, and then he and Breadwinner recorded the rhythm tracks (Birchall on bass, piano, percussion and Breadwinner on drums/percussion, guitar, organ, and piano). Then Vin Gordon joined them in their analogue studio, listened to each cut a few times and came up with his horn lines on the spot (in old school Studio One fashion), which were then recorded in a day--and the horn melodies were added later by David Fullwood (trumpet), Stally (bari sax), and Birchall (tenor sax). The result, Vin Gordon's African Shores (LP/CD/digital, Tradition Disc, 2019), is a phenomenally good and moody roots album that's similar in sound and vibe to King Tubby's and Lee "Scratch" Perry's mid-'70s output--and showcases Gordon's virtuoso, improvisational playing floating over razor sharp riddims. All of these tracks are relatively spare and uncluttered--allowing for ample space between the notes--and feature almost hypnotic bass lines and beats. The majestic "African Shore" and its "Gold Coast Dub" evoke unending, wide screen coastlines of an extraordinary continent that is the ancestral home for the African diaspora and whose resources, natural and human, were wickedly exploited by white Europeans. "Styler Man" is a ringer for a classic Skatalites tune ("Dubbing Style" is its pair), while "Spill Over" is funky reggae like Jackie Mittoo used to do. I have no idea what the mysterious "Gusum Peck" refers to (its companion "Voodoo Man in Dub" suggests something to do with syncretic religion), but it sounds fantastic, in all senses of that word. Like its title suggests, "Sa La Vie" features a gorgeous, laid-back, "come-what-will" melody (and pace) that's the perfect closer to an album that somehow frees the listener to slow down and experience whatever feelings, memories, or dreams this set of songs conjures up whenever they're played. Here's hoping that Birchall and Breadwinner keep on collaborating with Vin Gordon and showcasing the exceptional talents of this true legend of ska and reggae.

+ + + +

Duff Guide to Ska Fast Takes: Dennis Bovell, Daytoner, JonnyGo Figure, Prince Fatty and Earl 16

(Reviews by Steve Shafer)

Even though I saw "Babylon" weeks ago at its ridiculously long-delayed US premiere at BAM (the film was originally released in the UK in 1980, but not shown in America, presumably because its black protagonists sometimes respond to racial oppression/abuse from white people/institutions with violence), images and scenes from the movie continue to haunt me. While its plot is fairly straightforward ("Babylon" follows a group of working class black friends/musicians who run a sound system and are subjected to racist abuse from just about everyone--bosses, neighbors, and the police), it has a stark realism to it--between being shot on location in run-down Brixton (often in difficult-to-film low-lighting conditions, but somehow always maintaining visual crispness and its warm and vivid color tones); the depiction of the ubiquitous societal/institutional racism freely expressed toward black Britons circa '79/'80; great, funny dialogue (with lots of Jamaican slang--which was subtitled); and the spot-on, relaxed performances by all involved, it could almost be a documentary. And, of course, the film's hard-to-find soundtrack is outstanding (with Yabby U, I-Roy, Cassandra, Aswad, Vin Gordon, Michael Rose, Dennis Bovell, and more; also, the film's protagonist Blue is played by Aswad's Brinsley Forde and a rival sound system DJ is Jah Shaka). Before I caught the film, I tracked down a German copy of Babylon in decent shape that wasn't too costly. Side two, in particular is stellar and happens to contain the two Aswad and three Dennis Bovell cuts. But the official Babylon OST (vinyl LP, Chrysalis Records, 1980) doesn't contain all of Bovell's music for the film. So, in conjunction with the US premiere/release of the movie, Dennis Bovell issued the nine-track digital album Babylon: The Original Score (Old School, 2019) containing the entire score he wrote and recorded for this soundtrack (including six songs that did not appear on the 1980 Chrysalis LP). It goes without saying that all of these tracks are excellent and heard in snippets in the film (Bovell is a master of catchy melody and mixes/shifts between musical genres with ease), but I'm particularly grateful to have the ska cut "Runnin' Away" (featured during the dance scene at Lovers' engagement party in the church hall and sounding like one of the '50s rock/rhythm and blues-influenced tracks Laurel Aitken would have released in the early '60s); the funky, strutting "School Skanking" (check out that harmonica!); and the righteous roots reggae of "Living in Babylon" (a clear-eyed recounting of the brutal challenges of being black and poor in racist Ingland). Needless to say, this album is essential and absolutely deserving of being issued on vinyl someday (please!).

+ + + +


Daytoner's terrific versions of Marcia Griffiths' "Feel Like Jumping" and Phyllis Dillon's "Perfidia," which they've retitled "Perfidious" (7" vinyl single, Friday's Funky 45/Cabin Pressure, 2019); I found a copy at Rock and Soul in Manhattan) inject just the right amount of early '90s hip hop/De La Soul-like beats and samples so as to give these ska and rocksteady classics new life. And they're sure to draw new fans to the dance floor without alienating the ska faithful.

+ + + +

Brooklyn-based reggae singer/DJ JonnyGo Figure (who's also a member of Megative and has collaborated with The Frightnrs and Full Watts Band) has released an excellent EP of early '80s sounding roots reggae and dancehall (that one could imagine being issued on Greensleeves, circa 1982) called Crucial Showcase (12" vinyl/digital, Bent Backs Records, 2019). On the Yellowman-ish "Vinyl Lover," JonnyGo Figure speaks to his real-life obsession with records and how that came to be ("Mi love vinyl and mi play it fe fun/Mi love vinyl and I never have a gun"). The rootsy "Natty Take Over" is about discovering and embracing Rastafarianism ("Mr. Babylon to move over/This a Natty Dreadlocks take over/When I was a boy they used to say I'd amount to nothing/But now I'm a man they're starting to see that I am something/Look out, look out, Natty taking over..."). He's ready to join with his peers to fighting for a more equal and just society in "Revolutionary Youth": "I tell ya, stand up! Stand up!/Strap up on de Armagideon boot/The time now, we have to recruit/Come on, we chant it, chant it/Come on and let we seek de truth/If you ready, let me see you salute/I'm a revolutionist...Time to start a revolution, boy/'Cause that's the only solution, boy." And knowledge of one's own mortality looms large in "Jam It Up"--there's an expiration date on all of us, so it's best to live a righteous life full of joy in His music: "One day I'll die, no matter what me say/You know, say papa Jah, he the only way I say, so/Come on let me play a Jah Jah music/Let me jam it up..." There's much to ponder while grooving to JonnyGo Figure's seriously good music.

+ + + +

Released for Record Store Day 2019, Prince Fatty and Earl 16's "Be Thankful for What You've Got" b/w "Be Thankful Dub" (7" vinyl single, Evergreen Records, 2019) is a cover of William DeVaughn's 1974 smash soul hit, which was also covered by Bunny Clarke in 1974, Winston Curtis in 1984, Massive Attack in 1993, as well as sampled by numerous hip hop artists. The song's brilliant lyrics have been perennially popular for their depiction of aspirational cool in the face of deprivation (and, no doubt, for evoking a particular era--I remember seeing this exact model of Cadillac in the Bronx in the '70s):

Just be thankful for what you've got
You may not have a great big Cadillac
Diamond in the back, sunroof top
Diggin' the scene
With a gangsta lean
Gangsta whitewalls
TV antennas in the back

You may not have a car at all
But remember brothers and sisters
You can still stand tall
Just be thankful for what you've got

This spectacular version features a bright and brisk reggae beat (plus a few laser effects) that contrasts wonderfully with Earl 16's beautiful but bittersweet vocals about proudly hanging tough in tough times. The harmonizing on the chorus is incredible, lightly conveying the sadness/loss in all that could have been if things only worked out another way. Apparently, the reason Prince Fatty and Earl 16 decided to record it was because they discovered it was a favorite of both of theirs--and it shows in this gorgeously constructed track and its fantastic companion dub.

+ + + +

Interview with Smiley and the Underclass!

Smiley and The Underclass
From right to left: Smiley, James Shepard, Jay Hirano, Ryan Windross (who
just recently left the band; Derek Daley has taken over on bass).

(Interview by Steve Shafer)

We recently reviewed Smiley and the Underclass' incendiary debut album "Rebels Out There" and wanted to learn more about the band that created it. Fortunately, singer Smiley and lead guitarist James Shephard were kind enough to take the time to answer our questions (James via email; Smiley by recording his answers in an mp3 file). Read on to find out what drives them to write political songs (and not love songs); how Vin Gordon came to play on a few of their tracks; and which ska/reggae records they'd risk life and limb to save if their house were on fire...

The Duff Guide to Ska: Which bands/albums influenced Smiley and the Underclass’ sound (and how would you describe your music)?"

Smiley: "I can only speak for me, but I listened to a lot of Clash records when I was writing the early songs. I know James loves blues. We all quite like Nirvana, I suppose. Just because he did a lot with not that many lyrics and just the sound is raw and intense. Love Iggy Pop and old reggae. Tons and tons of dub--Scientist, King Tubby, Keith Hudson, anything tough. We want to make something that sounds new. We want to make something that sounds chaotic and of the time.

I don't know how we describe our music. Some people called it a skabilly. I think that might have even been you guys. Punky reggae is the most obvious thing, but we're definitely not a reggae band because we haven't got any keys or horns, for one thing. And we're not really a punk band because I don't know if you can be a punk band in 2017. Maybe it's more punk to be a cruise ship singer, at this point."

James Shephard: "I know Smiley loves classic reggae like me and also The Clash were a big influence for him. I listen to loads of stuff from all genres but blues, jazz, and reggae are probably most obvious. It's the little things though--maybe people won't spot a Sonny Sharrock or English folk influence, but it's all in there!"



DGTS: "When I first heard “It’s All England,” I thought it was primarily about embracing multiculturalism (which it is, in a way, right?), but after a read of lyrics, it seems to be more about being disenfranchised in one’s own country and insisting that you belong, no matter what your race, class, religion, etc. Is that a fair interpretation? What inspired you to write this song from this perspective?

Smiley: "'It's All England' is to my mind saying, yeah, it doesn't really matter where you come from, as long as you're peaceful and kind--then you're welcome in my society anyway. See, at the time of writing it that was sort of, at least it seemed to be maybe just in a metropolitan bubble or whatever they call it, that seemed to be the way society was going. Now, looking back at it, and it's only been well, not long at all since the first EP came out and only about five years, six years since I wrote the song. Yeah, the country's changed man, changed a lot. It is easy to feel disenfranchised in this country, like when you go outside of the cities and you go to any seaside town, be it Hastings, Eastbourne, you know, you see the same old shit. You see one street where there's a couple of shops left and the rest is, I dunno, modern decay shopping centres and potholes of dirty water in it.

It's weird how we are all disenfranchised in one way or another, that they're able to--and by 'they' I mean the sort of neo-right wing agitators like Farage--how they're able to use that disenfranchisement against one group, when it is all of us who are struggling in this tide.

I don't really know what inspired me to write 'England' because it came out mostly as a freestyle when I was busking on Camden High Street, before the band actually formed. I remember doing "Night Nurse" by Gregory Isaacs, which is a pretty standard late night busking interpretation and it's A minor in G, so it's easy and it just morphed into the chorus. I can't remember if I wrote the verses afterwards, I probably did. So, yeah, 'I don't know' is the answer to the question."

James: "Those are Smiley's lyrics, but I see it as a celebration of where we're from without the superstitious belief in this "England" we've been sold."

DGTS: What were you listening to/reading/watching while writing and recording “Rebels Out There”?

Smiley: "During the album recording, I think I was probably listening to what I normally listen to, which is old reggae. I'm a big freak for reggae vinyl especially the Wackie's label. So, if any keen readers want to send me some Wackie's vinyl, you know you know where to go. I don't really remember what I was reading, probably something lame like a Joe Strummer biography to get me in the mood."

James: "I was reading George Clinton's autobiography and listening to Dezarie, Midnite, and a lot of artists from the Virgin Islands, as well as Robert Glasper, Julian Lage and some other recent jazz stuff. And loads more, we're always listening!"

DGTS: Many of Smiley and the Underclass’ songs urge the listener to take action to better the environment, society, how we treat each other and ourselves. Clearly you believe that music can change people's attitudes and behaviors. Can you name/recommend several records (from any genre and any period) that you believe have had this kind of impact?

Smiley: "Yes, I do think music can change the world for good and for bad. I think you can see that going back probably to the dawn of man and music being used as sort of energizing opposing sides in battle. You can think of music like Fela Kuti's, which actually spawned and support social movements. You can think of smaller things, like influencing other people to write music. So, it's changing people's lives on a real grassroots level. Just changing one person's life at a time, maybe hearing a record and so you want to become a musician. And also if you check big movements these days, going back to the Occupy Movement I suppose to now, social media and any rising social movement sort of is accompanied by at least, you know, two or three--I hesitate to use the word hit song--but some kind of some kind of music video or something, which in turn spreads and goes viral. So, I guess in that way it can change the world. I don't know, but it has yet to form the utopia that we're all dreaming of, that we're singing about. I don't think music itself can change a person--only a person can do that. It can maybe unlock certain perspectives of certain ways of understanding that you hadn't thought of before. But so can a car accident. Yeah, it's a tough one. I don't know. I don't know is the honest answer.

Records that have maybe had that kind of impact on my life--Bob Dylan bringing it all back home because it made me think I could pick up a guitar. And a lot of the punk stuff as well. And, you know, going back again, as we always bloody do, to reggae music. The idea that people have so little in such trying circumstances can create something so beautiful and everlasting is testament to the power of music and its ability to impact people's lives in a very real sense, in a survival sense. And that's something that we have yet, I think, to grasp in this country. At least on a rock and roll, white boy level. Anything outside of fucking grime. "

James: "I feel music and any other art can influence us all in big and small ways. It can happen in obvious ways, but I think the high level creativity of people like Coltrane or The Beatles in the sixties might have affected people and their behaviour without them literally interpreting lyrics or trying to dress like the artists."

DGTS: Some bands shy away from taking political stances in their music for fear of alienating an audience. What drives you in the opposite direction? What compels Smiley and the Underclass to speak out about all of the injustice around us?

Smiley: "What compels us to speak out? Well, we're all weird looking, that's my theory. So, we don't write that many girls songs. Although, we've got some coming. Don't worry, I'm winking right now. I don't know. You know, we live in this fucked up time with this fucking mad, madman as president of the United States. We've got chaos at home and abroad, as they say. So, what else are you going to sing about? You know what else is going on. It's not the 90s, like Jay [Hirano, the band's drummer] says, you know. If we wanted to fuck, then we listen to Sam Cooke."

James: "If a child tells another child to stop pulling a cat's tail, is that political? Speaking only for myself, I have very little interest in politics."

DGTS: Some of this album was recorded at Mick Jones’ studio? How did this come about?

Smiley: "We met Mick Jones because Ladbroke Grove is a small place and it was Gary from the Rotten Hill Gang who introduced us. Yeah and he's a cool guy. Nice bloke. I fear we may have busted his guitar. Sorry, Mick!"

James: "Mick Jones showed an interest in helping us and naturally we felt very honoured. I hope we don't let him down!"

DGTS: Likewise, Vin Gordon appears on at least one song on this album. How did you arrange this?

Vin Gordon

Smiley: "We met Vin just through good luck really. We met [Nick] Manasseh, first through Jay's car accident and he just happened to be in town for Notting Hill Carnival and Manasseh recommended we get a hold of him--and I think even fronted us an extra 50 quid, so we could book him. And, it was cool, man and they came in and his ring tone was the "Real Rock" riddim, which was hilarious. And, yeah, it was a great thrill to sit on the sofa in the recording studio and watch someone from Studio One times do his thing. So, he did "England" and he also did "Party Gone Wrong," which is something on our first EP, which has got a really nice tasty Manasseh dub, as well, for all you bass heads."

James: "Well, I know Vin Gordon from the London reggae scene, but Smiley made that link. I like how the song starts with a minor key anti-Elizabeth national anthem and later has a solo from probably the most prolific trombone player in reggae. Pretty hip don't you think?"

DGTS: If you could only save five of your ska/reggae albums from a fire in your home, which ones would they be (and why)?

Smiley: "That's a really difficult question and I've subsequently from reading this question gone and looked in my record cupboard and I have to ask does this include 45s? Does this include singles? For now, I'm going to say Harry Mudie Meets King Tubby's In Dub Conference, Volume One; Prince Buster's Fabulous Greatest Hits; The Light of Saba two-disc compilation they put out on Honest Jon's; and any of the Soul Jazz Studio One compilations. If you want to know my taste in 45s, we can do another interview, 'cause that can take up the whole thing."

James: "Don't know if it could only be five, but for the sake of discussion Praise Ye Jah by Sizzla by for the sublime flow, conviction, and energy that seemed to burst out of the young Miguel Collins. Very influential for me. Below the Bassline by Ernest Ranglin, because it's a great way to hear him and Monty Alexander on a laid back thing. Africa Unite by Bob Marley for the songs, arrangements, production, and vibe! Marcus Garvey by Burning Spear, same reasons as above, but more rootical! The Garnet Silk best of double CD on VP I think. One of my favourite singers ever--Dennis Brown's Words of Wisdom probably as well, but that's more than five."

+ + + +

To hear more of Smiley and the Underclass' music, check out their videos for "Jump the Barrier" and "Machiavelli Blues."

+ + +

Duff Review: Smiley and the Underclass "Rebels Out There"

CD/LP/digital download
Bredda Records
2017

(Review by Steve Shafer)

I knew I probably was going to like Smiley and the Underclass' LP when my mail ordered copy arrived in NYC from the UK with the following request on the back of the mailer: "Dear Mailman, if you pass Trump Tower, stick a middle finger up for me." (Hopefully, he or she complied!)

London's Smiley and the Underclass occupy the same fantastic punk 'n' reggae space as The Clash, The Ruts, and Citizen Fish--and are equally as outspoken in the face of injustice as those aforementioned bands. Their fiercely good debut album Rebels Out There (engineered by Nick Manasseh) is filled with indelible songs of outrage and lament over our thoroughly screwed up world--societal breakdown ("Babylon is Spiraling Out of Control") and environmental apocalypse ("Another Kind of Human") loom on the horizon throughout the course of these songs--but the band often posits that the solutions to these myriad issues will only come about if the listener becomes involved and takes action. However bad it is out there, it's not hopeless (yet).

Indeed, on the anti-conformist title track, Smiley repeatedly wails "Are there any rebels out there?" and then urges the listener, "Don't pay your mortgage, don't pay your tax/Take your money out of their banks/Know your neighbours, secret town halls/People means us, politics means wars/Real rebels grow food, don't eat that shit/from a pale faced clown who wants to kill off the kids/Mother nature's dying while we're running this race/Can we look our grandkids in the face?" Likewise, in the brilliant "Want Stuff/Make Stuff," Smiley and the Underclass want to shake you out of apathy/complacency to actively lead your life, no matter what your station or circumstance: "We're living and swimming within a time that's getting harder/No money, austerity, predatory while the rich hide in the larder/But I love ya, I love ya, no matter where you're heads at today/So I say/Want stuff? Make stuff/Want love? Make love/Want truth? Make truth in the booth..." (presumably both the voting and recording booths). And there's a great environmental plea wrapped within ("So, all I really got to say in case the Earth should pass away/Please be kind and use your mind and plant a zillion trees a day!"). Do be sure to check out all of their song lyrics on their Bandcamp page (they're not included with the LP).

Other standout tracks include "It's All England" (featuring Vin Gordon on trombone), which is about feeling and being disenfranchised in your own, completely familiar land ("When I think of England I don't think of black cabs and cops/I think of chain links and locks/Dirty looks and chicken shops, tower blocks/and a wrap of weed in my socks"); the skabilly "Machiavelli Blues" (what you get when you live in a society that values duplicity and self-interest above all else); the Jim Morrison referencing "No-One's Getting Out," a song from the perspective of life itself (as if it were a character in "The Seventh Seal"); their powerful cover of Johnny Osbourne's "Truth and Rights"; and the gleeful, you-have-to-sing-along anthem of empowerment and rebellion, "Jump the Barrier."

People looking for potent protest music for the Trump/May era need look no further than Smiley and the Underclass' dynamite Rebels Out There.



+ + + +

Duff Guide to Ska Fast Takes: Hopeton Lewis "There She Goes" b/w Vin Gordon and The Supersonics "Reggay Trombone," Johnny Clarke and the Flying Vipers "Highest Region" b/w "Highest Version," Mungo's Hi Fi featuring Johnny Clarke "Rain Keeps Falling" b/w "Spring Shower Dub"

(Reviews by Steve Shafer)

Hopeton Lewis "There She Goes" b/w Vin Gordon and The Supersonics "Reggay Trombone" (heavyweight 7" vinyl single, Trojan Records, 2017): This limited edition Record Store Day 2017 release boasts two unreleased Duke Reid productions from Treasure Island's archives. As both cuts are fantastic, one wonders why they lay hidden until now (perhaps the almost ridiculous abundance of incredible music in JA at the time made it difficult to choose what to release?). Lewis' sprightly rocksteady track (love the combination of flute and sax here) masks the heartache of the lyrics: "There she goes/And I'm lonely once again/There she goes/And I don't know where she's going/But she's gone, gone, gone." "Reggay Trombone" spotlights Vin Gordon's t-bone chops as he's backed by Tommy McCook's Supersonics on this cheerful and lively early/skinhead reggae instrumental. (Copies are still out there to be had at reasonable prices.)

Johnny Clarke "Highest Region" b/w Flying Vipers "Highest Version" (green 7" vinyl single, Jump Up Records, 2017): Phenomenal roots singer Johnny Clarke is supported by Boston's reggae/dub masters Flying Vipers on this excellent single (unofficially titled Johnny Clarke Meets Flying Vipers). The atypical and unsettling beat and stripped-to-the-bone dubby instrumental backing on "Highest Region" provides a sharp contrast to Clarke's plaintive chant of "We want, we want, we want to go home/To Zion, away from Babylon" (the restlessness and unease in the music won't be calmed until there's deliverance from evil). Its dub "Highest Version" is even further deconstructed to great effect. This is definitely one of the more unusual dub releases you'll find this year and very much worth owning.

Mungo's Hi Fi featuring Johnny Clarke "Rain Keeps Falling" b/w "Spring Shower Dub" (7" vinyl single, Scotch Bonnet Records, 2017): For Record Store Day 2017, Glasgow-based Mungo's Hi Fi created a fantastically spare and seductive new roots riddim track for Johnny Clarke to sing his message of love over ("Rain keeps falling/And my body is calling/You're my one and only/I don't want to be lonely/You're my pride and joy/We were meant to be/Life is just for living/Love is what I'm giving"). Notably, this cut and its great dub version feature the "flying cymbals" that harken back to Clarke's first hit in 1974 with Bunny Lee, Earl Zero's "None Shall Escape the Judgement." As to be expected, Mungo's Hi Fi and Clarke deliver nothing short of the best.

Confirmed US and UK Record Store Day 2017 Ska and Reggae Releases

This year's Record Store Day is right around the corner (4/22/17), so the powers that be have finally revealed the official list of releases that will see light of day and, in some cases, may work their way into your record collection (and your hearts?).

Below, please find the official list of RSD 2017 ska and reggae releases for the US and UK that may be of interest to Duff Guide to Ska readers.

Happy hunting next week!

US Releases

Creation Rebel: Starship Africa 12" (On-U Sounds)
Ken Boothe, Dillinger, Leroy Smart, Delroy Wilson: White Man in Hammersmith Palais 7" -- Features one hit from each artist named-checked in The Clash's song of the same title. (Greensleeves)
Mad Professor: Mad Professor Meets Jah9  LP (Greensleeves)
Peter Tosh: Legalize It LP -- Pressed on red, yellow, green striped vinyl with scratch and sniff inner sleeve. (Brookvale Records)
U-Roy: Dread In A Babylon LP (Get on Down)
Various Artists: House of Joy 15 x 7" box set (Studio One)
Various Artists: Recutting The Crap LP (Crooked Beat Records)
Various Artists: Studio One in Hi Fi 5 x 7" box set (Soul Jazz)

UK Releases

The Congos: Heart of the Congos LP -- This version features the original mix. (VP Records)
Creation Rebel: Starship Africa 12" (On-U Sounds)
Georgie Fame: R and B at the Ricky Tick 65 LP (1960s Records)
Joe Higgs: "Invitation to Jamaica" 7" (Pressure Sounds)
Hopeton Lewis/Vin Gordon and The Supersonics: "There She Goes" b/w "Reggae Trombone" 7" -- Both tracks are unreleased. (Trojan)
Ken Boothe, Dillinger, Leroy Smart, Delroy Wilson: "White Man in Hammersmith Palais" 7" --Features one hit from each artist named-checked in The Clash's song of the same title.
(Greensleeves)
Madness: "Drip Fed Fred" b/w "Johnny the Horse" 7" (Salvo Music)
Mungo's Hi Fi featuring Johnny Clarke: "Rain Keeps Falling" 7" (Scotch Bonnet)
Revolutionaries: Green Bay Dub LP (Burning Sound)
Various Artists: House of Joy 15 x 7" box set (Studio One)
Various Artists: Tighten Up, Volume 2 Picture disc LP (Trojan Records)
Yabby You: Songs of Love and Unity 5 x 7" box set (Pressure Sounds)

+ + + +

Duff Review: Max Romeo "Horror Zone"

Cover by Tony Wright, who created the album art for
"War Ina Babylon," Junior Murvin's "Police and Thieves,"
Lee Perry's "Super Ape," and Bob Marley and the Wailers'
"Natty Dread."

Nu Roots
2016
Heavyweight Double LP/CD

(Review by Steve Shafer)

There's really no need for Max Romeo's new album Horror Zone to be pitched as a (very long-overdue) sequel to his iconic 1976 collaboration with Lee "Scratch" Perry, War Ina Babylon, as this conscious, roots reggae record is astonishingly good in its own right. But since his post-Babylon falling out with Perry--and despite working in the years since with an array of name producers, like Jah Shaka, Tapper Zukie, Mafia and Fluxy, even Keith Richards--Romeo hasn't come close to matching the greatness of War Ina Babylon (or his extremely underrated 1975 album Revelation Time, also known as Open the Iron Gate, which I think even outshines Babylon). So, gently forgive the necessary marketing hype that is being employed to bring attention to an album genuinely deserving of it.

Romeo's key collaborator/secret weapon on Horror Zone is UK producer Daniel Boyle, who recreated Lee Perry's analog Black Ark studio set-up in his Rolling Lion studio for a series of recent albums he produced for Scratch (including the 2014 Grammy-nominated Back on the Controls) and uses it tremendously well for Romeo's recordings (so much so that they sound like warm and vital contemporaries of Revelation Time and War Ina Babylon). Occasionally, you catch familiar bits of Perry-like arrangements or percussive passages or sound effects (in the intro to "What is Life?" I hear The Congos "Fisherman")--but these are the contextual underpinnings (in a version-mad genre!) supporting terrific new tunes. Hatchet buried, Perry himself contributes percussion, backing vocals, and effects on many tracks and their dubs here, as do several members of Perry's band The Upsetters, including Vin Gordon on trombone, Robby Lyn on keys, and Glen DeCosta on sax.

Even though humanity more or less survived the seemingly apocalyptic late 70s, now forty years on--when man-made climate change has replaced nuclear war as the likely means of our self-destruction--Max Romeo (71 years old and in great vocal shape) still finds much to lament, as not much progress has been made. "What If" chillingly opens the album with these lyrics:

"What if I tell you that the world is in trouble
What would you say?
And what if I tell you that you will die tomorrow
What would you do today?

What if this was the start of the Armageddon?
Tell me, would you be prepared?
If all the things that said is true
Tell me what are we to do?

Said it's the system that sets it so
And don't you forget you know
What if the sun no longer shines
And there's darkness all the time?

Then all life on earth would perish
And all humanity would surely vanish
No more thunder and no more lightning
No more wind and no more rain

No more stealing, no more killing
No more stars that shined above
What if I tell you..."

And Romeo is just getting started. Horror Zone is packed with sharp, potent lyrics full of empathy for the downtrodden and oppressed, often delivered in wonderfully catchy and buoyant songs. He decries how badly those with power treat the less powerful--depriving them of basic needs and rights, or sending them off as cannon fodder for their wars--but also points out how we choose to act in wicked ways and how poorly we treat each other and ourselves (the myriad dangers of smoking tobacco cigarettes are defined--"I have a friend who has a daily pack/I tried to tell him that he should not/No matter what I say, he wouldn't stop/Now he's laying in a cemetery in a numbered spot"--as much of Rastafarianism is concerned with maintaining a healthy body).

Max Romeo--photo by Nick Caro

In this supposedly populist age (note the "mad as hell"/"Network" reference toward the end of the song!), Romeo has penned an anthem to rally the beat down/complacent people to band together for some sort of revolution to overthrow Babylon's/Western society's corrupt and greedy system--"Fed Up":

"Fed up, fed up
Can't take no more
I said we are fed up
Can't get no more

For too long we sat here
And taking all the crap
This cruel and unusual punishment
Certainly have to stop

We wake up every day
With the beat of the same old drum
Uninspired people sit
And waiting for the Lord to come

No hope of survival
No chance to rise
Wondering and thundering
Will our children survive
Under this wicked and brutal system
That Babylon provide

Time for us to get serious
And take it to the streets
Time for Babylon to understand
There's no surrender or retreat

It's either or either
We will do or we will die
Put your heads out your windows
Now with one big voice we cry

Yes, we are fed up..."

Much like Black Uhuru's song of the same name, Romeo's critique of Babylon continues in "What Is Life?"--particularly how our systems of government/economy purposefully deny vast numbers of people the basic things they need for a decent existence, restricting them to lives full of nothing but deprivation and misery.

"What is life?
Here today and gone tomorrow
What is life?
When you have to spend it all in sorrow
What is life?
When you have to live it out on a limb
What is life?
Without love, it don't mean a thing

Is this life?
The way we are forced to live
Is this life?
When we ain't have nothing to give
Is this life?
When you always live in wants
Is this life?
When poverty always haunts

Are you happy to see your children hungry?
And the house is always empty
And the bills are piling high
And the little children all are cryin'--'cause their tummies are empty
I said their tummies are empty

What is life?
When you have to scratch just like a chicken
What is life?
When there's no food left in the kitchen
What is life?
When there's no water in the main
What is life?
When you have to live it under strain"

Mournful violins introduce the tragically beautiful and evocative "The Sound of War." Listening to this track, you can almost see the biblical-looking Max Romeo on a bluff overlooking the valley below that is soon to become a combat zone, describing all he witnesses. With its references to wars waged to supposedly spread/protect freedom and democracy, one also can imagine this song is aimed at the United States' disastrous, Bush/Cheney-led imperialist occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan (and the disposability of its soldiers afterwards...).

"I hear the sound of war
Echoing over yonder
It make I man stop and wonder
I heard the sound of a bomb
That sound like thunder
The flashing like that looks like lighting
The rolling of the guns across the plains
And the children so confused
And the elders not amused

Is Babylon unleashing all its might?
Destroying everything in sight
I can feel the agony of the people
Cowering with fear
Destruction everywhere
When two governments disagree
The people get least
No one listen to their struggle
Whenever this is war the children perish
Losing everything they ever cherished

They send your sons and daughters to die
On the battlefield
All in the name of freedom
All in the name of democracy
Those that make it back
Is shown no mercy
Living in the streets like rat
Nowhere to rest their pack"

My favorite cut on the album is the joyous (despite the lyrical content) title track, "Horror Zone" (that has echoes of Willie Williams' "Armagideon Time"/Sound Dimension's "Real Rock" riddim within), which places a lot of the blame for our current mess on our own choices and for failing to follow a righteous path.

"Cloak and dagger
Skull and bones
Drifting in
The Horror Zone

We seem to forget the reason we're here
Why Jah has given us this earth to share
It's more than enough for us to take part
But for the glory of Jah we all have come short

We seem to focus on just violent tings
Destroying the fabric of humanity
We never stop for a moment to think if it's right
The terrible things we do in Jah Jah's sight

Men have conjured many concepts
Forgetting that Jah should be shown respect
They come up with little gimmicks that sound so real
But when you take up stock it's your soul they steal

Beware of false prophet, Jah has warned us
Not everything that glitters turn out to be gold
Sometime decision come back to haunt us
The words have been written and the story been told

Cloak and dagger
Skull and bones
Drifting in
The Twilight Zone
All that matters
Is left alone
Cause men bow down
To wood and stone"

The album proper finishes with a prayer of thanksgiving/warning to the unrepentant: "Give Thanks to Jehovah" (or else).

Horror Zone is accompanied by track-for-track dub versions (on a second LP in the vinyl version), all expertly crafted by Boyle (I really like "What is Dub?" in particular). Several feature Lee Perry on vocals and effects ("What If Version," "Horror Zone in Dub," and "Give Thanks Dub"), which take them to a whole new level of wonderful, otherworldly weirdness.

Somehow, all of the stars aligned for Max Romeo's phenomenal Horror Zone to come to fruition, so do all that you can to track down this (somewhat hard-to-find in physical form) album. You don't want to miss out--Horror Zone is likely destined to become a new roots reggae classic.

+ + + +

2013 London International Ska Festival: March 28-31!

The London International Ska Festival--celebrating its 25th anniversary this year--returns to the UK capital city this Easter weekend (March 28-31, 2013). This year's festival features four main shows, plus a series of associated events, including cinema, DJ all-nighters, a record fair, Thames cruise, kids days, and exhibitions--all taking place at iconic and famed London venues! Tickets are on sale here.

Here's the AMAZING schedule. Much more is still to be added, so be on the lookout for updates. Make your way to London this March if you can!

Day 1: Thursday March 28 - 7pm-11pm
Rico Rodriguez performing Man From Wareika in its entirety
The Sidewalk Doctors (UK)
DJ David Katz
at The Jazz Cafe, Parkway, Camden, London NW1

Club night DJs and venue TBA

Day 2 - Friday, March 29
Studio One Special (Venue TBA)
BB Seaton (The Gaylads/Bibby and The Astronauts)
Vin Gordon and more TBA

Day 2 - Friday, March 29 - 10pm-4am
International Ska Review!
Buster Shuffle (UK)
Pannonia Allstars Ska Orchestra (Hungary)
Bombskare (Scotland)
Skylarkin Sound System w/DJ Derek and Count Skylarkin
and more TBA!
at The Garage, Highbury Corner, Islington (opposite Highbury and Islington tube)

Day 3 - Saturday, March 30 - Daytime Event TBA

Day 3 - Saturday, March 30 - 7pm-11pm
Trojan Explosion!
Freddie Notes (Trojan Records/"Montego Bay")
Intensified (UK)
The Upsessions (Netherlands)
and more TBA
at The 100 Club, 100 Oxford St, London W1

Day 3 - Saturday, March 30 - 10pm-6am - Allnighter!
Tribute to Duke Vin: The LISF Sound System Conference 2013
Sponsored by www.lionvibes.com Reggae Vinyl Heaven

- The Sound System Room
Metro w/Eddie Regal (Metro Sound)
Gladdy Wax
Ras Digby (Sir Jessus Sound)
Jumbo (Java Hi-Power)
Tighten Up Crew w/Champian (Jamdown Rockers)

- Room 2
Mungo's HiFi
Wrong TOm
at Islington Metal Works, Torrens St, Islington N1
(behind Angel tube station)

Day 4 - Sunday, March 31 - Daytime event TBA
Do the Dog Music Special
Cartoon Violence (UK; offical album launch party)
The Splitters (UK)
Robb Blake (UK)
at The Dublin Castle, Parkway, Camden, London NW1

Day 4 - Sun, March 31 March - Evening event TBA
The Great British Ska Explosion
100 Men starring Mik Whitnall (UK)
Maroon Town plus special guests--members from The Loafers and more (UK)!
The Toasters (USA)
Potato 5 DJ set
at Dingwalls, Camden Lock, London NW1

+ + + +

Acts Confirmed/Still to be Programmed
Pama International (UK)
Mr. T Bone and The Young Lions (Italy)
Razika (Norway)

Sound System/DJ Sets Confirmed/Still to be Programmed
Lynval Golding (The Specials)
Rhoda Dakar (The Bodysnatchers/Special AKA)
DJ Cellos Coast to Coast
Little Diane (Ace Cafe)

+ + + +

Festival Background
Originally launched in 1988, The London International Ska Festival returned to critical acclaim in 2011 and has featured Ken Boothe, Marcia Griffiths, Dave and Ansell Collins, The Pioneers, Rico Rodriguez MBE, Jerry Dammers (The Specials), Don Letts, Lynval Golding (The Specials), Neville Staple (The Specials), Neol Davies (The Selecter), Laurel Aitken, Owen Gray, Rhoda Dakar (Bodysnatchers/Special AKA), Ska Cubano, Hotknives, The Loafers, Dub Pistols, The Dualers, Potato 5, Buster Shuffle, and The Skints, amongst many others.

From its birth in Jamaica, ska has come a long way, morphing and inspiring every generation and reaching all corners of the world. The festival will once again showcase all that ska has to offer--from its roots in rhythm and blues, mento and calypso, to the Jamaican originators, the progression through rocksteady and reggae, 2 Tone, ska-punk and right up-to-date with 21st century ska sounds.

For uptodate info and tickets go to: www.londoninternationalskafestival.co.uk

+ + + +