Wednesday, February 6, 2019
Tuesday, February 5, 2019
M. Geddes Gengras, Sun Araw & The Congos - (2012) FRKWYS Vol. 9 Icon Give Thank
RVNG Intl. – none
For the ninth volume of FRKWYS, a music and film series pairing contemporary artists with those that may have preceded them in style and / or approach, Sun Araw and M. Geddes Gengras meet legendary dub reggae group The Congos in St. Catherine, Jamaica and create the full-length album,ICON GIVE THANK. In conjunction, RVNG will release ICON EYE, a feature film documenting the young musicians’ time spent living and learning The Congos way.
In hindsight, the FRKWYS Vol. 9 timeline takes on dream-like qualities. In a matter of months, the idea for the collaboration was divinely inspired, The Congos reassembled in their original formation, and Sun Araw (earthly name Cameron Stallones), Gengras, alongside filmmakers Tony Lowe and Sam Fleischner, traveled to St. Catherine, Jamaica (45 minutes outside of Kingston) for ten days to undertake the unknown.
What events would transpire in the Portmore neighborhood of St. Catherine can only be described as blessed. The gates opened wide and warmly, the musicians and filmmakers ate, slept, and smoked at The Congos headquarters, their mural-emblazoned studio, home, and spiritual compound. An environment steeped in the Ital lifestyle, Rastafarian reflection and meditation, and a rich community bubbling with musical energy, both young and old artist would learn an unspoken creative language.
Having recorded some loose musical themes in LA to help inspire the creative process, Stallones and Gengras could only count on the shared respect for the sacrament of music to guide their work with The Congos. This respect is the foundation upon which Sun Araw & M. Geddes Gengras meet The Congos - ICON GIVE THANK is built.
GIVE THANK is not a dub reggae album, though it shares some of the genre's production characteristics. Rather, it's an album of Stallones and Gengras's melodically experimental meditations ornamented with The Congos' soulful vocal leads and four-part harmonies. The four kings of the The Congos share the vocal throne over the course of GIVE THANK. "Congo Ashanti" Roy Johnson tenor, Cedric "Bongo" Myton's falsetto, Watty Burnett baritone, and Kenroy "Tallash" Fyffe cosmic vocal glue command singularity and create an essence combined.
The visual companion to the musical fruit of GIVE THANK is ICON EYE, a feature-length travelogue executively produced by Christine Vachon (Killer Films) and Randall Poster & Gelya Robb (Search Party Music). Shot by Lowe and Fleischner, ICON EYE evokes a musical and cultural intersection through refracted atmospheres and a feeling of magical, rhythmic synchronicity. ICON EYE shares dubbed-out editing techniques inherent in the reggae sub-genre, rendering a visual "version" of the album.
Through the diaristic yet cinematic lens of handheld HD cameras, secret moments from the studio, fishing villages, late night dances, abandoned hotels and The Congos' yard are blended into a strange tapestry. Musicians, computers, children, and food reveal mystical resonance. ICON EYE is the first RVNG Intl. film production. Director / editor / cinematographer Lowe and producer / cinematographer Fleischner previously collaborated on Below the Brain (2011), a documentary about Brooklyn Carnival.
Naffi Sandwich - (2013) Hoochie Pooch/ Space Alligator: Freddie Viaduct at Naffi H.Q., 1979-83
EM Records – 1116
Delving further into the Brenda Ray/Naffi multiverse, here is Hoochie Pooch/Space Alligator. This release focuses on the contributions of Freddie Viaduct to the delightfully strange world of the variously-named Naffi Sandwich/Naffi, the former being the earlier incarnation of the group as a trio, the latter a duo. Less vocal-driven than the poppier D'Ya Hear Me! tracks, these mainly instrumental pieces emphasize the group's "instant or not at all" ethos, an emphasis on spontaneity and in-the-moment freedom, allied with the creative freedoms offered by the band's ever-growing mastery of their Naffi H.Q. recording studio. The strong influence of American Funk and Jamaican Roots music is clearly felt in Viaduct's forceful and spacious bass playing; Jamaica is also present in the dub-influenced use of reverb, echo and other effects. Captain Catchpole's drums and Ray's multi-instrumental work fill out the trio sound, resulting in a pleasingly vast aural territory, with the aforementioned Reggae/Dub elements blending with Euro-improv, Free Jazz and Post-Punk viruses to create a subtly mind-bending, rhythmically compelling, and texturally varied DIY dandy, described as "weird instrumental psychedelic dub-up reggae funk" by one learned aficionado
Originally released on cassette and vinyl and extremely rare, released under the Naffi Sandwich and Naffi monikers, the tracks have been compiled here, along with two previously unissued pieces and three previously unissued full-length versions, as Hoochie Pooch/Space Alligator and are presented for your listening pleasure in LP vinyl and CD formats, with the CD featuring two bonus tracks
This release is a vital companion piece to D'Ya Hear Me!, the two releases together providing the yin-yang dichotomy essential to full comprehension of the Naffi Sandwich circle
Nazamba - (2018) Vex 12''
Pressure – 004
Vex is the debut 12" from NAZAMBA, a fire and brimstone dub poet from Kingston, Jamaica who will drop a full album with France's O.B.F. sound system in the fall. The riddim is produced by G36, an anarcho-dub collective from Nagasaki, Japan who also have their own EP incoming on PRESSURE.
The spirit of Prince Far I reincarnated, riding a sci-fi steppa that relentlessly aims to flatten all floors. Nazamba's angry rant against the global epidemic of morally bankrupt, indelibly corrupt politicians, is a straight shot to Babylon's head...
The spirit of Prince Far I reincarnated, riding a sci-fi steppa that relentlessly aims to flatten all floors. Nazamba's angry rant against the global epidemic of morally bankrupt, indelibly corrupt politicians, is a straight shot to Babylon's head...
New Age Steppers - (2012) Love Forever
On-U Sound – 1021
New Age Steppers release their new album, Love Forever, through the label on Monday 27th February 2012. Led by the legendary Ari Up this is the group’s fifth album, their first since Foundation Steppers in 1983 and the last record Ari worked on before sadly passing away in October 2010.
Ari, the New Age Steppers, Adrian Sherwood and On-U Sound have a long shared history. Producer Sherwood and Ari Up first met in 1978. As Sherwood put it, “Ari really stood out in the crowd partly for her appearance but more so for an almost unhinged enthusiasm for the music.”
Sherwood and Ari Up, the lead singer of the formative British all-female punk-group, The Slits, would go on to form a long-lasting friendship and musical partnership. Ari- Up featured as part of the original On-U collective which recorded under the guise of the New Age Steppers. The Steppers recorded 3 other album’s for the label, their eponymous debut in 1980, Action Battlefield in 1981, Foundation Steppers in 1983 and during that time the band also featured the likes of Mark Stewart, Neneh Cherry, Bim Sherman and Keith Levene.
The culmination of 30 years of friendship and love between two of Britain’s brightest and creative cult-talents, the recording of Love Forever began a few years back when Sherwood and Ari met again in the U.K. and started work on the track Conquer.
In 2008 Ari Up was diagnosed with cancer yet her unquenchable passion for music remained un-dimmed and she maintained they would finish the album they had begun.
Sherwood flew to Jamaica where Ari had lived since the early ‘80s where they finished the recording; Sherwood later completing the production the following year.
Love Forever is a track on the very first New Age Steppers album and often, when Ari signed anything; it would read
"Love Forever...Ari".
Noah House Of Dread - (1982) Heart
On-U Sound – 020
Noel Ellis - (2006) ST
Light In The Attic – 020
Noel Ellis evoked a transcendent majesty, and the album’s economical performances were a blessing compared to certain overproduced recordings of the era. Tasteful keys, varied percussion, essential echo, conquering dub changeovers, and Noel’s impeccable mic control gave an otherworldly twist to Summer’s remarkable drum and bass sound. It was an end-to-end burner for midnight tokers and cool rulers alike.
Pazy And The Black Hippies - (2012) Wa Ho Ha
Secret Stash Records – 026
While Reggae music had its prominence in 70s Nigeria, it was highlife and Fela Kuti's afrobeat that gave the country its own musical national identity. Originally from Southern Nigeria’s Benin City, Edire “Pazy” Etinagbedia and his band The Black Hippies released their second LP, Wa Ho Ha on EMI Nigeria in 1978 building on a body of work that effectively glides between these styles creating an incredibly unique record that has become a cult classic. Wa Ho Ha features Pazy and his Black Hippies engaged in call and response vocal anthems all backed by incredibly deep rock steady grooves and afrobeat rhythms filled with funky horns and psychedelic guitar accents. Recorded in the legendary EMI Nigeria studios, Wa Ho Ha typifies the 70s Nigerian sound enthusiasts the world over have come to know and love, but puts an inimitable twist on it.
This rare gem has been lovingly remastered and the original art work painstakingly restored. Used copies seldom appear on the market, and when they do, it’s usually in small private circles and you could put yourself through a semester or two of community college for what it costs to obtain a beat-up copy.
This rare gem has been lovingly remastered and the original art work painstakingly restored. Used copies seldom appear on the market, and when they do, it’s usually in small private circles and you could put yourself through a semester or two of community college for what it costs to obtain a beat-up copy.
Philip Smart - (2016) Meets The Agrovators At King Tubby's
Jamaican Recordings – 059
Phillip Smart was one of the great engineers to learn his trade as understudy to the
legendary dub master himself Osbourne ‘King Tubby’ Ruddock. Alongside otherluminaires such as Prince Jammy and Scientist, Phillip Smart would step in at the
controls when demand for King Tubby studio dubs grew to such an extent that
each single release was expected to carry a version/dub flipside.
Phillip Smart was born and raised in the Havendale area of Kingston, Jamaica.
He initially worked alongside artist/musician/producer Augustus Pablo who grew
up in the same area. In the early 1970’s at the height of the dub revolution Prince
Phillip Smart as he became known was in the thick of it and engineered many dub
classics that flew out of the door from King Tubby’s studio. It was often re-workings
of producer Bunny ‘Striker’ Lee material that would be versioned for the flipside of
a release and was often the side that was in demand at the various Sound Systems
across Jamaica and exported around the world.
Phillip Smart moved to the United States in the late 1970’s, aroumd 1981 opened his
highly successful studio HC & F, on Long Island, New York. It produced some sizable
Jamaican Dancehall hits for his two record labels TanYah and Eclipse. Tracks like
Dirtsman’s ‘Hot This Year’ and ‘Rikers Island’ and most notably artist Shaggy used
the studio to work up his massive hits ‘Oh Carolina’, ‘Big Up’ and ‘Angel’.
But it’s in the heady days of the early 1970’s and up to 1976 that we concentrate for
this release. When Version was King and Prince Phillip Smart was at the controls
mixing up some fine dubs with Jamaica’s finest musicians The Aggrovators.
Working some of producer Bunny ’Striker’ Lee’s rhythms in fine style…
Prince Far I - (1978) Cry Tuff Dub Encounter Chapter 1
ROIR Europe – 129
The Thirteenth release on Pressure Sounds is one of the all time great dub albums Cry Tuff Dub Chapter One was produced by Prince Far I aided and abetted by Adrian Sherwood. The album is one of the first collaborations by Sherwood and Far I and also one of their strongest. Far I's rhythms were always powerful and formed the backdrop to some of his most popular deejay hits always using Jamaica's top session musicians. Cry Tuff Dub Chapter One is no exception with Sly Dunbar and Flabba Holt as the rhythmic powerhouse, Crucial Tony on guitar (Tony was later to become one of Creation Rebel) and Doctor Pablo on melodica. It was out of these early Far I records that the foundations for both Creation Rebel and the Dub Syndicate were laid.
Sadly Prince Far I was murdered in Kingston Jamaica in 1983, another victim of Kingston's political violence, allegedly for painting out political slogans painted on the wall outside his home. However the strength and vitality of his music lives on and we are pleased to be able to re-release one of finest dub albums.
Cry Tuff Dub Chapter One is unique amongst Pressure Sounds releases in that it will be presented in it's original sleeve with never before seen pictures of the Prince in the accompanying eight page booklet. With sleeve notes by Harry Hawke this is a top quality Pressure Sounds release.
Prince Far I - (1998) Health And Strength
Pressure Sounds – 018
During the late seventies stories were circulating amongst reggae producers, record companies and artists about a huge demand for Jamaican music in Africa. Rumours of sales exceeding one hundred thousand albums were common and U Roy's 'Natty Rebel' and 'Madness' by The Maytones were supposed to have sold in huge quantities. In reality few knew the true sales figures. Suddenly however, Virgin Records with one John Lydon in tow turned up in Jamaica and seemed to open the cheque book and be signing anyone that was capable of breathing into a microphone. Island Records expanded their already fairly large 'reggae roster' and companies like Chrysalis entered the arena. Seemingly every major company was signing a reggae act.
On the surface all looked well. Studios in Jamaica were working non-stop. Tape after tape arrived at London based record companies ready to be released. Virtually overnight things went wrong. The Governments of Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and the Ivory Coast imposed a complete ban on the import of 'luxury items' - this included records.
The record companies in London had signed the artists on deals that allowed them to do what is known as 'drop the artiste' - meaning either accept the next album and pay the agreed amounts of money - or simply not accept the next recording and then to tell the artiste/producer that they would not be releasing any future works.
This resulted in a flood of releases and many recordings being 'shelved' in other words unreleased for financial or political reasons which brings us to 'Health And Strength'.
Dating from 1978/79, the master tape almost from the time of delivery disappeared. Despite requests for the tapes whereabouts - no luck. Prince Far I's widow similarly drew a blank - the tape seemed lost. During a conversation with Pete Stroud aka Dr Pablo in early 1997 I said how tragic it was that a truly classic Prince Far I album was lost forever. Pete was aware that Richard (one of the original Hitrun staff) had made a cassette copy at the time from the original master tape and had it in his drawer at home. What?
We took the cassette to On-U Sound studio and listened in amazement, the quality was better than we could ever have hoped. In transferring the cassette to DAT and SADIE systems virtually nothing more than a little equalization and editing was necessary - 'Health and Strength' was found.
This is a truly classic Far I album, ranking alongside 'Psalms For I' and 'Under Heavy Manners'. 'Frontline Speech' and 'Weatherman Tam' were both Cry Tuff 7" Jamaican singles, 'Brother Joe' features Gregory Isaacs in a witty snipe at producer Joe Gibbs (Far I at one time was the security guard at Joe Gibbs Studio). There are several other cuts that have a Gregory Isaac's connection: 'House Of Jah' being a version of Gregory's 'Handcuff' and 'Health Warning' utilising Gregory's 'Sacrifice' rhythm.
The album features a version of George Calstock's 'The Ungodly' as 'Clean Hands Pure Heart'. We are also treated to Far I singing 'Easy Squeeze' and 'When The King Comes On Earth' where he is joined by Blackskin the Prophet deejaying against Far I's apocalyptic lyrics.
Having thought this album was lost forever I am truly delighted that it has been found for us all to hear and enjoy.
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