• Music

    Various Artists – Tape Rolling! with Bunny Lee and Friends

    January 27, 2022 - By 

    England’s Pressure Sounds continue to release mind-blowingly good reggae compilations.  This one features the production work of Bunny Lee pairing up with such luminaries as Eric Donaldson (whose raw version of Cherry Oh Baby adds grit to the warmly produced original. From the Bandcamp release website: “In 1971, despite his run of hits, Bunny Lee was still having to support himself with freelance producing at Dynamic Sounds, but by 1974 he was fully independent and poised to dominate Jamaican music in the mid 70’s. The tracks on this compilation capture that moment of transition, when the smaller ghetto producers were…

  • Music

    Various Artists – Studio One: Dancing the Ska

    October 3, 2021 - By 

    I can’t think of a music more joyful than ska.  Jamaica’s finest export (next to reggae and its sub-genres, of course) is wonderfully represented on this compilation put together by the legendary Kingston-based record label Studio One.  Lee Perry, Delroy Wilson and The Wailers feature prominently on this comp, and the tracks were produced by the inimitable Clement “Coxsone” Dodd.  Pure joy, this one.

  • Music

    Various Artists: Habibi Funk 015: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World, Part 2

    August 19, 2021 - By 

    Our friends at Habibi Funk are becoming legendary as their roster grows.  What impresses me the most about the folks who run the label is their absolute passion for music from the Maghreb which has been criminally underrepresented throughout the world for decades.  It’s shameful that the labels in the region didn’t think that the rest of the world wouldn’t appreciate such talent, but Habibi Funk are stepping in to right that wrong, and it will hopefully inspire more and more local labels to release their hidden treasures. Have a listen to the tracks above and sample what’s coming down…

  • Music

    Togbe Adjos – Maman Tchamba

    May 14, 2021 - By 

    When reading tags about vodun jazz, a reggae vibe wasn’t exactly what I was expecting.  Still, Togbe Adjos produces an album mixing the rhythms of the Caribbean with those of his native Benin.  This is a mellow but lively album which wouldn’t feel out of place among that massive stack of Trojan Records you have laying around your listening room.  West Africa is perhaps the hottest place in world music these days.  It’s wonderful to see Benin’s musicians receiving more and more recognition.

  • Music

    Various Artists – Color De Tropico Vol 2 Compiled by El Drágon Criollo & El Palmas

    March 2, 2021 - By 

    Spanish imprint El Palmas Music has released this compilation of music from Venezuela that covers reggae, salsa, soul, cumbia and joropo music.  There are two tracks available to listen to until the release date of May 14, 2021, but judging by these, this compilation will be pretty damn good. From their Bandcamp page: El Palmas and El Dragón Criollo once again leave their skin immersing themselves in the musical archives of the” Venezuelan Saudi ”, today almost buried in oblivion, for the defense of prodigious works whose brilliance did not have time to be fully assimilated in the middle from…