der wahnsinn hat methode: neuinterpretation der dub-blaupause -super ape-.
nachdem er sich mit sir coxsone, dem legendären chef des kingstoner labels studio one, zerstritten hatte, gründete lee perry zuerst seine eigene band und dann, 1973, im hinterhof ein eigenes studio. was aus der not geboren wurde, entwickelte sich zu einer einzigartigen erfolgsgeschichte. sowohl mit den upsetters als auch dem black ark schrieb perry musikgeschichte, insbesondere durch das 1976 veröffentlichte -super ape--album, auf dem er gewissermaßen das genre dub auf unbekannte weise aus dem mischpult brodeln ließ. für perry ist das studio wie ein lebewesen. ob er es wirklich so empfindet, oder einfach nur zu viel ganja in rauch aufgehen lässt, aber bei perry ist das equipment organisch, empathisch und intelligent. der clou: so hören sich die resultate auch an! lange bevor man das sampling erfunden hatte, schichtete er tonspuren aus tiefen bässen, echos und hall mit diversen, selbst aufgenommenen, gerne rückwärts laufenden klangsequenzen auf-, in- und übereinander. heißt: perry war der erste produzent, der anstatt der band die musik machte. das brachte ihm unter anderem den titel salvador dalí des dub ein. dass der Über-80-jährige bis heute nichts von seiner experimentierfreude verloren hat, zeigt der mit dem new yorker subatomic sound system besorgte re-edit seines meilensteins.

weekend loving from jennifer lara is a perfect blend of boogie funk, roots reggae and lovers rock. produced by black solidarity records in 1985, this album is a masterpiece from the studio one princess. recorded at tuff gong and music mountain studios in jamaica, the rhythm tracks are played by some of the best musicians from the island in the sun: lincoln style scott (drum), errol flabba holt (bass), robbye lyn (piano & synthetiser), dean frazer & ronald nambo robinson (horns). this reissue was carefully remastered from black solidarity master tape, now presented as a double lp 45 rpm dj friendly edition. the original limonious artwork was reloaded and a bonus track was added to complete the set: ’in my time’, an obscure slow synth groove, full of hope and melancholy. jennifer lara was first taken to studio one in 1969 by keyboardist richard ace, who was a session musician. she never left the studio one family and became resident harmonist. she added backing vocals to the songs of some of the camp’s biggest names, including delroy wilson, freddie mcgregor, dennis brown and sugar minott. in 1974, jennifer lara recorded her debut album with coxsone dodd at studio one in brentford road. the results of the sessions appeared on studio one presents jennifer lara, which was an instant success. jennifer lara was one of clement coxsone dodds protégés. one year after coxsone passed, she died at the kingston public hospital. she is survived by two children, daughter ika and son cheka. jennifer lara was a very likeable person, got on with everyone. she was involved in many benefit concerts to help to poor and the needy in jamaica. may your soul rest in peace, we love you jennifer.

this is soul jazz records’ latest new collection of classic and rare studio one recordings and is released on triple lp plus download code.
by the 1970s studio one and clement ‘sir coxsone’ dodd had already proved himself to be the defining force in reggae for almost two decades. from running the downbeat sound system on the lawns and yards of kingston in the late 1950s to opening studio one at 13 brentford road at the start of the 1960s, ushering in ska and rocksteady and establishing the careers of most of jamaica’s artists – everyone from bob marley and the wailers, ken boothe, toots and the maytals, the skatalites, jackie mittoo and more – clement dodd had until this point dominated the jamaican musical world.

as noted on another release (see ropin), cornell campbell has enjoyed one of the longest-running careers of any jamaican singer, and he is blessed with a readily identifiable style too. he began his career for clement ‘sir coxsone’ dodd in 1956, when rhythm and blues held sway in jamaica, and later cut some ska songs for king edwards. he then passed through the sensations in the rock steady phase and worked as a solo singer at treasure isle, before returning to studio one with the eternals, scoring huge hits such as ‘stars’ and ‘queen of the minstrel’ as the 60s gave way to the 70s. his greatest phase of popularity was them brokered by hit-making producer bunny lee, who kept him on top right through the 1970s and into the 80s. the 1975 album dance in a greenwich farm was first issued on the grounation label in the uk. along with a re-working of ‘stars’ re-titled ‘the sun,’ a re-working of ‘queen of the minstrel’ as ‘girl of my dreams’ and the sound system opus that is the title track, the album has the boastful ‘conquering gorgon’ and a number of keenly-observed cover tunes, including a cut of the gaylads’ ‘no good girl,’ a version of the heptones’ ‘why did you leave me’ and a killer cut of the uniques’ ‘watch this sound’ (based on ‘for what it’s worth’ by buffalo springfield).

one of the most important harmony groups in the entirety of jamaican music, the paragons have a long and complicated history. first formed in the ska years by bob andy and tyrone evans as the duo of andy and ronnie, the group soon expanded to a quartet through the addition of howard barrett and john holt, the latter naturally assuming lead duties, following the subsequent departure of andy, holt, evans and barrett made the paragons the quintessential rock steady trio. they had an incredible run of hits for duke reid and coxsone during the mid-to-late ‘60s, and also issued some self-produced work, before holt’s solo career skyrocketed, leaving the group on the back-burner. then, in the mid-1970s, the paragons reformed, cutting material for new york-based labels such as clocktower and clintones, which led to this intriguing album, which saw material recorded in jamaica at harry j for bunny lee mixed with work cut at bullwackie’s studio in the bronx, along with re-workings of classics such as ‘left with a broken heart’ and ‘memories by the score’ is a whole range of new material, dealing with contemporary themes.

one of jamaicas most highly-rated vocalists, alton ellis made an incredible contribution to the islands popular music. blessed with a particularly emotive voice that brings shivers to the spine whether singing original material or cover tunes, ellis was born and raised in trench town, the west kingston ghetto area that gave rise to bob marley and the wailers and countless other singers. ellis and singing partner eddie parkins hit big in 1961 with the ballad muriel for coxsone dodd, and after parkins moved to the usa, ellis teamed briefly with john holt, and then began fronting the flames harmony group. he excelled in the rock steady style, christening the genre with rock steady and i have got a date, bouncing between studio one and treasure isle for a number of years. from 1971, he spent increasing period in london, but continued to record hits in jamaica for various producers. the 1979 release love to share was arranged by the great studio one keyboardist, jackie mittoo, who co-produced the album with junior lincoln, founder of the london-based bamboo label, the disc straddles the line between lover’s rock and roots reggae, remaining a lesser-known classic

one of the sweetest and most idiosyncratic voices in reggae, tenor singer cornell campbell also has one of the longest-running careers of any jamaican recording artist. taken under studio one founder clement sir coxsone dodd’s wing at a very young age, cornell cut his first recordings in 1956, long before ska was even established. he remained based at studio one for many years (working as a label printer as well as a recording artist), and also voiced sides for king edwards in the ska years. he then briefly joined the sensations in rock steady and recorded at treasure isle, before moving back to studio one as leader of the eternals when reggae arrived, cutting huge hits there such as stars and queen of the mistrel, and giving early coaching to slim smith, jacob miller and bassist robbie shakespeare. joining forces with ace producer bunny striker lee in the mid-1970s brought a dramatic new surge in popularity that greatly boosted his profile overseas. the ropin lp was issued on third worlds justice subsidiary in 1980 a sub label set up to handle strikers product in the uk (though hits like mash you down and the title track had been handled in jamaica by joe gibbs). one of the albums outstanding moments is bandulu, an anti-rude boy epic voiced on the late night blues rhythm, while opening cover, just my imagination, has an uncredited toasting portion from errol scorcher.

one of the very first artists to begin recording in jamaica, derrick morgan is beloved as a ska icon and a pioneer of the ‘skinhead reggae’ style. blessed with a rich, deep tenor, which with he belts out his clever and often humorous lyrics, morgan became known on the kingston music scene through vere johns’ regular talent contests, and enjoyed a lengthy run of hits during the 1960s for producers such as simeon smith, duke reid and clement ‘sir coxsone’ dodd (among others), cultivating a popular vinyl feud with prince buster after being brought into leslie kong’s camp by the young jimmy cliff. morgan moved to england during the late 1960s to capitalise on the skinhead reggae craze, but was back in jamaica from the early 1970s, and since bunny lee was his brother-in-law, the two have always maintained a close working relationship. people decision, voiced at king tubby’s studio for lee and released by third world in 1977, sees morgan in politicised roots reggae mode on songs like ‘let’s build a better jamaica,’ the symbolic racetrack drama ‘racing at ballistic park,’ and the title track, which all boosted the socialist policies of the ruling people’s national party, ‘natty dread forward out of babylon’ updates the ‘tougher than tough’ saga, and there’s a slew of rude tunes when you flip the disc, including ‘my dickie,’ ‘rough grinder’ and ‘ride manny fanny.’

this is the second collection to bring together many of the visionary producer clement ‘sir coxsone’ dodd’s early recordings made with jamaica’s most exciting young artists and musicians. the triple 180 gram vinyl release includes a download code.

lascelles perkins was one of the first stars of the jamaican music scene. studio one’s leading balladeer and one of the most underrated singers from that time. lascelles perkins sang sentimental ballads and he scored massive local hits for coxsone dodd’s studio one label. songs like “lonely moments” and “together forever” other big hits followed “the mighty organ” song as a duet with hortense ellis, alton ellis’ sister, “destiny” and a whole catalogue of standards or foreign songs as they were called. lascelles could sing any song, make it seem effortless and at the same time address it in his own unique style.

ein meisterwerk aus dem jahre 1976 wird offiziell als lp-vinyl wiederveröffentlicht. king tubby (bürgerlich osbourne ruddock) ist die lichtgestalt des dub reggae, die tragischerweise am 06.02.1989 im alter von 48 jahren bei einem raubüberfall erschossen wurde. surrounded by the dreads- erschien ursprünglich auf dem wenig bekannten fay music label des produzenten winston edwards und wurde mit den musikern der natty locks band in king tubbys studio eingespielt. auf drei der zwölf stücke sind die stimmen von tony brevett (von den melodians), prince heron und carvin bradford zu hören.

a blistering collection of ska tunes from clement sir coxsone dodds legendary studio one records, jamaicas foundation label of reggae music. featuring classic cuts from the originators of ska - the skatalites, the wailers, lee perry - alongside a heavy dose of superb rarities from the might vaults of 13 brentford road - pure ska fever!

soul jazz records are releasing this latest studio one compilation which features non-step 100% stone-cold classic studio one killers! spanning 40 years of the legendary label, this album is a fitting tribute to clement >sir coxsone< dodd and is a who is who of jamaicaan reggae.

studio one women is the latest in the series of studio one compilations released by soul jazz records. ska, rocksteady, funky reggae, roots, dub mixes, disco mixes, they are all here from the queens of the jamaican music scene. studio one women features a wide mix of classics and obscurities from the finest female voices in reggae. until now most of these tracks have only ever been available as extremely hard to find jamaican 7 inch and 12 inch singles and even if you were lucky enough to find them they d cost you a small fortune! marcia griffiths and rita marley (here with her first group the soulettes) are two of jamaicas most famous female singers hugely popular today. both these artists became internationally famous as the i – threes (along with judy mowatt), bob marleys backing singers alongside the wailers. also featured are hortense ellis, sister of alton who cut many smash hit on the island and jennifer lara, a lady who had a long career with studio one, singing on countless sides until she sadly passed away earlier this year. studio one is the greatest label in the history of reggae and is the foundation of all reggae music. it is where virtually every world renowned jamaican superstar started out, bob marley and the wailers included. under the guidance of the legendary clement >coxsone< dodd the musicians at studio one recorded hundreds of instrumental rhythms which still provide the backbone for many of the records made in jamaica today.

rude boys are synonymous with jamaican dancehall culture from the present day going back to the very early days of sir coxsone dodd and duke reids first sound-clashes in kingston. studio one rude boy features artists and songs about rude boys and rude boy culture from all periods of studio ones history. the album features ska, rocksteady, djs, roots and dub the album features classic tracks from jamaicas finest singers and groups such as the wailers, john holt, the wailing souls, dennis brown alongside super-rare tracks from artists such as mr foundation, dudley sibbley and the soul brothers all recorded under clement sir coxsone dodds supervision at the legendary recording studio and record label. musical backing comes from the legendary in-house bands û the skatalites, the sound dimension, soul vendors and soul defenders û who provide the classic studio one rhythms so influential in the history of reggae

following on from the success of the 100% dynamite series, here we enter the vaults of the most important reggae label of all time, studio one. owned and founded by clement coxsone dodd, studio ones output serves as a comprehensive guide to the history of reggae music. the music on studio one rockers covers all areas of reggae such as ska, rocksteady, roots and dancehall, all areas in which studio one led the field. studio one rockers features many legendary studio one tracks brought together for the first time by soul jazz records.

studio one dub 2 is a second collection bringing together some of the finest dubs from the legendary studio one records, kingston, jamaica. dub music was the creation of a generation of brilliant recording studio engineers in jamaica. but although clement coxsone dodds studio one is hailed as the greatest of the jamaican recording labels, and although many talented engineers worked the board at dodds brentford road studio over the years (including sylvan morris, syd bucknor, overton scientist brown and dodd himself), studio one was never typically known as a centre for dub.

das londoner label soul jazz records graebt tiefer und tiefer in den archiven des wohl wichtigsten labels in der geschichte des reggaes. gegruendet vom legendaeren produzenten clement sir coxsone dodd, gilt studio one als das motown des reggaes, alle moeglichen karrieren nahmen hier ihren anfang, ob bob marley oder the skatalites.

wieder einmal taucht die englische plattenschmiede soul jazz records tief ab in die archive von studio one records, dem wohl beruehmtesten reggae-label. -studio one dub 2- vereint einige der schoensten dub-versionen von songs wie marcia griffiths -feel like jumping-, sound dimensions -real rock- und -declaration of rights- von den abyssinians. in den spaeten 1960er-jahren begann studio-one-labelbetreiber sir clement coxsone dodd die b-seiten seiner singles mit einer instrumentalversion fuer djs zu versehen, damit diese ueber die original-rhythms toasten konnten. versehen mit echo, hall und verstaerktem bass wurden diese dubs bald genauso beliebt wie ihre originale. bald darauf begann dodd mit seinem soundmixer sylvan morris eigene dub-alben mit innovativen dubs und mischtechniken zu veroeffentlichen. auf -studio one dub 2- finden sich jetzt stuecke dieser alben sowie einige klassische versionen der urspruenglichen singles.