dj nyc

Soul Vendors - Swing Easy

Here's a nice infectious roots reggae track by the Soul Vendors called Swing Easy.

Soul Vendors - "Swing Easy"

Track of the day - No More Fighting

Althea & Donna - "No More Fighting"

Brookyln Radio

Been listening to some of the shows on Brooklyn Radio.net, found some cool, different types of music on there.  While I'm not the hugest fan of dub I do like Horace Andy and the reggae infused Thievery Corporation tracks.  Our Father, Our King by Subatomic Soundsystem fits into this style.  Check it out.

Subatomic Soundsystem - "Our Father, Our King"
 

Jenny Taylor - Come Lay Some Lovin' on Me

Here's the track of the day!

Jenny Taylor - "Come Lay Some Loving on Me"

Hopeton Lewis - Groovin' Out on Life

Here's a little pre-happy hour on a Friday roots reggae brilliance...

Hopeton Lewis - "Groovin' Out on Life"

BBC Documentary - The Story of Jamaican Music

If you've ever seen The Harder They Come or Time Will Tell and enjoyed them or are a fan of roots reggae, rock steady and ska you'll love this documentary.

Crate digging turns up another gem: Trojan Box Set Nyahbinghi

When I first started collecting records I didn't really have any idea where to start, you walk into a record store and being passionate about music everything looks great.  Over time you cultivate your tastes and for me what became really helpful was keeping an eye on the record labels that were consistently amazing, Fania, Tuff Gong, Tico, Trojan, Island, etc.  This helped me find so many artists I wouldn't have otherwise discovered back in the pre-digital days, Willie Bobo, Mongo Santamaria, Ray Barretto, Heptones, Toots & Maytals.  If they were on one of the labels I liked I'd be more willing to take a chance on them if I couldn't preview the record before buying it. Now there are plenty of niche labels and a great starting point is dustygroove.com. Lately I've been revisiting some of the Trojan compilations (trying to speed up the end of the NYC winter) and can't believe the Trojan Box Set Nyahbinghi passed me by all these years. 

It's a departure from some of the more commercial roots reggae compilations Trojan has put out and has a much different feel.  Some of my favorite compilations are unique combinations of genres I love, like Panama Calypso and Calypsoul 70.  For this compilation, it's essentially mellowed out roots reggae tracks and african drumming which was utilized in commercial Jamaican music from 1967-1975.  The term Nyahbinghi describes the type of music performed at gatherings of Rastafarians.  It holds core religious and spiritual importance to Rastafarians.  The foundation for Nyahbinghi music includes three specific types of drums, the Fundeh, the Bass, and the Keteh. This particular Trojan compilation diverts a bit from many of the other Trojan compilations in focusing on a less popular sub-facet of roots reggae.  With that said this is certainly not for everyone, but if you're a fan of roots reggae and amazing, unique African percussion, this collection has many gems.  You can hear the full tracks over at Rhapsody and I recommend just letting the songs breathe all the way through, especially Run Come Really and Seventy Two Nations by Dadawah. Unlike other roots reggae collections this is more nighttime listening, so turn the lights down, light the candles, crack out the wine, etc and listen.

My top five favorites are:
Run Come Rally - Dadawah
Rivers Of Babylon - Prince Student (some will recognize this from more popular versions)
Keep Cool Babylon- Ras Michael & The Son Of Negus
Seventy Two Nations - Dadawah -
Starvation - Boston Jack/ Soulites - another great Starvation by the Pioneers here

Honorable Mention: Ossie, Count And His Band - Back to Africa, Pt. 1

Spring almost here in NYC

Here's a nice soul/reggae track from legendary roots reggae singer Johnny Osborne. 

Calypsoul 70: Caribbean Soul

The album is labeled as Carribean soul and calypso but really moves all over from roots funk, disco funk, afrobeat, roots reggae, steel drum style calypso. The fourth track, Calypsoul, captures the essence of the album, jazzy horns, funky light feeling island soul music. Another great album all the way through, my top 2 favorite tracks are 1. The Revolution Of St Vincent - "The Little You Say" and 4. Clarence Curvan & His Mod Sounds - "Calypsoul".

The Revolution Of St Vincent - "The Little You Say"

Clarence Curvan & His Mod Sounds - "Calypsoul"

Quantic Presents Flowering Inferno

This is an excellent album all the way through. Quantic recorded the album in Columbia and the idea was to fuse reggae with light beats, hip hop samples and some jazzy horns.   My top two favorite tracks are Death of a Revoluion and Alegria En Bella Vista, #s 1 and 6. You can listen to a few samples below.

Quantic - Death of a Revolution

Quantic - Alegria En Bella Vista