Back catalogue: Dancehall/Ragga

Review: Strap in for this potent new 7" from Killa B which brings the energy across to fizzing new dancehall cuts. The a-side 'Speedy Love' sounds quite a bit like an early Missy Elliott production but reworked into a dance hall framework. The vocals are menacing and delivered with a snarling edge over snappy snares and hefty bass. On the flip is a version called 'Blow You Mind' that is only subtly tweaked - the vocals take on different characteristics but the rhythms remain punchy and compelling.

Review: Sister Candy's lost gem 'Keep Bubbling' has been dug out from some forgotten vault lost in time, and we're here fort. The killer jam was originally released 1984 on Raiders Records. It's that one which has been remastered here under special licence from Sir Lloyd and Sister Candy. It's got the flabbiest of bass ends you can imagine with great ragga vocals up top. The version is a real head twisting, filter heavy workout and the a DJ Sports remix brings a mad jungle breakbeat to blow your speakers apart and end the EP in style.

Review: Sister Nancy is one of few trailblazers who helped pioneer the the female facet of reggae. 'Bam Bam' is a reissue of her seminal debut single, which features her signature sound of roots reggae and dancehall, raileing against the male-dominated 80s scene with its ribbing hook and slapping instrumental. The B-side 'Stalag Version' dubs out the A, versioning it into a gloomy, bass-heavy hypnosis.

Review: Swordman Kitala serves up a couple of red hot dancefloor fillers here. known as The Uganda Connect, he comes with these straight from Kampala's active underground hip hop and dance scene to a vinyl only and limited edition new 7" via Bump 'n Grind Wax. Both cuts find him at the point where dance music and sound systems meet. Opener 'Chidongo' has militant drums and off-kilter claps with industrial tones all topped off with potent, quickfire lyrics. Charles Benjamin steps up to the flip with a remix of Swordman Kitala's 'Bade' to make this a red hot pick up.

Review: Zed Bias has been a bass, dub and garage king since forever, but his star shows no signs of diminishing any time soon. For this one he has worked with Shumba Youth on a new single that finds him dipping into a world of dancehall and ragga. 'London Town' is heavy, with real bass weight, churning drums and fizzing digital synths under the superb bars from Shumba who muses on the state of London right now. Next to that are slithering leads and sci-fi pads to make for a fine future vibe. The acappella is served up on the flip for DJs who want to play.

Review: Samory I, one of Jamaica's most promising reggae artists to watch, releases his eagerly-awaited solo debut album Strength. The LP follows Black Gold, his 2017 collaborative album with the iconic producer Rory 'Stonelove' Gilligan. Named after Samory I's affectionate moniker for his son, Strength is an 11-track storied opus produced by esteemed Jamaican producer Winta James, whose credits include hits with Protoje, Chronixx and Damian Marley. Samory I said the LP represents "the struggles I've overcome, both mentally and physically." Growing up in Kencot, a rougher neighborhood in Kingston, Jamaica, he faced many adversities and found reggae music as a form of salvation. He used his voice as both an instrument and vehicle for social change in his community. The album is a true reflection of its title, proving that courage and love prevails above all.

Review: Kintsugi is the Japanese art of fixing broken stuff in beautiful ways and thus embracing the item's history. It is also in part the name of this new Kintsugi Soul Stepper's album that mirrors that concept by "celebrating the beauty found in piecing together diverse fragments to create a harmonious whole." Filipino Canadian collective seekersinternational and beat-maker jjuwanstockton lead the charge, on a record that celebrates the fusions of many diverse sounds from dub to soul to nostalgic 1980s Japan, as well as many different cultures, and identities.

Review: It should be obvious that the fifth studio album by Micah Shemaiah, Jamaica Jamaica, is a dedication to the reggae homeland. However, anything more than a cursory listen will reveal it to be a mixed-emotive, wistful affair, with the Jamaican reggae once more asserting his reflective, rootsy style to diagnose both the ills and joys of the nation - "Jamaica, Jamaica... the country need a doctor, people". A further two dub versions appear on the album, as well as collaborations with other Jamaican artists such as Eesah, Xana Romeo, Rassi Hardknocks and Mikey General.

Review: Steely and Clevie were amongst some of the most supreme rhythm makers in all of Jamaica in the 1980s and on into the 1990s. They worked together at King Jammy's in the aftermath of Sleng Teng with Steely doing the synth work and Clevie making the magic on his drum machines. They wrote a wide array of essential rhythms for the day's best emerging dancehall tautens and At The Top is a collection of crucial digital dub workouts "that strips bare the computerised wizardry at the duo's core." These are essential dubs for fans old and new of dancehall.

Review: Milan's Simone Trabucchi, whom we know by the name of Dracula Lewis thanks to a rich catalogue of related material, launches his new STILL moniker on Berlin's unfailingly explorative PAN label. The result, however, is something we haven't been exposed to before and, for Italian electronic music, it marks a fascinating new journey into the 'outernational' realm. Each one of these 9 sonic experiments is made up of peculiar ethnic blends that span from Rastafarian culture to Pan-Asian influences; most of them are tagged as 'riddims', attempting to form new and visceral forms of futuristic sound-system culture for the next century. We're not kidding when we say that this is the first time in a while that we've heard something genuinely different, genre-blending and in a sense, utterly mystifying. Dancehall is in all of these tunes' DNA, but the execution is peppered with all sorts of sci-fi-leaning tricks and electronics, making it the perfect sort of material for fans of both dance music cultures. Don't sleep on this one. It's another nutty episode of PAN.