Back catalogue: Reggae

Review: Boss Capone from The Upsessions collaborates with Keith Rowe of the legendary Jamaican duo Keith & Tex on this new release which is well worth hearing. The A-side features a love-inspired rocksteady gem while the flip offers a roots-oriented banger. Boss Capone shared his experience of making this one, saying "I recorded a song called 'My Girl Tomorrow.' I was struggling with it and wanted a voice full of soul. Keith kindly added his vocals, completing the beautiful puzzle." Each copy includes a recycled paper insert and both of these tunes will remind of summer with their earth rhythms and laidback, dusty drums.

Review: Irie Ites is a French label that is back with two more reggae heavyweights and frequent musical sparring partners in the form of Eek-A-Mouse and King Kong. They tackle a relic of the 'Murderer/Hot Milk' rhythm, a production that will take you back to the 80s reggae sound in an instant. 'Musical Ambassador' comes first and is a happy-go-lucky sound with some slow, dubby drums and lazy hits as well as stylised vocals, while the flip from King Kong, 'Money Could A Buy' fleshes it out with more reverb and natty guitar riffs that hang in the air above the cavernous low end.

Review: Lion Vibes lives up to its name with his powerful release from Jamaica featuring the legendary Ini Kamoze and rising star Lila Ike. Produced by Kareem Burrell of XTM Nation, this heavyweight track was recorded at Anchor, 9soundclik and Tads studio with top reggae musicians bringing real authenticity to the sounds. The A-side mix by Veer Dhaniram delivers a stunning vocal cut that exudes island cool while the low-end swaggers. The B-side unveils a previously unreleased dub mix by Gregory Morris and the record comes in a beautifully designed picture sleeve by Juppi Juppsen.

Review: First released in 1983, Khartomb's 'Swahili Lullaby' first surfaced on the underground punk and reggae label Whaam! before fading back again into obscurity. In fact their only release, originally a 7", it came backed by the 12/8 wonderwork 'Teekon Warriors' on the B; both tracks established their sound as straddling both a restlessness and a laconism, channelling influences from the Slits to the Raincoats. Legend speaks of an original Peel Session and support from Melody Maker - the holy one-track difecta for breaking artists back then - yet this initial support sadly, madly waned. Now, however, the release comes miraculously back to the fore, rendered concscious again by way of a new-to-vinyl track - 'Daisy High' - as well as two versions of the A1 by Synkro and Talking Drums. 'Daisy High' is a lissome one, its layered contraltos overdubbed to perfection against endless Balearic guitar-swirls amid an overarching 'bossa feel' (in Peel's words). Synkro's dub could just as easily have come from '83 as it did from '24, swelling away into a sweet kickless reverie that happily, barely resembles the original; Talking Drums' version is more loyal to the genesis, yet amps up the dub pressure.

Review: System warmongers Moonshine Recordings brew their own methanol murder beats, this time enlisting master home brewer King DuBear and toaster/taster Junior Dread for an apocalyptic system smasher, of epidemic proportions. In characteristic throaty baritone, 'Keep The Faith' hears Dread caution his fellow youngers against folly - "stay away from they food and the lies dem a spread" - while snares and noir bubbles come ensnared in intense, pop-out reverb. The dub goes surprisingly in on Dread's vocals, hamming them up with extra preamp body.

Review: Emotional Rescue closes out another brilliant year with one final hot drop. This sorting 7" Safari by King Sporty was the artist's first ever single back in 1976. It comes after the label has served up plenty of reissues of the man known as Noel Wiliam's tackle but this one might be the best. It's from his album Deep Reggae Roots and is nice tropical excursion with steamy hits, wooden percussive sounds and funky bass over a low-slung groove and chanting vocals. This one is backed with a special disco mix by Lexx that reworks the tune for more lively moments.

Review: Leisure Group Recordings is a side label from Razor-N-Tape's JKriv that now debuts in the vinyl world with Kings Of High Speed's trippy dance-floor dub on a 7" slab. Following J's Balearic Within EP, Leisure Group revisits J's archives for a pair of tunes he originally started with late Tortured Soul bandmate Ethan White over a decade ago. An aficionado of dub reggae, Ethan infused these tracks with authentic organ and synthesizer stylings. Recently unearthed and completed by J with dub treatments using a Space Echo and Eventide, these productions pay homage to Ethan's memory-a tribute to his musical legacy and vibrant spirit.

Review: Before I Die have been putting out some high-grade leftfield delights from respected operators like Bernardino Femminelli, Tungusku and most recently Sewell & The Gong. Now it's the turn of Klangkollektor, indulging a collection of hazy dub excursions which sit somewhere near Balearic splendour, piano-charged melancholy and isolation tank meditation. In the dub tradition the approach is consistent and evenly paced, but it's certainly not aiming for any kind of typical Jamaican sound. Instead, there's a gentle introspection to the melodic content which gels perfectly with the spacious approach to mixing, unfurling across four sides of wax for an album you can just melt into.

Review: After his silky-smooth vocal feature on Eva Lazarus' Light As Feather, it was inevitable that Mungo's Hi Fi would pursue a project with London-based pure sing-jay Kiko Bun. Ms. Burnett is an ode to a lady friend of distinction, atop a dreamy major key rhythm whose bass-heavy clarity could have come out of Jamaica's Channel One studio in its glory days.

Review: For the fifth volume of The Encyclopedia of Civilizations, Abstrakce's collection of split LPs - in which selected artists offer insight into fascinating ancient cultures - hears them focus this time on the enigmatic Babylon, visited by two of the label's favourite electronic bands currently active. Berlin-based duo Driftmachine take us on a journey between the ancient cities of Akkad, Uruk and Ashur. Bringing together astonishing electronics with a superb and precise sound - floating somewhere between modular ambient, leftfield, abstract dub - every detail has been carefully crafted to produce a complex architecture. Unconventional tribal rhythms recall obscure rituals, while warm, dynamic pulses contract and expand, interacting on their journey along the sandy roads of the Mesopotamian basin. Afterwards, Glasgow-based project Komodo Kolektif delves into the Babylonian vision of magic through the figures of the Kassaptu (witches and wizards), and the use of Mandragora. A blend of both tribal primitivism and a futuristic vision is provided by their vast arsenal of vintage synths and effects units, Eastern metallophones and traditional hand percussion. This is deep, psychedelic electronics that capture the spirit of ancient Babylonian sacred ceremonies and their vision of the cosmos.

Review: Jamaican reggae and dancehall artist Kabaka Pyramid combines conscious lyrics with a versatility that has more than justified his de facto membership of the nascent reggae revival movement, also including artists like Protoje, Chronixx and Jesse Royal. Here comes The Kalling, his second album, charting collabs with some of the best names in his chosen field - such as Damian Marley, Stephen Marley, Buju Banton, Protoje and Jesse Royal. The album is a mixture of inspirational and hard-hitting experiences, and equally socially conscious tracks, namely the title track and 'The Kalling' and 'Kontraband Pt. 2'.

Review: Jungle master Krak In Dub pays homage to Colombia and the rich array of music in the country with his new album, Catleya, which was recorded fully in Bogota. It features a red hot list of all the best current musical talents to be playing in the city and is a wild fusion of beats and Latin-American traditional rhythms and instruments, with elements of reggae, hip-hop, breaks and house sitting pretty next to cumbia and afrobeat, ska and bullerengue. It's a funky, playful and upbeat ride through the world's rhythms and is soaked with plenty of soul and sun.

Review: In 1979, dub legend Lee 'Scratch' Perry "adopted" a pair of Congolese musicians who had been left stranded on Jamaica, put them together with his regular session players in the Black Ark studio he later burned down in a fit of psychosis, and recorded an album. As this fine reissue proves (the second in as many months; it was also reissued under the alternative title "Roots From The Congo"), the resultant music - a vibrant mix of Perry's particular brand of dub reggae and soukous music - was not only magical, but also unlike almost anything that had come before. For some reason it was only ever released on small labels in France and Belgium at the time, meaning that original copies are extremely hard to find. This reissue, then, is long overdue. Do yourself a favour and snap them up before they all disappear.