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LP
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TX 115LP
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"Sly & Robbie have been at the vanguard of innovation in Jamaican music for 40+ years. Often imitated, never equaled, rather than bemoan copycats, they just forge ahead, not looking back. On Red Hills Rd., they continue to show the rest of the world how it's done: catchy danceable beats courtesy of Sly and lines heavy as lead bass thanks to Robbie. Add to that a hook on the guitar or the synth and, boom, a new hit by the Riddim Twins. 'We wanted a raw sound, nothing too overproduced or with a complicated mix' says Robbie as he runs late to yet another session. Red Hills Road is named after the street that was a hotbed of music during the 60's and 70's, with up to a dozen clubs featuring live bands. It was Evil People and Tit For Tat that Sly and Robbie met and decided to form their renowned act. On Red Hills Rd., Sly & Robbie work exclusively with their longtime Jamaican musical companions: Lenky Marsden, Robbie Lyn, Dean Fraser, Ansel Collins, and many other great Jamaican musicians grace this mostly instrumental album with their presence while Rorey Baker handles the mixing duties. 'I have a love for instrumentals' says Sly Dunbar 'and so we've been doing just that, and especially on a dancehall beat. There were lots of hit ska and rocksteady instrumentals, but in the dancehall era, not so many. I was just cutting tracks. When I listen to dancehall, there's nothing exciting happening. So I started to search for something different that people can listen to. I even go back to kumina and mento on tracks like Linstead Market and Coronation Market.' Indeed, Red Hills Road is not merely a Dancehall album, it's more in the league of experimental masterpieces by Herbie Hancock, Bill Laswell and the like, blending the old with new to create something previously unheard that people enjoy."
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LP
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TB1 107LP
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"Recognizing huge potential, the Riddim Twins did what they've done in their 4 decade-career when they find a truly great artist: they crafted a brand new, yet unmistakably TAXI, sound. Along with Chinna Smith (guitar) and Robbie Lyn (keyboards), they created a fresh, 'post apocalypse' reggae sound for the year 3000, applying King Tubby's old-school dub techniques but also the latest modern tricks with Steven Stanley, Jamaica's finest sound wizard (Black Uhuru, Grace Jones, Tom Tom Club). The result, Militant, is the best reggae album in years. It picks up where Sly & Robbie arrived at with Black Uhuru and Ini Kamoze in the 80's. Turbo-charged with attitude, it is super hard and heavy as lead, yet melodic, letting Junior speak with clarity to hearts and minds in times of trouble and confusion."
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12"
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TABOU 001EP
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"Gregory Isaacs is one of Jamaica's top 5 artists, with his unmistakable crooning voice. Over a career spanning 4 decades, he has never stopped singing about love, and poverty. In 2006, he recorded 'Poor Man In Love' at Harry J studios in Kingston, where Sly & Robbie were producing an all acoustic session the old school way: one take, no overdubs, all live playing in the studio.He did his song in one take, with no lyric sheet or anything. Pure inspiration, a genius still at the top of his game, enjoying the moment with his old pals with whom he had recorded numerous hits. Musicians played on and on, clearly savoring each other and grooving on the rhythm as if onstage. The lineup reads like a who's who of Reggae music: in addition to Sly & Robbie, Ansel Collins, Robbie Lyn and Wally Badarou handle keyboard and synthesizer duties, while Dougie Bryan adds an African-like touch on lead guitar. Sticky Thompson and Skully Simms add percussions to the mix. Godwin Logie, who had mixed Gregory's masterpiece album 'Night Nurse' way back in '82, was picked to mix this absolute jewel of a song."
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CD
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MVD 5846CD
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"The story begins in Paris during the '80s, when the young Guillaume hones his skills at several instruments with various formations. During a trip to Jamaica where he gets his nickname 'Stepper,' he meets some of the artists he will tour and record with. Sly & Robbie opened their vaults for Stepper, who picked and chose classic riddims and brand new Jamaican sessions for this debut album. Prestigious musicians joined Stepper on this album mixed by Fabwise, the rising star of dubmasters."
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