THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2024 EXCLUSIVE AND WILL BE AVAILABLE INSTORE ON SATURDAY APRIL 20TH ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVED BASIS, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

IF THERE ARE ANY REMAINING COPIES THEY WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE ONLINE AT 8PM ON MONDAY APRIL 22ND.

Soul Jazz Records’ new 18th anniversary one-off limited-edition heavyweight special-edition red and cyan coloured vinyl pressing (+ download code) exclusively for Record Store Day 2024 of their long out of print classic release ‘Studio One Rude Boy’. This album is fully remastered and relicensed for RSD 24.

From the early days of Bob Marley and The Wailers (whose striking sharp-suited Rude Boy style appears on the front cover) through to the classic 1970s Jamaican films ‘The Harder They Come’ and ‘Rockers’, Rude Boys have been synonymous with Jamaican Reggae culture.

This Jamaican Rude Boy anti-establishment attitude and stylish attire was later adopted by bands such as The Clash (in the film Rude Boy) as well as The Specials, Madness, Selector and others in the Two-Tone era that swept across the UK at the end of the 1970s.

The album features classic tracks from Studio One featuring Jamaica’s finest singers and groups such as The Wailers, John Holt, the Wailing Souls and Dennis Brown alongside super-rare hard-to-find tracks from artists such as Mr Foundation, Dudley Sibley and Jim Brown.

Driving Ska and Rocksteady rhythms, classic singers, killer horn lines, great Rude Boy themed-songs, all recorded under Clement ‘Sir Coxsone’ Dodd’s supervision at the legendary Studio One.

With musical backing comes from the legendary in-house bands – The Skatalites, The Sound Dimension, Soul Vendors and Soul Defenders – this is rightly one of the most in-demand Studio One releases that Soul Jazz Records have ever released.

Soul Jazz Records’ ‘Down Beat Special’ is a rollercoaster Greatest Hits ride through many of the alltime classic tunes hand-picked from across the mighty vaults of, without doubt, Jamaica’s finest ever record label and pioneering powerhouse of reggae music.

Seminal tracks such as Michigan and Smiley’s ‘Nice Up The Dance’, Dawn Penn’s ‘No, No, No’, The Wailers’ ‘Simmer Down’, The Eternals’ ‘Queen of the Minstrels’… and on it goes. Non-stop big tunes - ‘Down Beat Special’ is an essential primer to Studio One Records.

Originally released as a one-off pressing limited edition (long-since deleted) 7” box set, this new edition is fully remastered and expanded to a massive 18 rare and killer cuts from the Studio One empire.

Featuring The Skatalites, Jackie Mittoo, Bob Marley & The Wailers, Horace Andy, Alton Ellis, Lone Ranger and many more, the album features rare and classic tracks throughout.

Newly commissioned sleevenotes by Noel Hawks (History of the Jamaican Recording Industry) featuring a track by track historical and musical analysis, label scans and more added to this fantastic collection.

TRACK LISTING

The Eternals - Queen Of The Minstrels
Michigan And Smiley - Nice Up The Dance
The Mad Lads - Ten To One
Jackie Mittoo - Totally Together
Horace Andy - Just Say Who
The Skatalites - Addis Ababa
Sugar Minott - Live Loving
Lone Ranger - Can't Stand It
Wailing Souls - I've Got A Burning Fire
Bob Marley And The Wailers - Simmer Down
Dub Specialist - Hooligan
Alton Ellis - Your Heart Is Gonna Pay
Roland Alphonso - Do It Good
Wailing Souls - You Should Have Known
Dawn Penn - No No No 
Freddie McKay - You'll Be Sorry
Alton Ellis - We Need Love
Cornel Campbell - Best To Be Free

Studio One Roots set the standard for Soul Jazz Records’ long-standing series of Studio One collections and features many of the classic artists from Clement 'Sir Coxsone’ Dodd’s mighty roster of reggae.

This album includes Freddie McGregor, Willie Williams, Cornell Campbell, Alton Ellis, Devon Russell alongside some of the defining crack-session men groups of Jamaican reggae history - The Sound Dimension, Brentford All-Stars, The Skatalites, New Establishment and more. As ever the album is filled with a mixture of seminal cuts and super-rarities from the vast vaults of 13 Brentford Road.

Stand-out tracks include Alton Ellis’s Blackish White, a surreal and powerful Afro-centric dream, Count Ossie Nyabinghi and Rastafarian drummers genre-defying interpretation of Booker T and The MGs ‘Meditation’, Willie Williams awe-inspiring versioning of the Skatalites' seminal Rastafari anthem Addis Ababa and many, many more.

This album has been fully digitally remastered, analog cut and packaged complete with the following: Original sleevenotes by Lloyd Bradley (author of When Reggae Was King), compiled by Mark Ainley (Honest Jons), high-quality Soul Jazz mastering, wicked images of Count Ossie and the Mystic Revelation of Rastafari on the cover, and a rare image of Clement Dodd and musicians inside the studio at Studio One on the full colour inner sleeves.

TRACK LISTING

1. The Cyclones With Count Ossie – Meditation
2. Cornell Campbell & The Brentford Rockers – Natty Don't Go
3. Freddy Mcgregor With The Sound Dimension – Africa Here I Come
4. Bunny & Skitter – Lumumbo
5. Willie Williams & The All Stars – Addis A Baba
6. L.Crosdale With Drummond Bago & The Rebel Group – Set Me Free
7. Leroy Wallace & The New Establishment – Far Beyond
8. Lennie Hibbert – More Creation
9. Alton Ellis & The Sound Dimension – Blackish White
10. Winston Jarrett & The Sound Dimension – Fear Not
11. Devon Russell – Drum Song
12. The Gaylads – Africa
13. Black Brothers & The New Establishment – School Children
14. Linton Cooper & The Brentford Disco Set – You'll Get Your Pay
15. Sound Dimension – Congo Rock
16. Zoot Simms – African Challenge

For this Studio One release we return to the roots of Reggae music-The Soundsystem. Throughout the late 1950s and 1960s Soundsystems played throughout the city of Kingston, Jamaica. As well as Sir Coxsone's Downbeat Soundsystem other famous Soundsystem operators included Duke Reid (the Trojan), Prince Buster, Tom the Great and King Edwards.

These Soundystems were the birthplace of much of Jamaica's musical culture ­ Soundclashes, Dancehall and the idea of the Toaster who sang over records- theDJ. As ever Clement "Sir Coxsone" Dodd led the field and so for this release the focus is on DJ's at Studio One and features legendary toasters such as Denis Alcapone, Dillinger and Prince Far I as well as a host of rare material by lesser known artists. Also included is Count Machuki ­ the original DJ- the first man ever to speak over the mic-at Sir Coxsone¹s Downbeat Sound System- from where it all began.

As Steve Barrow (author of The Rough Guide to Reggae/Blood and Fire Records) writes in the sleevenotes, Jamaican deejay music is the source for all Rap music: From Count Machuki talking over records on Sir Coxsone's legendary Downbeat Sound System this style would eventually travel to America when the Jamaican-born Kool Herc began playing at Block parties (a version of the Kingston Soundsystem parties) in the Bronx. Cutting up rare-groove classics for the first B-Boys to rap over, Hip-Hop was born and theDJ music that had started on the early Soundsystems of Kingston would go on to conquer the world!

Studio One Records is the original Jamaican record label. Studio One Records started the career of hundreds of Jamaican artists from Bob Marley to The Skatalites, from Horace Andy to The Heptones. Studio One DJs (compiled by Mark Ainley) is the next in the series of releases where Soul Jazz Records are showcasing the music of Studio One, the label that literally defines Reggae.

TRACK LISTING

1. Count Machuki – More Scorcha
2. Prince Francis – Rock Fort Shock
3. Dennis Alcapone – Power Version
4. Dillinger – Natty Kung Fu
5. Jah Scotchie – Man Of Creation
6. Jim Brown – Seen Him
7. Jah Buzz – Love In The Arena
8. Prince Francis – Street Doctor
9. Lone Ranger – The Answer
10. Prince Jazzbo – Crime Don't Pay
11. Brigadier Jerry – Every Man A Me Brethren
12. Big Joe – Version Of Rights
13. Lone Ranger – The Big Match
14. Jah Jesco – Warning
15. Prince Far I – Natty Farmyard
16. Charlie Ace & Scorcher – Father And Dread Loc

Spanning tracks from 30 years of Studio One releases, ‘Studio One Story’ is a roller coaster ride through many of the label’s finest moments and features many of the tracks that defined its history as well as Reggae itself. Tracks such as Alton Ellis’s ‘I’m Still In Love With You’, The Skatalites’ ska anthem ‘Guns of Navarone’ through to the Roots killer, The Abyssinians’ ‘Declaration of Rights’, to absolutely monster party tunes such as Michigan & Smiley’s ‘Nice Up The Dance’. It really doesn’t get any better than this.

TRACK LISTING

1. Theo Beckford – Easy Snapping
2. The Skatalites – Guns Of Navarone
3. Delroy Wilson – Dancing Mood
4. Michigan And Smiley – Nice Up The Dance
5. Heptones – Baby
6. The Abyssinians – Declaration Of Rights
7. Alton Ellis – I'm Still In Love With You
8. Tommy McCook – Tunnel One
9. Sugar Minott – Jah Jah Children
10. The Skatalites – Man In The Street
11. Dub Specialist – Banana Walk
12. Dennis Alcapone – Run Run
13. Larry Marshall – Nanny Goat
14. Brentford Allstars – Throw Me Corn
15. Lone Ranger – Love Bump
16. Jackie Mittoo – Freak Out

‘Studio One Dub’ remains super-hard hitting, featuring classic and rare dub tracks from Studio One, many available on vinyl for the first time in over thirty years. ‘Studio One Dub’ includes the dubs of many classic tracks such as Horace Andy’s ‘Skylarkin’’, Johnny Osbourne’s ‘Truth and Rights’, John Holt’s ‘Hooligan’ and Freddie McGregor’s ‘Bobby Bobylon’, plus many more rare tracks.

TRACK LISTING

1. Dub Specialist – Bionic Dub
2. Dub Specialist – Take A Ride Version
3. Dub Specialist – Sky Rhythm
4. Dub Specialist – Taurus Dub 2
5. Dub Specialist – Hooligan
6. Dub Specialist – Dub Rock
7. Dub Specialist – Rastaman Version
8. Dub Specialist – Jah Jah Version
9. Dub Specialist – Creator Version
10. Dub Specialist – Running Dub
11. Dub Specialist – Hi Fashion Dub
12. Dub Specialist – Pretty Version
13. Dub Specialist – Race Track Version
14. Dub Specialist – Spawning
15. Dub Specialist – In Cold Blood Version
16. Dub Specialist – Chase Them Version
17. Dub Specialist – Feel The Dub

Studio One's music in the 1970s took the label to new heights. The new style of Disco Mix brought many areas of Reggae together ­ Roots, Lovers, Disco and Dub all came together in extended form, re-versioning classic hits, experimenting with new studio technology, over-dubbing, syn-drums and more producing what many fans describe as the most creative and innovative phase in the history of the legendary Studio One Records.

This Studio One Disco Mix album includes many sought after classic tunes only ever released in very small quantities (on Studio One's very first 12" records as well as it's infamous Music Lab 10"s out of New York) and consequently many of these track s have been unavailable since their day of release. Studio One Disco Mix features many of the classic Studio One artists such as Alton Ellis, Sugar Minott, Jackie Mittoo and Willie Williams (with his classic re-versioning of his own "Armigideon Time") alongside less well artists such as Doreen Schaeffer, Judah Eskender Tafari and George Dudley and many more.

TRACK LISTING

1. Lloyd & Devon – Push Push
2. Judah Eskender Tafari – Rastafari Tell You
3. Doreen Schaefer – Ain't Gonna Change My Mind
4. Dub Specialist – Kampala
5. George Allen – Be Wise Brethren
6. Jackie Mittoo – Night In Ethiopia
7. George Dudley – Gates Of Zion
8. The Silvertones – Come Forward
9. The Ethiopian – Muddy Water
10. Willie Williams & Brentford Disco Set – Armagideon Time
11. Willie Williams & Brentford Disco Set – Armagideon Time (version)
12. Norma White & Brentford Disco Set – I Want Your Love
13. Norma White & Brentford Disco Set – I Want Your Love (version)
14. Alton Ellis – You Make Me Happy
15. Suagr Minott – Love And Understanding
16. Winston Francis, Jackie Mittoo & Brentford Roc

Lovingly compiled, this album features only the finest Lovers from Jamaica’s finest label. From Blues parties in London, Birmingham, Bristol etc Lovers Rock quickly became one of the UK’s finest-ever musical movements.

Sweet harmonies, soulful reggae, love songs – the key ingredients of Lovers Rock - were all based on the revival of many of the classic Rocksteady harmony groups of the late 60s and early 70s, such as The Heptones, Carlton and The Shoes, Larry & Alvin, The Paragons, that Clement "Sir Coxsone" Dodd’s Studio One and rival Duke Reid’s Treasure Isle label produced hit after hit with as they fought for dominance in the dancehalls of Kingston.

As well as these classic harmony groups, this album also features fine contributions from many of the reggae greats – Horace Andy, Alton Ellis, Bob Marley and The Wailers, Delroy Wilson – All artists who became stars at the legendary Studio One Records which Chris Blackwell, founder of Island Records, describes as "The University of Reggae".

TRACK LISTING

1. Delroy Wilson – I Don't Know Why
2. Basil Daley – Hold Me Baby
3. Myrna Hague – Touch Me Baby
4. John Holt & The Paragons – Darling, I Need Your Loving
5. The Sharks – How Could I Live (1st Cut)
6. The Mad Lads – Ten To One
7. Jackie Mittoo – Reggae Magic (2nd Cut)
8. Larry & Alvin – Your Love
9. Freddy & Jenny – Too Long Will Be Too Late
10. Alton Ellis – Let Him Try
11. Albert Tomlinson – Don't Wait For Me
12. Horace Andy – Got To Be Sure
13. Carlton & His Shoes – Never Give Your Heart Away
14. The Heptones – Ready To Learn
15. Bob & Marcia – Really Together (No Strings)
16. Ernest Wilson – Undying Love
17. Bob Marley & The Wailers – I'm Still Waiting (1st Cut)
18. Doreen Schaeffer – We're All Alone

THIS IS A BLACK FRIDAY 2023 EXCLUSIVE AND WILL BE AVAILABLE INSTORE ON FRIDAY NOVEMBER 24TH ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVED BASIS, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

IF THERE ARE ANY REMAINING COPIES THEY WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE ONLINE AT 8AM ON SATURDAY NOVEMBER 25TH).

Soul Jazz Records’ new one-off limited-edition heavyweight special-edition coloured vinyl pressing + download code exclusively for Black Friday 2023 of Soul Jazz Records’ long out of print classic ‘Studio One Kings’.

Featuring a new striking alternative sleeve design (featuring the singer Freddie McKay) as well as a special yellow coloured vinyl pressing, ‘Studio One Kings’ is a 'who's who' of the world's greatest reggae artists.

Studio One’s list of singers launched at the famous label reads like a roll call of Jamaican music. Horace Andy, Alton Ellis, Ken Boothe, Freddie McGregor, Johnny Osbourne and more.

This album features classic and rare tracks that span the breadth of the legendary Studio One catalogue: Ska, Roots, Rocksteady, Lovers and more from the 1960s and 70s.

The album comes with sleeve-notes by the celebrated writer Chris Salewicz, author of Reggae Explosion, Rude Boy as well as notable books on Bob Marley, The Rolling Stones, Jimmy Page, Joe Strummer and more.

Limited to 1000 copies for the UK & Ireland.

TRACK LISTING

1. Larry Marshall - I've Got To Make It
2. Horace Andy - Every Tongue Shall Tell
3. Alton Ellis - The Well Run Dry
4. Johnny Osbourne - Water More Than Flour
5. Anthony Rocky Ellis - I'm The Ruler
6. Cornell Campbell - Pretty Looks Isn't All
7. Alexander Henry - Please Be True
8. Burning Spear - Them A Come
9. Joe Higgs - Change Of Plan
10. Devon Russell - Roots Natty
11. Ken Boothe - Be Yourself
12. Freddie Mcgregor - I Shall Be Released
13. Freddie Mckay - Father Will Cut You Off
14. The Ethiopian - Locust
15. George Philip - One One
16. John Holt - I Don't Want To See You Cry
17. Delroy Wilson - Won't You Come Home

“I think if a nuclear family could have a soundtrack, ours would be the Soul Jazz comp ‘Studio One Scorcher’. I wouldn’t say it’s the best record ever made, but if I heard it every single day for the rest of my life, I’d be 100% cool with it.” - DJ

New one-off press transparent orange coloured triple vinyl edition (with download code) of Soul Jazz Records’ long unavailable ‘Studio One Scorcher’, featuring a blistering collection of rare and classic cuts recorded at Studio One.

‘Studio One Scorcher’ is one of the most important collections in Soul Jazz Records’ ‘Studio One’ series, bringing together an unmissable collection of stand-out cuts from many of the finest players ever in Jamaica and in reggae music.

Featuring The Skatalites, Jackie Mittoo, Tommy McCook, Cedric Brooks, Tommy McCook, The Sound Dimension, Don Drummond, Brentford Road All Stars and more. Heavy, heavy tunes from start to finish! All killer no filler! 

These tunes encompass ska, rocksteady, roots, dub and more. Studio One instrumentals are the foundation of reggae. They literally define reggae music. Many of these classic recordings became the basis for everything that followed in reggae music, replayed and versioned thousands of times. 

Here you will find Jackie Mittoo’s seminal ‘Sidewalk Doctor’, Don Drummond Jnr’s classic ‘Heavenless’, The Soul Vendors’ ‘Ringo Rock’ and the Sound Dimension’s ‘Heavy Rock’. All original artists and original classic tunes, all on one album. Not to mention a host of utterly superb rarities from the mighty vaults of Studio One.

TRACK LISTING

The Skatalites – Coconut Rock
Cedric Im Brooks & The Sound
Dimension – Mun-Dun-Go
Tommy Mccook, Richard Ace,
The Skatalites & Disco Height – Shockers Rock
Soul Vendors – Ringo Rock
Jackie Mittoo & Ernest Ranglin – Jericho Skank
New Establishment – The People Skanking
Karl Bryan & The Afrokats – Money Generator
Lester Sterling – Afrikaan Beat
Sound Dimension – Heavy Rock
Sugar Belly – In Cold Blood
Don Drummond & The Skatalites — Heavenless
Soul Bros. – Bugaloo
Vin Gordon – Red Blood
Pablove Black – Push Pull
Jackie Mittoo & Brentford Rockers – Sidewalk Doctor
Liberation Group – Namibia
Brentford Road All Stars – Last Call
Soul Defenders – Still Calling
Karl Bryan & Count Ossie – Black Up

“Vol 1 was mighty fine, presenting rare and deep recordings from Studio One’s mid-70s heyday. Hard to believe the Vol 2 is even better… As with all Soul Jazz material, the vinyl is heavyweight, with fine packaging and good liner notes. Reggae music doesn’t get much better than this: buy immediately and play loud” - David Katz, FACT

New one-off press transparent green double vinyl edition of Soul Jazz Records’ long unavailable ‘Studio One Roots 2’, which features classic tracks recorded at Studio One.

‘Studio One Roots 2’ delves deep into the vaults of the legendary Jamaican Reggae label and features rare and classic roots as well as an unprecedented seven unreleased tracks that up till now had never seen the light of day.

Roots and Rastafarian music was being recorded at Studio One by Clement ‘Sir Coxsone’ Dodd from the early 1960s onwards to the 1990s and this album reflects the depth and diversity of roots music at the label.

From the slow-ska of Dudley Sibbley, to the deep instrumental jazz cuts of Cedric Im Brooks over classic roots rhythms such as Satta Massagana to Winston Mathews stunning eerie version of Bob Marley and the Wailers’ ‘Sun Is Shining’. The Zion All Stars features the Burro Rastafarian drumming of Count Ossie and the Mystic Revelation of Rastafari.

This album features many of the classic Studio One artists - Willie Williams, Tommy McCook, Cedric Brooks, The Gladiators, Vin Gordon - as well as many less well known artists - all who produced classic roots music under the guidance of producer Clement ‘Sir Coxsone’ Dodd and recorded at the legendary Studio One Records.

TRACK LISTING

Willie Williams & The Sound Dimension – Jah Righteous Plan
Al Campbell – Take A Ride
Cedric 'Im' Brooks – Satta
Ken Boothe & Joe Higgs – A Message Of Old
Jackie Bernard – Jah Jah Way
Devon Russell – Jah Hold The Key
Zoot Sims – Small Garden
The Saints – Sleeping Trees
Larry Marshall – Run Babylon
Vin Gorden – Babylon Rock
The Gladiators – Talawah
Prince Francis – African Skank
Cedric 'Im' Brooks – Full Time
Prince Lincoln – True Experience
Joseph Hill – Behold The Land
Winston Matthews – Sun Is Shining
Karl Bryan – LK Strut Count Ossie & The Zion All
Stars – Holy Mount Zion Tommy McCook & The
Discosonics – Tenor On The Call

Soul Jazz Records release a new expanded version of ‘Studio One 007 - Licenced to Ska: James Bond and other Film Soundtracks and TV Themes’, originally only available as a long deleted 7” RSD box set.

This new edition is fully remastered and expanded to a massive 18 super rare and killer cuts from the Studio One empire.

Featuring The Skatalites, Lee Perry, Jackie Mittoo, Bob Marley, The Wailers, Roland Alphonso and The Soul Brothers - rare and classic tracks from Jamaica’s no.1 record label, Studio One.

Extensive sleevenotes discuss the connections between James Bond, Jamaica and Ska music. Jamaica was the setting for ‘Dr. No’, ‘Live and Let Die’, ‘The Man with the Golden Gun’ and the recent ‘No Time to Die’, and the home for Bond’s creator, Ian Fleming. There is also an extended essay on The Skatalites and their post modern love and ska-ification of all styles of music, from classical music to TV themes, from detective movies to ‘Fiddler on the Roof’.

Aside from the James Bond-related cuts, this album also includes killer tracks from the secret agent 1969 spoof, ‘Our Man Flint’, the Clint Eastwood-starring Spaghetti Western, ‘Hang ‘Em High’, the Brazilian movie masterpiece, ‘Black Orpheus’, and more besides.

TRACK LISTING

Jackie Mittoo And The Soul Brothers - James Bond
The Skatalites - Dick Tracy
The Soul Brothers - James Bond Girl
The Skatalites - Guns Of Navarone Roland Alphonso And The Studio
One Orchestra - From Russia With Love
The Soul Brothers - Thunderball
Jackie Mittoo - Hang 'Em High
The Soul Brothers - Mr Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
The Soul Brothers - 007
Lee Perry And The Wailers - Pussy Galore
The Soul Brothers - Mr. Flint
The Skatalites - Ball Of Fire
The Soul Brothers - James Bond Danger Man
The Soul Brothers - Lawman
The Skatalites - Black Orpheus
The Skatalites - Exodus
The Skatalites - Dr. Kildare
The Soul Brothers - Fiddler On The Roof

‘Studio One Classics’: Spanning 40 years of the legendary label, this album is a celebration of the music of Studio One Records and features a who’s who of Jamaican Reggae: Bob Marley, The Heptones, Horace Andy, Sugar Minott, Don Drummond, Prince Jazzbo and more. Comes in the striking ‘Wailers’ sleeve.

THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2023 EXCLUSIVE, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

Soul Jazz Records’ new 20th anniversary one-off limited-edition heavyweight specialedition coloured vinyl pressing + download code exclusively for Record Store Day 2023 of Soul Jazz Records’ classic Studio One Ska. 

A blistering collection of non-stop Ska classic tunes from Clement ‘Sir Coxsone’ Dodd’s legendary Studio One Records, Jamaica's foundation label of reggae music. Featuring classic cuts from the originators of Ska alongside a heavy dose of superb rarities from the mighty vaults of 13 Brentford Road - pure fire!

Studio One Records and the seminal in-house band The Skatalites created and defined Ska in the process making Jamaican music famous throughout the world. This compilation features classic vocal and instrumental tracks from The Skatalites, Bob Marley and The Wailers, Delroy Wilson alongside super-rare tracks from the likes of Ken Boothe, The Maytals, Jackie Mittoo, Tommy McCook and many more.

Clement ‘Sir Coxsone’ Dodd’s musical empire was founded on Ska, the first explosive and most exciting music to come out of the newly independent Jamaica, which soon spread across the world. This album is a celebration of the music of Studio One Records’ seminal Ska releases and features a who’s who of the most important artists and musicians in the history of reggae. Studio One is often described as both the University of Reggae and the Motown of Jamaica.

“Utterly brilliant collection of Ska music. Essential stuff” - Q 

"There are a million ska compilations around, but this selection outshines them - yet another blinder from Soul Jazz“ - Wallpaper 

"This shows the Soul Jazz Records vault digger’s gold standard of quality” - Mojo

“Every side collected here is a classic” - All Music

TRACK LISTING

A
1. Jackie Mittoo – El Bang Bang
2. Ken Boothe & Stranger Cole – Arte Bella
3. The Wailers – (I'm Gonna) Put It On
4. The Skatalites – Addis Ababa
B
1. Roland Alphonso – President Kennedy
2. Joe Higgs – (I'm The) Song My Enemies Sing
3. The Skatalites – Beardsman Ska
4. Delroy Wilson – I Want Justice
C
1. Tommy McCook's Orchestra – Sampson
2. The Ethiopians – I'm Gonna Take Over
3. Tommy McCook – Freedom Sounds
4. The Maytals – Marching On
D
1. The Skatalites – Exodus
2. Roland Alphonso – Look Away Ska
3. Don Drummond – Don Cosmic
4. Roland Alphonso – Scambalena
5. Andy & Joey – You're Wondering Now

‘Studio One Space-Age Dub Special’ is a brand new Studio One release on Soul Jazz Records which draws on more rare and classic dubs taken from the mighty vaults of Studio One Records.

Most of these tracks are taken from Studio One’s superb long out-of-print series of dub albums released between 1974 and 1980, such as ‘Zodiac Sounds’, ‘Ital Sounds and System’, ‘Roots Dub’, ‘Dub Store Special’, ‘Juks Incorporation’ and others. Many of these classic dub albums were originally released only in Jamaica in shortrun pressings with special silk-screen printed sleeves, all with striking minimal designs, and which now fetch many, many hundreds of pounds.

These tracks, credited to the Dub Specialist, use the original music tracks to seminal Studio One rhythms, which are broken down, reconstructed, and manipulated using the studio mixing desk as an instrument. With these albums, producer Clement Dodd and engineer Sylvan Morris helped create some of the finest dubs ever known.

The cover shows Clement ‘Sir Coxsone’ Dodd in orbit, an image inspired by DJ Lone Ranger‘s 1982 ‘Badda Dan Dem’ album for Studio One, the cover of which portrays Sir Coxsone at the controls of a spaceship with the DJ in space.

The tracks on ‘Studio One Space-Age Dub Special’ are mainly instrumental cuts with occasional snippets of original vocals brought into the mix. Lone Ranger’s complete vocals feature on ‘A Lie Gal A Tell’, a superb six minutes plus dubbed out piece of musical madness. Also included are a selection of rare dub versions that only ever appeared on rare singles.

STAFF COMMENTS

Martin says: Intriguing release (all new releases), credited to Dub Specialist yet mining the wealth of Studio One-released source material to create shimmering new dubscapes that refract the past through a space echo and a reverb. Dub heads will need no convincing on this one!

TRACK LISTING

1. Dub Specialist - Red Neck
2. Dub Specialist - Marcus Dub
3. Dub Specialist - Accra
4. Dub Specialist - A Lie Gal A Tell
5. Dub Specialist - Squash Dub
6. Dub Specialist - Pick Up The Version
7. Dub Specialist - Saucy Perila
8. Dub Specialist - RoaringReggae
9. Dub Specialist - Still Water Version
10. Dub Specialist - My Man (Part 2)
11. Dub Specialist - Disco Dub
12. Dub Specialist - Tricky
13. Dub Specialist - Illiteracy Version
14. Dub Specialist - Wailing Sounds
15. Dub Specialist - Juk’s Inc.
16. Dub Specialist - Barb Wire Version
17. Dub Specialist - Queen Of The Rub
18. Dub Specialist - I A See I

18 years on from its original release, ‘Studio One Funk’ remains one of Soul Jazz Records’ most in demand Studio One titles.

‘Studio One Funk’ is made up of rare and unreleased reggae funk from the vaults of Studio One. Ever since the birth of funk in America, the sound has been an ever-present ingredient in the melting pot of Studio One’s musical output.

The music on this release is a combination of originals, US covers and versions of existing Studio One cuts. Jackie Mittoo shows his appreciation for Booker T and The MGs, the studio group at Memphis’ famous Stax Records, with ‘Hang ‘Em High’, itself a cover of a film soundtrack by Dominic Frontiere. Incredibly this version has never before been released. Booker T’s super funky ‘Melting Pot’ is also covered by the little-known Underground Vegetables.

Other versions include Isaac Hayes’ classic Blaxploitation soundtrack ‘Shaft’, again by Cedric Im Brooks, another unreleased gem, straight from the tape master. Motown gets a look in with Alton’s stripped-down version of the Spinners classic, ‘It’s A Shame’, written by Stevie Wonder and Syreeta.

James Brown is apparent in spirit with the JBs-inspired groove on the super rare cut, ‘Now’, by Lee Arab. Lloyd Williams similarly does a fine Kingston-style version of the hardest-working man in showbusiness on ‘Reggae Feet’.

Version-wise, we have ‘Idleberg’, Cedric Im Brooks’ tough instrumental cut on Horace Andy’s seminal ‘Skylarking’. The little-known Prince Moonie gives us a rare DJ cut of another Horace Andy classic, ‘See A Man’s Face’.

Pablove Black’s cut of Sidewalk Doctor (aka Poco Tempo) is one of a handful of Studio One releases featuring Augustus Pablo’s trademark instrument, the melodica, played by Black himself.

Add to these original cuts from Studio One’s heavyweight session players, including Leroy Sibbles, Jackie Mittoo, Leroy Sibbles, Eric Frater, Leroy ‘Horsemouth’ Wallace, Richard Ace, Vin Gordon and more, and you have one of the finest selections of reggae and funk you will ever hear.

“An absolute treasure trove for the collector as well as being great for the ears and feet. Jackie Mittoo's 'Hang Em High' is worth the price of the album on its own.” - Echoes

“A superb collection that shows how much many Jamaican musicians were influenced by the heavy funk belting out of American studios from the early seventies onwards.” - Touch

“The most satisfying listening experience so far in the Studio One series.” - The Wire

TRACK LISTING

Cedric Im Brooks - Shaft
Alton Ellis - African Descendants
Pablove Black - Poco Tempo
Lloyd Williams – Reggae Feet
Jackie Mittoo - Hang ‘Em High
Cedric Im Brooks - Idleberg
Prince Francis - Beat Down Babylon
Lee Arab - Now
Soul Bros - 007
Prince Moonie - See A Man’s Face
Im And Sound Dimension - Love Jah
Leroy Sibbles - Do Your Thing
The Sharks - Music Answer
Underground Vegetables - Melting Pot
Devon Russell - You Found Heaven
Vin Gordon - Steady Beat
Alton Ellis - It’s A Shame
Roy Richards - Another Day
Delroy Wilson - Funky Broadway

Gondwana Records and Portico Quartet announce a strictly limited edition collectors-item. Featuring an expanded version of their long-form composition Terrain and re-arranged for the Portico Quartet Ensemble and recorded live in Studio One.

Terrain (Extended) features an expanded version of the composition re-arranged for the Portico Quartet Ensemble – a subtle re-configuration of the band that features a string quartet - and which allowed for the composition's deeper textures and resonances to be fully explored, along the way expanding the dialogue between tranquillity and a subtly unsettling melancholy, that makes Terrain such a beautiful, powerful piece.

9th November 2021 was a very special session. The band (who had first recorded at Abbey Road for their second album Isla back in 2009), brought long-term collaborator, recording and mix engineer, Greg Freeman over from Berlin to work with Abbey Road's Chris Bolster and the resulting concert film Terrain (Extended) - Live in Studio One An Abbey Road 90th Session received it's world premiere broadcast on the Gondwana Youtube channel on Thursday 20th October. Now Gondwana Records is super proud to announce the ultimate collector's edition of this special recording. Limited to just 1500 individually numbered and stamped LPs and 1000 CDs.

Recorded live at Abbey Road Studio One. Mixed in Berlin by the band's longterm collaborator Greg Freeman. Audio mastered by John Davis at Metropolis Studios. Vinyl cut by John Davis at Metropolis Studios

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Portico Quartet perfectly accentuate their exploration into American minimalism from last year, with the tasteful addition of a string quartet. Through the addition of strings, it's helped Terrain move more toward the buoyant levity of their earlier work while retaining the arrhythmic drift of the original release. A wonderful reworking and a lovely looking release too.

TRACK LISTING

1. Terrain I (Extended) - Live In Studio One: An Abbey Road 90th Session [Live]
2. Terrain II (Extended) - Live In Studio One: An Abbey Road 90th Session [Live]
3 .Terrain III (Extended) - Live In Studio One: An Abbey Road 90th Session [Live]

Soul Jazz Records’ long out of print classic ‘Studio One Women’ collection is being re-released as a new 18th Anniversary edition.

18 years on from its original release, ‘Studio One Women’ remains one of the ‘Studio One’ series’ most in demand titles and, like all the earlier special coloured editions, is sure to sell out fast.

Ska, rocksteady, funky reggae, roots, dub mixes, disco mixes - they’re 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” and 12” 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, whose iconic image features on the cover) are two of Jamaica’s most famous female singers, hugely popular today. Both artists became internationally famous as The I - Threes (along with Judy Mowatt), Bob Marley’s backing singers alongside The Wailers. Also featured are Hortense Ellis, sister of Alton, who cut many smash hits on the island, and Jennifer Lara, a lady who had a long career with Studio One, singing on countless sides.

‘Studio One Women’ refers not just to the small selection of artists featured here but also to those who took integral roles throughout the Studio One empire, starting with Doris Darlington, mother of Clement Dodd. Sir Coxsone’s Downbeat Soundsystem, which ruled the dancehalls of Kingston throughout the 1950s and 60s, started off as the musical entertainment for customers of Mrs Darlington’s Nannys Bar.

Clement Dodd often referred to his mother as ‘Jamaica’s first female DJ’, as she would play records at the bar whenever he was on trips to the US, hunting down R&B records. Other important women behind the scenes included Norma Dodd (wife of Clement), whose sleevenotes featured on many Studio One releases, and Enid Cumberland who, as well as being a successful artist (half of the duo Keith and Enid), taught harmony in the studio and ran the studio shop.

It would also be impossible not to mention Sister Ignatius, who ran the infamous Alpha Boys School for over 50 years, encouraging students which included Tommy McCook, Johnny ‘Dizzy’ Moore, Lester Sterling and Don Drummond, Theo Beckford, Cedric Brooks, Johnny Osbourne and countless other musicians and artists to excel at music, and many of whom became integral to the success of Studio One.

TRACK LISTING

Claudette McLean - Give Love Another Try
Jennifer Lara - My Man
The Soulettes - A Deh Pon Dem
Della Humphrey - Dream Land
Jennifer Lara - Consider Me
Denise Darlington - War No Right
Hortense Ellis - I’m Just A Girl
Angela Prince - No Bother With No Fuss
Jerry Jones - There’s A Chance For Me
The Soulettes - King Street
Jennifer Lara - Tell Me Where
The Tonettes - I’ll Give It To You
Marcia Griffiths - Tell Me Now
The Jay Tees - Come To Me
Angela Prince - You A Fool Boy
Jennifer Lara - I Am In Love

This new Studio collection on Soul Jazz Records delves deep into a melting pot world of reggae and funk and dub created at the music laboratory of 13 Brentford Road, Kingston in the 1970s - an intense collaboration of crack musicians, singers, DJs and engineers under the guidance of producer Clement ‘Coxsone’ Dodd.

Here you will find some of the deepest and rawest cuts to emanate out the Studio One factory - truly hypnotic rhythms, powerful funk guitar and bass, soaring horns and more interspersed with occasional vocals and toasting as musicians reach for the highest heights and deepest roots of reggae music.

Some of these tunes here are rare and classic versions to seminal Studio One vocal cuts from the likes of Horace Andy and Hortense Ellis. There is also a wealth of cuts from simply the greatest musicians ever to come out of Jamaica (let alone Studio One). These include Jackie Mittoo, Roland Alphonso, Cedric Brooks, Ernest Ranglin and the Brentford All-Stars. You’ll find straight up funk bombs such as Lennie Hibbert’s mindblowing ‘Go For Yourself’ (sounding like The Meters meets James Brown), the Brentford All-Stars covering War’s classic ‘The World is a Ghetto’, and Jackie Mittoo showing how to make Cream’s ‘Sunshine of Your Love’ into a reggae funk bomb.

All of these sit beside super-deep roots and dub cuts that exemplify together how Studio One was unique in Clement Dodd’s pioneering vision of reggae, the music created functioning with a continuous level of experimentation that blurred the lines between genres and pushed the outer limits of reggae music at all times. This album is deep.

The album comes with extensive sleeve notes by Steve Barker

TRACK LISTING

Hortense And The Sound Dimension -
People Make The World Go Round Version
Leroy Wallace And The New Establishment -
Far Beyond Version
Sound Dimension - Face Man Version
Fabian & The Vibes - Mother And Child (Part
2)
Lennie Hibbert - Go For Yourself
Dub Specialist - Chainey Roots
Brentford All Stars - The World Is A Ghetto
The Jay Tees And Brentford Rockers -
Forward To Jah (Part 2)
Roy Richards - Summertime
Lennie Hibbert - Snow Bird
Pablov Black - Dread Head
Cedric Im Brooks - Glory To Sound
Jackie Mittoo - Lazy Bones
Dub Specialist - Message From Dub
Jackie Mittoo - Sunshine Of Your Love
Roland Alphonso - Tenor Man Trip
Ernest And The Sound Dimension - Surfin’

Soul Jazz do it again with this awesome Studio One compilation that follows Jamaican music from ska, via rocksteady, reggae, deejay and dub to early dancehall. Featured here are many of the classic tracks from Studio One. From Dawn Penn's legendary "No, No, No" to classics such as Horace Andy's "Skylarking" and Marcia Griffith's "Feel Like Jumping". The Coxsone Soundsystem in the early 60s was one of the three main soundsystems operating in Jamaica alongside his competitors, Prince Buster and Duke Reid. The Studio One catalogue is possibly the largest in Jamaican music and this release is the first in a series of Studio One compilations on Soul Jazz Records. This album comes with an in depth interview with Mr C.S. Dodd, about how he set up and ran his record label in the 1960s and 1970s. Absolutely essential.

TRACK LISTING

1. Sound Dimension - Real Rock
2. Marcia Griffiths - Feel Like Jumping
3. Freddy Mcgregor - Bobby Babylon
4. Horace Andy - Skylarking
5. Lennie Hibbert - Village Soul
6. Brentford All-Stars - Greedy G
7. Johnny Osbourne - Truth And Rights
8. Ernest Ranglin - Surfin
9. Michigan & Smiley - Eye Of Danger
10. Dawn Penn - No, No, No
11. The Skatalites - Phoenix City
12. Prince Jazzbo - Crabwalking
13. Jackie Mittoo - Hot Milk
14. Lone Ranger - Badder Dan Dem
15. Cedric Brooks - Ethiopia

Soul Jazz Records follows up one of their most popular Studio One releases with a brand new selection of rare and classic releases by women in reggae. Featuring legendary artists such as Marcia Griffiths, Rita Marley and Hortense Ellis (with a guest appearance by her brother Alton), alongside a host of rarities from lesser-known names such as Nina Soul, Nana Mclean, Denise Darlington, Myrna Hague and also Doreen Schaeffer, a vocalist who was a founding member of The Skatalites.

There are notable covers, from Tyrone Davis’ soul classic ‘Can I Change My Mind’ to The Band’s 60s psychedelic classic ‘Turn Turn Turn’ in a rub-a-dub style. Doreen Schaeffer reversions Alton Ellis’s seminal ‘I’m Still In Love With You’, Nina Soul reversions the slack rocksteady anthem ‘Barb Wire’. A number of these tracks are almost impossible to find, and many have never been issued ever since their initial release.

The music on the album is of course 100% killer and features backing from all of the seminal groups at 13 Brentford Road, including The Skatalites, Sound Dimension, Soul Brothers and the Brentford All Stars, and ranges from ska, rocksteady, roots, lovers and more from the 60s, 70s and 80s. All produced by Clement ‘Sir Coxsone’ Dodd at Studio One Records, the number one sound in reggae music.

TRACK LISTING

Hortense Ellis - Can I Change My Mind
Marcia Griffiths- Melody Life
Myrna Hague - New World
Marcia Griffiths - Shimmering Star
Nora Dean - Heartaches
The Jay Tees - Buck Town Corner
Jennifer Lara - Turn Turn Turn
Doreen & Alton - I’m Still In Love
Doreen Schaeffer - Sugar Sugar
Denise Darlington - Feel So Good
Angela Prince - My Man Is Gone
Nana McLean - Till I Kissed You
Nina Soul - Barb Wire
Jackie And Doreen - Welcome You Back Home
Nina Soul - Sleeping Trees
Rita Marley - Friends And Lovers
Hortense Ellis - Secretly
Marcia Griffiths - You’re No Good

15 years on from its original release, ‘Studio One Groups’ remains one of the toughest of all the Soul Jazz / Studio One releases and features some of the biggest groups in the history of Reggae music, including Bob Marley and The Wailers, Toots and the Maytals and The Heptones, who all began their careers at 13 Brentford Road, under the guidance of the great producer and label owner Clement ‘Sir Coxsone’ Dodd.

Featuring many, many classic and killer tunes from The Wailing Souls, Carlton and His Shoes, The Gladiators, The Ethiopians, The Mad Lads and more. ‘Studio One Groups’ brings together numerous classic artists alongside a number of rarities and delves into Studio One’s musical output in its prime in the 1960s and 70s, featuring Ska, Roots, Rocksteady, Dub and more. Clement Dodd’s role in launching and nurturing Reggae groups and singers is unsurpassed and Studio One’s success was due to Dodd’s ability to see talent, surround himself with it and nurture artists.

Launching Bob Marley and The Wailers’ career at Studio One also meant housing Marley in a flat in the studio compound, as well as employing Marley in an A&R role, checking out the latest American soul and jazz 45s that came out for Studio One artists to cover. In similar fashion, Leroy Sibbles, lead vocalist with the Heptones, became the key in-house bass player after being taught from scratch by Jackie Mittoo.

Studio One Groups were at the heart of the label’s success. The sweet threepart harmonies, so close to the heart of Jamaican music, can be heard throughout every stylistic change of Reggae music - Ska, Rocksteady, Roots and beyond - all of which are featured here in all their vocalised glory.

The album comes with excellent informative sleevenotes by the author and Studio One discographer Rob Chapman, and exclusive photography including the stunning colour picture of Bob Marley and the Wailers on the front of the release.

TRACK LISTING

The Wailing Souls - Mr Fire Coal Man
Righteous Flames - Solid Foundation
The Gaylads - Give A Helping Hand
The Bassies - Things A Come Up To Bump
The Mad Lads - You Will Never Know
The Clarendonians - You Can’t Be Happy
The Consumates - What Is It Carlton And The Shoes - Happy Land
The Viceroys - The Struggle
The Maytals - I’ll Never Grow Old
The Heptones - Get In The Groove
The Royals - Pick Up The Pieces
The Gladiators - Jah Jah Go Before Us
Bob Marley And The Wailers - Love And Affection
The Stingers - Down Presser International
The Cables - Baby Why
The Ethiopians - Owe Me No Pay Me
The Purpleites - The Pressure Is On
The Silvertones - Cheating And Lying

Soul Jazz Records’ new Studio One collection ‘Fire Over Babylon: Dread, Peace and Conscious Sounds at Studio One’ features a stellar selection of 70s roots music - classic and rare tracks recorded at Clement Dodd’s musical empire at 13 Brentford Road in the 1970s.

Rastafarian-inspired Roots music was an ever-important aspect of Studio One’s output from the start of the 1970s onwards and this album features many of the groundbreaking groups and artists that established the sound of Jamaica during this decade and beyond.

Featured here are seminal artists such as Freddie McGregor, The Wailing Souls, The Gladiators, Horace Andy, Devon Russell, Cedric Brooks, Count Ossie and Judah Eskender Tafari alongside a host of lesser-known rare cuts made at Studio One from artists such as The Prospectors, Viceroys and Pablove Black.

Studio One and founder Clement Dodd’s connection with Rastafarianism dates back to the early 1960s, with Dodd accompanying members of the Skatalites up to the hills of Kingston to listen to the music of the Rastafarian Count Ossie and his drummers. The album sleevenotes discuss how Clement Dodd’s musical links, as well as his role in heading the most important record label in Reggae, are in many ways linked to the beliefs of Rastafarianism.

TRACK LISTING

Freddie McGregor - I Am A Revolutionist
The Silvertones - Burning In My Soul
Wailing Souls - Without You
Devon Russell - Jah Jah Fire
Trevor Clarke - Sufferation
The Gladiators - Sonia
Judah Eskender Tafari - Always Trying
The Viceroys - Ya Ho
Im And Count Ossie - Give Me Back Me Language And Me Culture
The Gladiators - Serious Thing
The Prospectors - Glory For I
Wailing Souls - Things And Time
Pablove Black - Inner Peace
The Gladiators - Peace
Horace Andy - Mr. Jolly Man
Wailing Souls - Rock But Don’t Fall
Albert Griffiths And The Gladiators - Righteous Man
So Many Problems - The Viceroys

This is the new 20th Anniversary edition of one of Soul Jazz Records’ classic Studio One releases, now available as a special one-off blue double vinyl pressing.

‘Studio One Roots’ set the standard for Soul Jazz Records’ long-standing series of Studio One collections and features many of the classic artists from Clement ‘Sir Coxsone’ Dodd’s mighty roster of reggae. This album includes Freddie McGregor, Willie Williams, Cornell Campbell, Alton Ellis and Devon Russell alongside some of the defining crack session men groups of Jamaican reggae history, including The Sound Dimension, Brentford All-Stars, The Skatalites, New Establishment and more. As ever the album is filled with a mixture of seminal cuts and superrarities from the vast vaults of 13 Brentford Road.

Stand-out tracks include Alton Ellis’ ‘Blackish White’, a surreal and powerful Afro-centric dream, Count Ossie Nyabinghi and Rastafarian drummers’ genre-defying interpretation of Booker T and The MGs ‘Meditation’, Willie Williams’ awe-inspiring versioning of the Skatalites seminal Rastafari anthem ‘Addis Ababa’ and many, many more.

This album has been fully digitally remastered, analogue cut and packaged complete with original sleevenotes by Lloyd Bradley (author of When Reggae Was King), compiled by Mark Ainley (Hones Jons), high-quality Soul Jazz mastering, fantastic images of Count Ossie and the Mystic Revelation of Rastafari on the cover and a rare image of Clement Dodd and musicians inside the studio at Studio One on the full colour inner sleeves.

“The music of this compilation is of a rare, rare beauty and is essential to anyone's reggae collection” - All Music

TRACK LISTING

The Cyclones With Count Ossie - Meditation
Cornell Campbell With The Brentford Rockers - Natty Don’t Go
Freddie McGregor With The Sound Dimension - Africa Here I Come
Bunnie & Skitter - Lumumbo
Willie Williams With The All Stars - Addis Ababa
L Crosdale With Drum Bago & The Rebel Group - Set Me Free
Leroy Wallace With The New Establishment - Far Beyond
Lennie Hibbert - More Creation
Alton Ellis With The Sound Dimension - Blackish White
Winston Jarrett With The Sound Dimension - Fear Not
Devon ‘Soul’ Russell - Drum Song
The Gaylads - Africa
Black Brothers With The New Establishment - School Children
Linton Cooper With The Brentford Disco Set - You’ll Get Your Pay
Sound Dimension - Congo Rock
Zoot Simms - African Challenge

This is the latest installment of Soul Jazz Records’ on-going collection of Rastafarian music at Studio One, featuring classic material from legendary roots and culture artists The Gladiators, Horace Andy, Freddie McGregor, Sugar Minott and the Wailing Souls, alongside a superb selection of rarities from Sir Coxsone’s musical empire made up of one-off and practically unknown Rastafarian artists who recorded on myriad Studio One off-shoot labels in the 1970s - The Manchesters, Mellodies, The Nightingales and others.

In this new collection, we see that once again the prescient Clement Dodd was a man who saw the wider picture. In the 1960s it was Sir Coxsone who identified the creative potential of The Wailers, Toots and the Maytals, Heptones, Burning Spear and many, many others. In the 1970s Studio One released an untouchable selection of the finest as styles moved from reggae to deejay to dub and, in the latter half, the emergence of dancehall.

What is also clear is that throughout this era Studio One released an incredible amount of roots music and not just the most commercially obvious. For alongside the career-building catalogues of Burning Spear, The Wailing Souls, The Gladiators and so on, one needs to be an ardent Studio One collector to know some of the truly raw Rastafarian music featured here. Groups such as The Manchesters or The Nightingales feel as if they were recorded straight out of the churchical chants of the mansions.

Black Man’s Pride explains the links between the ideology of Clement Dodd at Studio One and the Rastafarian faith, which was the creation of Afro-Jamaicans and concerned above all else with a black consciousness and empowerment, a rediscovering of the personal and racial identity of black people. The movement began in the 1930s and, in tandem with this black consciousness, called for a rejection of the British imperial culture that dominated Jamaica, while creating an identity based on a re-appropriation of an African heritage.

The Rastafari movement was like a pivot, bringing together and balancing many vectors of ideologies. Marcus Garvey’s Back to Africa movement, trades union discourse, anti-colonialism and nation independence, maroon self-definition and independence, the spirit of African rebellion in the Caribbean. For Clement Dodd, a black man and producer growing up in Kingston in this era, Rastafari was simply a part of his everyday world - from witnessing Count Ossie’s grounations to the faith of many Jamaican artists at Studio One - from the Skatalites onwards.

Featured here alongside these classic and rare tracks from Studio One are new and extensive sleeve notes with track-by-track notes by Rob Chapman, author of the acclaimed Downbeat Special and Never Grow Old Studio One books.

TRACK LISTING

Horace Andy - Conscious Dreadlocks
The Gladiators - A Prayer To Thee
Freddie McGregor - Beat Down Babylon
The Manchesters - Selassie Bandman
The Mellodies - Dread Oppression
Big Joe - Jah Jah Help Us 
Horace Andy - Oh Lord Why Lord
Lloyd Jones & The Super Natural Six - Get Up And Try
Wailing Souls - Can't Catch Me
The Nightingales - Jehovah
Alphonso Stewart - Its No Secret
Errol Dunkley - Satisfaction
Mr Manchester - Give Natty Dread Glory
Sugar Minott - Wrong Doers
Noel Campbell & The Gladiators Band - Sufferation
African Brothers - No Cup No Brock
Zoot Simms - When The Time Comes
Glen Miller - Whey No Dead

"Studio One Freedom Sounds" is the new collection from the nation's favourite one-stop shop, focusing on the intense period in the second half of the 1960s when Studio One’s vast and unbeatable output of ska, soul, rock steady and reggae made it literally one of the hottest musical empires in the world.

During this highly successful period, Clement ‘Sir Coxsone’ Dodd released hundreds and hundreds of superlative singles seemingly on an almost daily basis, in the process making huge stars out of Jamaican singers such as Alton Ellis, Delroy Wilson, The Wailers, Slim Smith, Jackie Opel and many more.

Powered by the finest in-house musicians working in Jamaica, whether it was The Skatalites, Jackie Mittoo’s Soul Brothers, The Sounds Dimension or The Soul Vendors, Studio One functioned as hit factory on the scale of Motown in the USA, shaping and defining reggae music for decades to come.

Singlehandedly Studio One’s founder Clement Dodd was able to create the most successful vertically-integrated record company that Jamaica had ever known with pressing plant, printers, studio, shops and sound systems all running at once, with over 50 employees and hundreds of artists working with Studio One during this time.

"Studio One Freedom Sounds" tells the story of Studio One in the 1960s with a stunning set of ska, soul, rock steady and reggae killer tunes as well as informative sleevenotes and track-by-track info by Noel Hawks.

TRACK LISTING

Don Drummond & The Skatalites - Rain Or Shine
The Gaylads - Morning Sun
Delroy Wilson - Just Because Of You
Alton Ellis - Sunday Coming
Jackie Opel - I Am What I Am
Peter Tosh - I Am The Toughest
Delroy Wilson - Get Ready
Mr. Foundation - Timo-Oh
Roland Alphonso & The Soul Brothers - Provocation
Leroy & Rocky - Love Me Girl
Slim & Delroy - Look Who Is Back Again
The Skatalites - Spread Satin
Barrington Spence - Contemplating Mind
Ernest Ranglin - Psychedelic Rock
Bob Marley & The Wailers - Destiny
Roland Alphonso - Reggae In The Grass
Zoot Simms - We Can Talk It Over
Jackie Mittoo - Hi Jack

‘Black Man’s Pride’ is the striking new Studio One collection of deep righteous reggae, featuring Horace Andy, Alton Ellis, The Gladiators, Sugar Minott, The Heptones, Freddie McGregor, Cedric Brooks & more.

While the righteousness of blackness is at the heart of the Rastafarian faith, this collection illustrates how black pride remained a central theme, if not the defining essence, at the very core of all the music created at Studio One Records under the direction of Clement ‘Sir Coxsone’ Dodd.

In order to understand the centrality of black identity in the music created at Studio One, we need look no further than Clement ‘Sir Coxsone’ Dodd who created the first black-owned record company in Jamaica.

In similar fashion Alton Ellis’s defining ‘Black Man’s Pride’ brings up emotions that are at the heart of many of these uplifting songs. Alton Ellis’ birthplace was the Trench Town ghetto of Kingston, also the birthplace of The Wailers, Ken Boothe and many other Studio One luminaries.

Clement Dodd established a musical empire firmly rooted by the core musicians working at Studio One, many of whom came out of the Alpha School for Wayward Boys, essentially an orphanage run by Roman Catholic nuns, whose luminaries include Don Drummond, Johnny Moore, Leroy ‘Horsemouth’ Wallace, Cedric Brooks, Vin Gordon, Tommy McCook & more.

Many of the songs featured here come from the transitory phase in reggae at the start of the 1970s, after the exhilaration of Ska and following the cooling down of Rocksteady.

While reggae awaited the arrival of roots, Studio One’s vocalists were already producing some of the moodiest music imaginable.

Here are 18 heavyweight tunes, both classic cuts and super-rare tunes.

TRACK LISTING

Alton Ellis - Black Man's Pride
Horace Andy - Child Of The Ghetto
Dennis Brown - Created By The Father
The Gladiators - Roots Natty
The Classics - Got To Be Cool
The Nightingales - Rasta Is Calling
Glen Miller - Love & Understanding
Sugar Minott - Woman Shadow
Lloyd Jones & The Super Natural Six - Red In A Babylon
Dudley Sibley & The Soul Gang - Love In Our Nation
The Heptones - Equal Rights
Glen Miller - You Must Be Love
Winston Jarrett - Up Park No Mans Land
Cedric Im Brooks - Why Can’t I
Larry Marshall - Let's Make It Up
Freddie McGregor - Children Listen To Wise Words
John Holt - Build Our Dreams
Johnny Osbourne – Forgive Them

The Sound of Studio One can be identified by the great singers that it cultivated along the many great songs that these singers released. But as studio 1’s dominance was slowly pulled away by the up and coming new breed of producers many of the artists would inevitably end up working for these new camps and so the songs and singers found a new audience. The reggae sound of the Studio 1 would make a great combination and the man to pull this was together Bunny Lee.

The 1960’s in Jamaica was run by two main factions, Coxsonne’s Studio 1 and Duke Reid’s Treasure Isle. These two leading protagonists saw what some of the other great Sound System men like ‘ Tom The Great Sebastian’ had not taken onboard, that when the tunes they imported began to dry up from the USA, their future lied in producing music. Tunes that suited the musical styles that the people of Jamaica still enjoyed. By the late 1960’s thse supremacy was being challenged by the up and coming new producers on the scene, Lee Perry being one, and the other being ‘Ghost of the Studios’ himself, Bunny Lee. Bunny ‘Striker’ Lee may have inherited the moniker ‘Striker’ from his liking of a particular TV show called ‘The Hitch-Hiker’, but it would soon stand also for the considerable hits he would obtain as he was declared producer of the year in Jamaica in 1969, 1970,1971 and 1972.
For this release, we have compiled many of the great Studio hits that Bunny Lee recorded with the singers that had originally cut at the famed Studio 1. Bunny Lee’s sprinkling of magic over some classic tunes….the sound of Studio 1 backed up this time Bunny ‘Striker’ Lee’s set of star musicians The Aggravators. Proving you can’t keep a good tune down, or a great producer pushing forward…..Bunny Lee strikes back….
Hope you enjoy the set…..

Featured here is a new collection spanning Studio One’s dancehall period - singers and deejays on classic Studio One rhythms, studio and electronic wizardry from the Brentford Road headquarters, lots of rare 12” singles, all effortlessly brought together to nice up the dance.

When Clement ‘Sir Coxsone’ Dodd first ruled the dancehalls of Kingston in the 1950s, fighting off the soundsystem competition of Duke Reid, King Edwards and others, few could imagine how far the reign of Studio One would last. However, the emergence of dancehall as a distinct style of reggae at the end of the 1970s, as upstart competing producers began recording vocalists and deejays performing over replayed classic Studio One rhythms, in many ways made the influence of Clement Dodd’s vision more omnipotent than ever before (and lasting to this day).

Not surprisingly, Clement Dodd’s creativity and business acumen made him quick to respond to this musical phenomenon - he soon began voicing the new stable of Studio One singers and deejays, such as Sugar Minott and Lone Ranger, over original classic Studio One rhythms recorded in the late 1960s - by producing some of the most innovative, time-bending and creative music of his career.

This album comes as CD with slipcase, super-loud, super-heavy triple vinyl with free download code.

TRACK LISTING

Ernest Wilson - Why Oh Why
Johnny Osbourne - Lend Me The Sixteen
Windel Haye - Haunted House
Green Tea & Chassy - Ghetto Girl
Johnny Osbourne - Time A Run Out
Lone Ranger - Noah In The Ark
Devon Russell - Thanks And Praise
Brentford Disco Set - Rebel Disco
Doreen Schaffer - I Don’t Know Why
Slim Smith - Lonely Lover
Field Marshall Haye - Roots And Herb Style
DJ Dawn & The Ranking Queens - Peace Truce Thing
Jim Brown - Cure For The Fever
Sugar Minott - Peace Treaty Style
Lloyd Robinson - It Deep
Barry Brown - Far East
Windel Haye & Captain
Morgan - Flood Victim
Ernest Wilson - Pick Them Up

A huge download online, Jay Z's "At Studio One" now gets a very limited vinyl pressing. We get "Black Album" acapellas mashed up with classic Studio One reggae riddims straight out of 70s Kingston. The killer backing tracks have been cleverly synched up to Jay Z's vocals, and the whole LP works 100%. If you're a fan of reggae-hip hop blends then you should already have your eye on this!

TRACK LISTING

December 4th
Encore
Change Clothes
Dirt Off Your Shoulder
Threat
Moment Of Clarity
99 Problems
Interlude
Justify My Thug
Lucifer
Allure