Special Anniversary edition of Bob Marley’s historic release. Louder Than War’s Paul Scott-Bates reviews.
There’s always something exciting about a new Bob Marley release, maybe because his family are usually behind it. There is an important, undisturbable legacy with Marley that is protected by his loved ones, nothing is released without their full support and involvement and, with someone as pivotal as Bob in the world of music, that is paramount. Kaya 40 is one such album.
Forty years since its original release, Kaya has been carefully and tenderly updated by son Stephen and the results, whilst sometimes subtle, are quite brilliant. The objective was to heavily use the original versions of the songs from demos and session recordings to create something as authentic as possible. Synching the vocals with alternative instrumental arrangements and mixing on the analog ideas from the 70s, he has produced a modern day version sympathetic to the original but with enough updating to make it sound fresh and bright.
Recorded with what was a new version of The Wailers including wife Rita and, Carlton and Aston Barrett the album was first released just before the legendary One Love Peace Concert in Kingston, Jamaica in June 1978 following his return from London exile after a failed assassination attempt in 1976. The album was recorded at the same time as songs which would appear on the classic Exodus album and contained new versions of Kaya and Sun Is Shining from 1971s Soul Revolution.
So, to the purist how does the album differ? The changes will be instantly recognisable – different vocals in place and an overall more modern, almost clinical feel. The tracks are sparser, less cluttered and you get the impression that maybe this version would have been more preferably to Bob. There are some absolutely exquisite dubs scattered throughout (check out Sun Is Shining) which often send goosebumps down the spine as they reverb away into the background. It’s easy, joyous and, to be frank sounds like a brand new recording – hats off to Stephen for such a great piece of affectionate work.
To the newcomer, Kaya 40 could very well open the doors to a world of Bob Marley and maybe even a wider glimpse of reggae in general. Kaya is an underrated album often overshadowed by Exodus and the obvious Legend, the compilation that lit up the world in 1984, but it deserves to be right up there. If you can’t feel the vibe and beauty of Is This Love then there is no hope for you and if Satisfy Your Soul doesn’t then it’s possible you don’t have one.
There is often a certain amount wariness to be appropriated with new or remixed versions of old albums but Kaya 40 is an exception to the rule. Bob Marley’s legacy continues and this release is something he would surely approve of.
All words by Paul Scott-Bates. More of Paul’s writing on Louder Than War can be found at his author’s archive. Paul’s website is hiapop Blog and you can follow him on Twitter here, and on Facebook here.
London based afro-dub ensemble release their new album. Mikey Bailey reviews for Louder Than War.
Fofoulah. It’s there. Daega Rek. The truth.
It’s here.
This is one of the most progressive and innovative albums of this year.
As soon as the needle hits Nyari Garong we are transported to the outskirts of what we were led to believe was the real World. Say goodbye to your old self, you are never going to be the same again.
Electronica glitches through frightening and beautiful shamanic chants, quickfire sabar beats punch holes in your daily lives and fill them with futuristic melodies and Wolof tales. Everything shifts with such fluidity and shockingly raw power that any other music that you might care to listen to afterwards will seem limp and bland.
They explore many avenues of what is to be human. With deft and dynamic drumbeats pulsing through their music, there is no time to settle back in an easy chair. Seye (Marriage) is a shapeshifting and hypnotic track. The title track, Daega Rek, is subtle and smooth, focusing on reality and the truth.
The combined talents of Kaw Secka (Sabar/vocals), Tom Challenger (Sax/synths), Batch Gueye (Vocals/dance), Phil Stevenson (Guitar), John Brierley (Bass) and Dave Smith (Drums) creates a fusion that is mesmerising and intricate.
Hip-hop dances with wild West African trance, jazz trips with electro lightning strikes and they come together in a sweeping embrace of different cultures. They are creating Worlds within Worlds.
The band are set and ready, not just for the release of Daega Rek, but also for a tour of the U.K. which will unleash this fierce and stunning collective on audiences from the South West to Glasgow, with two Danish gigs in between. Are the people of The World ready for the genre busting Fofoulah and their astonishing Afro-Dub explosions? Maybe not. But they will definitely leave those venues with their minds firmly blown and their hands clutching treasured new albums.
All words via Paul Scott-Bates. More of Paul’s writing on Louder Than War can be found at his author’s archive. Paul’s website is hiapop Blog and you can follow him on Twitter here, and on Facebook here.
The best quavering voice in roots reggae entrances a hot Bristol crowd. Elfyn Griffith cools out to Horace Andy…
Part of the Bristol music fabric due to being an essential part of Massive Attack, reggae legend Horace Andy’s unique quaver has resonated afresh over the past few decades. The Studio One singer has appeared on all of Massive’s albums since their debut Blue Lines in 1991 and this purveyor of roots rock reggae, dancehall and lovers styles never fails to please.
Tonight, this most favourite of Bristol’s reggae imports has the solid backing of The Dub Asante Band to push his vibrato vocals over a packed crowd, thankfully air-conditioned to the hilt as the streets swelter outside.
They presciently warm up with a trombone-led theme to The Godfather as the build-up to this particular reggae godfather’s appearance. And on he bounds, resplendent in red, bouncing on the soles of his feet like a man half his age, dreads flailing.
As sprightly as anybody in the audience, Andy high steps and jogs to the more upbeat numbers, playing the old reggae game of rewinding after the start for a few numbers and starting the song again. This old skool ploy is part of his performance and hasn’t changed over the years, but then ultimately HA is an old school reggae man and consummate performer with a soulful golden voice which carries the rock-steady and ska-infused tunes perfectly.
As always, he goes through a set of favourites with the Massive number Spying Glass at the start and his own version of Hymn To The Big Wheel as part of the encore. The blistering trombone and belting rhythm section of Dub Asante propels the music along through gems from his extensive back catalogue: the lovely Man Next Door with it’s “In my neighbourhood…” chorus, Money Money Money, a storming Zion Gate and Cus Cus, and of course his most enduring hit, Skylarking.
Amidst the scattershots of dub and the roots pulse, a beautiful Ain’t No Sunshine also stands out, and he ends with the insistent lilt of Leave Rastaman Alone and an acapella Angel.
Out into the humid night air we drift, the Horace Andy quaver still ringing in our ears. His nickname might be ‘Sleepy’ but he’s woken us up for sure…
Horace Andy’s latest album Live It Up is on Pioneer International
You can keep up with news of Horace Andy on Facebook
Andy Brown has a one-man punky reggae party at home listening to Nightly Dread. A compilation of Bob Marley cover versions with all the profits going to Dementia UK. He shares his thoughts for Louder Than War.
It’s not been a particularly great year (to put it mildly), yet for every fresh batch of bad news there’s been something hopeful and inspiring. Yes, 2020 may very well have highlighted the worst aspects of our society but it’s also shone a spotlight on the best. Alex, of Leeds-based indie label One Step Outside Records, has seen his Mum slip further into dementia this year. Anyone that’s seen the effects of dementia on a loved one will be all too familiar with the heartache. Music has been a life raft for many of us this year and when Alex immersed himself in reggae, he decided to go one step further and create a compilation to raise money for Dementia UK. Nightly Dread features artists from around the UK and beyond, gathered together to reinterpret songs from Bob Marley’s extensive back-catalogue. Let’s get together (at an appropriate social distance) and feel alright.
Grandmammy kick things off with an inspired take on Coming In From The Cold. As the name suggests, the band have an affinity for the mighty Grandaddy and their cover is an emotive, heart-racing combination of the aforementioned bands indie classic The Crystal Lake and Marley’s song of hope and perseverance. Alex’s own band, Bad Marley And The Wasters, make an appearance with an equally fresh take on Small Axe with some particularly lovely harmonies, glockenspiel and trumpet. The calm is shattered with the arrival of Andy Dazzler and his blistering, punk-rock take on Kaya. This is then followed by the brilliantly bonkers, twisted carnival-esque reimaging of Get Up, Stand Up by Bobby Stickah. The breadth of styles on display over the compilations staggering 40 track length make Nightly Dread a consistently engaging and satisfying listen.
The consistency and quality remain high throughout and my highlights seem to change with each subsequent listen. Carol Hodge transforms the chilled, reggae shuffle of Cornerstone into an utterly stunning and soulful piano ballad. Hodge has the kind of voice that could effortlessly turn the toughest of hombres into a big pile of blubbering mush. It’s really, really beautiful. Wet Camper’s suitably riotous Punky Reggae Party is an entirely different prospect and provides one of the most enjoyable, full-throttle moments on the compilation. Meanwhile, Tragical History Tour strip Exodus back to a meditative, acoustic spiritual. A great cover should offer a fresh perspective: reminding you of the original while being unafraid to play around with the formula. Nightly Dread is crammed-full of genuine creativity, ingenuity and inspiration.
Of course, if you’re looking for an artist with an impressive back-catalogue then you really can’t go wrong with Bob Marley And The Wailers. Pitch And Toss deliver a charming cover of the eternally wonderful Three Little Birds while the Scarborough-based RMG provides a stripped-back, heart-on-sleeve, cover of the aching Wait In Vain. The Hollow Men arrive with an innovative, woozy and dub-inflected version of the lesser-known So Much Trouble In The World and may have just provided 2020 with its very own anthem. Leeds-based, eclectic eccentrics Billy Billy 5P offer up a thoroughly joyous cover of One Love. Like much of Nightly Dread, the songs message of love, hope and solidarity feels absolutely essential right now. Spreading some much needed positivity. I mean, it’s almost impossible not to smile when Sick And Bob’s punkified, Chas & Dave inspired take on Jammin’ blares from the speakers.
C&D take Real Situation and turn it into a hazy, wonderfully wonky indie-rock slow-burner while Hayley Gaftarnick brings back the reggae vibes with a big-hearted take on Satisfy My Soul. Leeds-based singer-songwriter Miranda Arieh imbues Pimpers Paradise with her own inimitable style and creates one of the compilations most startling and original moments in the process. Captain Hotknives is a whole other ball game; he reworks No Woman, No Cry as a tale of posh people and excess at a festival and provides Nightly Dread with its funniest, foul-mouthed moment. Over the course of the compilation we’ve had songs to make us dance, laugh, cry and sing along at the very top of our lungs.
The compilation comes to a close with two very different yet equally special covers. Katie MF’s reading of Is This Love unfurls with a slow, slumberous magic all of its own while Jay Jay AKA Trashy P provides a reassuring, straight-from-the-heart rendition of Redemption Song. The latter was recorded on the day that he found out that his Mum had passed away. The compilation is dedicated to both Alex and Jay Jay’s mothers as well as Amy Doughty and Carry Franklin who passed away last year. It’s also a rather fantastic tribute to Bob Marley & The Wailers. Nightly Dread is a compilation born of loss, heartache and difficult times yet every single second is infused with joy, love and creativity. Something Marley himself would most certainly approve of.
The latest album from Soothsayers is a glorious fusion of dub, jazz and electronica, shot through with the sounds of Africa and South America. And when you stop dancing, you can reflect on those intelligent social commentaries contained within. Dance and revolt. Gordon Rutherford reviews for Louder Than War.
Fela Kuti – that musical colossus and one of the primary influences of Soothsayers’ unique fusion – once said that music was not for enjoyment, but for revolution. Well, sorry Fela, you may well be the God of Afro-beat, but you got that one wrong. It is possible for great music to do both and We Are Many, the ninth album from South London-based Soothsayers, categorically proves that. In this collection, we have an album that gives pure sonic pleasure, all underpinned by a simmering polemic against the state of the world today. Dance and revolt.
At its heart, We Are Many sticks to the knitting. That fusion of reggae, jazz and Afro-beat that has been the foundation of the Soothsayers sound, helping them to build a solid following since their first album in 2000, remains. But listen more deeply you will uncover evidence that Soothsayers have evolved. This progression is undoubtedly a consequence of the process the band’s founding members, Idris Rahman and Robin Hopcraft, went through in creating this superb body of work. It all starts almost six thousand miles away from their London base, in that sprawling Brazilian metropolis, Sao Paulo.
Brazilian fashion designer Francisco Costa describes his homeland as “not what you see, but what you feel. Once you spend time here, you get in the vibe. It’s really intoxicating”. Last year, when you could do such things, Rahman and Hopcraft were fortunate enough to spend a chunk of time in that vibrant, football and music loving, South American jewel and they absolutely got into the vibe. The evolution of the Soothsayers sound started here.
Robin Hopcraft & Idris Rahman in the studio in Sao Paulo
Those tapes from the Brazilian sessions, recorded with a host of outstanding local musicians, were transported back to Soothsayers’ South London studio. Enter Wu-Lu and Kwake Bass to add another layer with their elements of nu-jazz and electronica. Then just as things were progressing as planned, the pandemic hit. To their credit, Rahman and Hopcraft didn’t allow lockdown to derail them. They simply changed their methodology by finishing the album the only way they could – remotely and with contributions from the core Soothsayers collective. The finished version effectively paints all of these constituent parts onto one technicolour canvas. Still Afro, dubby and jazzy, but with that electronic element and subtle Latin American vibes.
We Are Many is an album that is driven by horns from the heavens, heavy basslines and a groove that is more on time than the Swiss rail network. You will find it impossible to resist the urge to dance and sway to those fluid rhythms that will be absolutely at home in a sweaty venue on a Friday night. These are the ingredients that bring the pleasure. The revolution comes from the socially and politically charged lyrics, with almost all of the tracks here having something to say. All of that creates an album of intriguing contradictions.
Of course, one of the trademarks of Soothsayers are those lush three-part vocal harmonies involving Rahman, Hopcraft and Julia Biel. Therefore, followers of the band will be enthralled the minute the needle drops onto the groove and the first thing to delight our ears is that divine sound. It’s a shrewd move to introduce the album’s opener Rat Race with those voices perfectly in sync; so much so that they repeat the trick at the beginning of the second song, Love In Unity. Those special harmonies recur throughout the album, most notably on Move In Silence and Slave.
Soothsayers have always delivered thoughtful, socially observant lyrics and their time in Brazil has opened Rahman and Hopcraft to new issues to write about. Those opening two tracks – Rat Race and Love In Unity – directly address the plight of the Brazilian people, with Rat Race critically observing the regime of Brazilian right-wing president, Bolsanaro, whilst Love And Unity speaks out against increasing levels of violence by the Brazilian government towards its native and indigenous people. (Coincidentally, I write this on the day when protest marches are taking place across Brazil following the alleged killing of a Black man by White security guards.) It’s a no-holds-barred introduction. Both tracks come straight out of those Sao Paulo sessions and the inflections of Brazilian musicians Victor Rice (Bass), Bruno Buarque (Drums) and Joao Erbetta (Guitar) are prominent.
The uplifting Afro-beat of Slave champions the rights of workers. One Step Away, nailed down by Andrew Gibson’s understated guitar working in tandem with Emmanuel Afram’s bass, subtly observes how close each of us are, literally one step away, to falling through the cracks into homelessness. The white noise of social media and 24/7 news is addressed in Move In Silence. Those heavenly harmonies floating over Kishon Khan’s funky keyboard do not make the message any less pithy.
Ironically, despite all of the brilliantly uncompromising and aphoristic words and those perfect harmonies, the two stand out tracks for me are (practically) instrumentals. Firstly, we have the magnificent, Rolling. It’s a song that, I assume, came entirely out of the Brazilian sessions and the breathy vocal sounds of Ligia Kamada, Bruno Buarque and Joao Erbetta, lying deeper in the mix, perfectly complement Kamada and Buarque’s dubby percussion. Over it all glide the sumptuous horns of Hopcraft and Rahman. The sound and feel reminded me very much of Donny McCaslin’s band’s performance on Bowie’s brilliant and poignant farewell, Blackstar.
The other instrumental, Hands In The Ground, is equally special. Unlike Rolling, this electrifying jazz-funk number with its infectious hook is unquestionably born in London. Wu-Lu’s bass swims with Kwake’s drums, pinning the groove perfectly. Rahman’s soaring sax flies off to celestial heights before swooping back to duel ferociously with Hopcraft’s trumpet. It is joy unconfined and unlimited.
Album closer We Won’t Lose Hope is a defiant proclamation against the impending horror of Brexit. It’s an ugly prospect that is exquisitely presented by Julia Biel’s sublime vocal over Gibson’s choppy rhythm guitar, bringing this excellent collection to a quite beautiful conclusion.
It is evident that, despite the eminently danceable, sunny grooves, We Are Many is a protest album. But it makes its protest in a most powerful way. In much the same way as Sault’s two epic works earlier in the year, We Are Many puts its points across thoughtfully, saliently and eloquently; in a mature way that forces you to reflect, rather than merely ranting and spitting aggressively. The music and the messages are powerful and positive and challenge us to believe that the world can be a better place. Moreover, it also disproves Fela Kuti’s assertion around the role and purpose of music.
It is an album that feels like it could only arrive in 2020. It is of the times and for the times. I’m going to give the last word over to Idris Rahman and Robin Hopcraft. Louder Than War is a believer in, and champion of, the power and influence of music. This belief cannot be summed up any better than by the founders of Soothsayers. “Whilst heavy questions of life and death and the future of our species surround us all, music is a guide that can help us perceive the challenges in a different way – a guide that can help us towards a deep inner peace. If we listen, music can help light the way. We hope you will experience the joy, meditative power and beauty in the connection of different musical cultures that was experienced in the creation of this album.” (Idris Rahman and Robin Hopcraft).
Sister Nancy & Legal Shot Fiddlers, Bristol 3rd May 2019 Dancehall’s first female DJ Sister Nancy brought her rhymes to Bristol last week. Elfyn Griffith felt the force. There’s much boomtastic bombastic, riddley diddley boing and all that malarkey going on in South Bristol tonight as a reggae dancehall night takes place at Fiddlers. This […]
Benjamin Zephaniah and The Revolutionary Minds Trinity, Bristol 16th May 2019 Revolutionary dub poet Benjamin Zephaniah and The Revolutionary Minds land in Bristol on their UK tour. Elfyn Griffith dances political and Michael Brumby takes the photos. Benjamin Zephaniah doesn’t mince his words. Never has done. The dreadlocked dub poet from Handsworth has railed and […]
Joe Gibbs & The Professionals – The 1970s Dub Albums Collection (Doctor Bird) 4 CD set Out 21 April Buy it from Sister Ray Doctor Bird’s new 4 CD collection brings together the 1970s dub albums from Joe Gibbs and the Professionals: the 4 chapters of African Dub, Dub Serial, State of Emergency and Dub […]
Bob Marley And The Wailers – Kaya 40 (Tuff Gong/Island Def Jam/UMe)
Fofoulah – Daega Rek (
Bad Marley And The Wasters / Various Artists
SOOTHSAYERS
