During the Mountain Goats recent Daytrotter session, John Darnielle did his part to bring reggae music back into the fold to an audience that may have written off the genre as bad “lifestyle” music that is sadly way too often co-opted by cruise ship commercials and bad beach bars. His stripped down cover of “Babylon [...]

Continuing with their artist curated reggae and dub compilation series (see: DJ Spooky & Jonny Greenwood, previously) Trojan Records invited Super Furry Animal’s bassist Guto Pryce to raid their vaults. Pryce, in his selection, shows a keen ear for classic reggae, ska, dancehall, and of course, and not surprisngly, dub. Trojan waxes: “(this is) a [...]

I have no idea if the following (urban) legend, regarding Peter Tosh, is true, and it really doesn’t matter, because even if pure myth, it illustrates my point either way. The story goes that Peter Tosh’s relationship with The Rolling Stones soured. both professionally and personally, due to Tosh’s refusal to leave Keith Richards’ Jamaican [...]

Per the DJ Spooky curated Trojan compilation post, I was recently having a discussion with a friend about the importance of Lee “Scratch” Perry in the evolution and prominence of reggae and dub over the past forty years, both as a producer as well as a performer (not to mention just a righteous character). It [...]

I can’t even begin to answer that question, as 1997′s Maverick A Strike is the only album I have owned; though a quick perusal of Amazon shows Quaye has released a number of albums over the past ten years, including a collaboration with William Orbit. Innarestin. Somewhat surprisingly, this album has aged pretty well, not [...]

I tend to listen to old dub and reggae, intensively, in spurts. This typically happens every two years, and the past few months have found me back in a place where I am actively seeking new material out. Roughly, the pattern tends to be: I’ll gather a bunch of albums/comps, and it will take me [...]

Mixtapes and compilations, curated by artists I admire, have always appealed to me in a voyeuristic/curio type of way. For the music junkie, it’s a little bit akin to peering into a sliver of ones soul. Jonny Greenwood, of Radiohead acclaim, sees his reggae/dub compilation drop this week on the Trojan/Sanctuary label. For those appreciative/interested [...]