https://youtu.be/EQf-zOJA_aE

The CD and digital have three additional tracks:
10. Freebird
11. Jah Time Will Come (Live)
12. Power Crazy People – Stop The War (Live)

To be released on www.sugarshackrecords.co.uk

pic by Martin Langford

The Malcolm X Centre show was the band’s chance to translate their new record On The Ground to the stage and prove their relevance in a much-changed musical landscape since their inception in 1979.

The result on the night was… success.

The reinvigorated roots reggae group recently dropped their first studio recording for more than 20 years and fittingly played pretty much every track off the new album interspersed with occasional older material.

Classic tracks on the night such as “The Father” and “Tribal War” fitted in well with new material including recent double A 12” “Pompous Way” adding a continuing social commentary, and “Oh Mama Africa” – an upbeat song celebrating Africa. Here it is live:

With 11 musicians on stage, including six members of the original line-up (Carlton Smith, Errol Brown, Kondwani Ngozi, Jabulani Ngozi, Cordell Francis and Charlie), the sound was not muddied or overcomplicated but rather added depth and layers of instrumentation to recreate the sound of the new record.

The newer members of the band, including a skilled horn section and a suitably tight rhythm section, also showcased their skills and place among the original musicians in the group.

Here’s the Bristol band performing new track “Landscape” from On The Ground:

Here’s “Militancy”, which could have easily come from the group’s first incarnation:

Overall BLACK ROOTS were back in their classic roots groove and seemed to keep existing fans happy while appealing to a new younger generation.

The new record On The Ground (out on Sugar Shack Records) is available on LP, CD and digital download from the usual outlets including Amazon, iTunes and the Bristol Archive Records online shop.

Nubian Records has also put together the following “reggaementry”, filmed during the recording of On The Ground, and including exclusive interviews with BLACK ROOTS original members.

Q: Greetings, Mike! Over the last few years, Bristol Archive Records has been unearthing some of the most crucial British Reggae to see the light of day. How did your concept and dedication start?

A: We released a compilation called The Bristol Punk Explosion 1977 -1983 approx two years ago. It didn’t sell very well but it mapped out the template for the extensive sleeve notes, hidden unreleased gems and the pictures. As soon as I saw the finished product I knew I had to pull a Reggae compilation together and I knew that the challenge would be to get Black Roots and Talisman together on the same record. I had a white pop reggae / ska band in 1980 and The Rimshots had supported both of these awesome roots bands, the problem was that they had only ever shared the same stage once and there was history between the two groups. I knew or thought I could get access to other reggae material by making contact with Gene Walsh who had run Shoc Wave Records in the 80′s and had released Joshua Moses and Sharon Benjamin so the challenge was on.

Q: Your label’s Reggae catalogue started out with “Bristol Reggae Explosion”; full of exciting songs from virtually unknown artists. Did you anticipate the huge amount of material that must have come across your desk? There was enough material for two more successful compilation albums.

A: We’ve released three successful compilations up until now actually and are currently working on Reggae Explosion 4 which will be the end of the 80′s and then Reggae Explosion 5 which will be the start of the 90′s. We had no idea how much material was in people’s houses, under beds, on cassettes, old quarter inch, limited edition vinyl. I was introduced to Martin Langford who compiles the records and writes the sleeve notes, Martins memory of all things Reggae is amazing and my skill has been in finding the artists and engaging them in the project. The quality of the unreleased material is astounding!

Dan Ratchet
Joshua Moses

Q: The world now is familiar with the sheer brilliance of artists like Dan Ratchet and Joshua Moses , to name a few. Did these talents approach you?

A: No I approached Dan and then his producer Simba Rashe Tongogara. Both live in Bristol. Joshua, again living in Bristol was introduced via Gene Walsh who then introduced me to Joshua’s producer Mikey Taylor Hall. I had met Joshua once in the 80′s at a Domino game at Gene’s house, he didn’t remember but it made the approach easier as we had friends in common.

Q: Bristol has Reggae talent on par with London and Kingston and all points between; any more artists or groups coming out of the woodwork?

A: Wow thank you for saying that, the artists will be really happy. We are mixing a Vibes album at the moment, recorded in 1989 it features Popsy Curious, Winston Minnott from Cool Runnings and Veereal and was never mixed back in the day so was never released. Some killa tunes on here. We are awaiting the final delivery of a Restriction album, now this will be something special. Mikey Taylor Hall has given us unreleased material that he has produced which will appear on Reggae Explosion 4.

Q: Perhaps your greatest concept was to work with Black Roots and reissue some of their earlier works. How was it to work with these legends?

A: A privilege and a pleasure. Jabulani is a quiet man so it’s taken a while to build the relationship. Martin Langford came up with the concept of the Singles Anthology as he is a lifelong fan. We are releasing a Dub album of ‘On The Ground’ in the spring and will probably release on Vinyl only, a Limited Edition of Black Roots first ever album with additional sleeve notes.

Talisman

Q: There have been some incredible album launch concerts within the last year. Is there a chance of some international appearances?

A: Now that is interesting. Black Roots, Talisman and Joshua Moses all have the same agent and all are back out playing live and have made big British festival appearances this summer. All three have new albums either just released or ready for the spring release. All three would love the opportunity to tour in Europe, just ask a promoter to approach us. I’d also like to take The Bristol Reggae Explosion Live show out on the road. We played a monumental gig this summer with nine of the featured singers on the compilation albums all singing their track from the records. Talisman acted as the backing band and played a set in their own right – it was brilliant.

Q: It’s fantastic news that the Fashion catalogue is going to be reissued by your sister label. Are you going to be involved in this project?

A: I set the deal up with Chris Lane but it’s Martin Langford’s baby to put the track listings together. We are hoping for two new compilations in the spring. Fashion In Fine Style Significant Hits Vol 1 is out now.

Q: Your resident “minister of information” Martin Langford is a plethora of knowledge. How did he come on board Bristol Archive Records?

A: I was introduced by a DJ and Vinyl collector John Stapleton. We met in the record shop Martin works in on a Saturday. I told Martin about my plans for the Bristol Reggae Explosion Vol 1 and he just threw a few names at me that I either wasn’t aware of or hadn’t considered. It was obvious from that moment that we should team up and we haven’t looked back since. We both have very different skills and personalities but as a team we’ve proved unstoppable.

Q: Your releases show that you have a tight knit staff working with you. Did you anticipate the international success of your projects?

A: Not a clue. Steve Street who masters all the material is my brother in law. He was a studio engineer in the late 70′s and 80′s here in Bristol and recorded some of the material first time around. He later worked for Tears For Fears as their in house engineer at the Wool hall. Steve was in bands in the 80′s and believe it or not has made two Top Of The Pops appearances! We couldn’t run the label in the way that we do without Steve’s expertise and experience but also his unbelieveable commitment to quality.

Q: Mike, give thanks for bringing the Reggae gems of Bristol to the world. It has rekindled true recognition of original and authentic Roots Reggae Musik. Keep Jah Fire burning and sharing what this world needs!!

A: Thank you. The pleasure I’ve had in the project is delivering the finished cds and vinyl to the original artists and seeing them smile and be proud. First time around nothing much happened for them, now in 2012 and beyond they are all achieving their little slice of recognition and success.
Interview by Robert “Higherman” Heilman (October 2012) | Pics courtesy of Bristol Archive Records
(Please do not reproduce without permission)

http://www.reggae-vibes.com

After the screening Bristol Archive Records are hosting an after party in the Café/Bar to celebrate the release of I’m Free, Bunny’s long lost album. With a live performance by Bunny featuring some of The Startled Insects and Tony Orrell, PA from Dan Ratchet and DJ support c/o Steve Rice (Downbeat Melody Sound System).

Fee: £8.00 full/£6.50 concessionss (includes free priority entry to the launch party in the Café/Bar).

The Watershed Bristol

http://www.watershed.co.uk/whatson/3566/voices-from-another-part-of-town-album-launch/

Following the 2011 release of “Black Roots – The Reggae Singles Anthology ” and the 2012 rerelease of “All Day All Night” deluxe version by reissue label Bristol Archive Records, Black Roots and their label Nubian Records have now teamed up with Bristol Archive’s parent label Sugar Shack Records to release their brand new album “On The Ground”.
It may be more than twenty years since the original line up were together in the studio, but for their new record they’ve picked up where they left off and are right back in that classic Black Roots groove that will keep their existing fans happy and appeal to a whole new generation of reggae lovers, many of whom weren’t born when Black Roots released their string of classic records.
The music is entertaining and upbeat, but it is still roots music. These songs have a social message that is just as relevant in the troubled world we inhabit in 2012 as the band’s songs were during the ups and downs of the 1980s.
Opening track “I Believe” makes it clear that for all the progress we’ve made, for many people life today is just as hard as it’s ever been. Surviving the system isn’t easy. Second track “Pompous Way” is also concerned with society, but this time with fixing it and reaching out to the next generation rather than labelling them as the problem. The music itself harks back to Black Roots of old and other than the mention of the digital age could easily have been recorded thirty years ago.
Another song that sounds like it could have come from the band’s first incarnation is “Militancy” definitely sounding like Black Roots of old and also touching on the theme of slavery, a theme that receives further exploration in the aptly titled “Slavery” recalling the memory of the great evil that befell millions of Africans and their descendants.
There are more upbeat songs recalling a life in rural Jamaica with “Long Long Ago” or celebrating Africa with “Oh Mama Africa.” In fact whatever the message the band are delivering they still do it with great and enjoyable music, the new members of the band more than earning their place alongside the founding fathers.
More than three decades after they formed, Black Roots are back with a brand new 17 track CD album that defies the passage of time and will appeal to all reggae fans, released on September 10th on CD, limited edition vinyl and digital download, available from all good retailers.

www.sugarshackrecords.co.uk / www.bristolarchiverecords.com / www.nubianrecords.co.uk

One of the last surviving founders of the festival that evolved into the St Paul’s Carnival has spoken out about the state of the event in the wake of this year’s cancellation.

Community activist Roy Hackett, who is now 84, was among a small group that launched the festival in 1968 and while his active involvement ended 11 years later, he has kept closely in touch with this key event in the Bristol calendar.

It was due to take place on 7 July but after a cash shortfall, organisers announced in February that it would be scaled back, and at the end of April said it would be cancelled, citing funding and crowd safety concerns.

Hackett criticised a lack of transparency in the organisers’ dealings with the public. “They seem to have a closed door policy. It’s only when the money ran out that we heard how much they had got and how much they had spent.”

He is concerned that the event was successfully run without subsidy for many years but now seems unable to function without costly financial support.

Hackett said: “We ran it for 11 years without this council or any council, ever putting any money in. So when they are talking about how this carnival hasn’t got any money, I want to know why.”

He added that after decades when the event ran fairly smoothly, a rising tide of problems seem to have occurred only in recent times: “It has been cancelled three times in its whole history, but in the last 10 years it has been stopped twice.”

Hackett fears that between the money worries blamed for the latest cancellation and other problems of the past few years, the St Paul’s Carnival may have lost it way.

He is scathing about the use of external advisors – “A consultant to tell you how to run a community event?”– and people being paid when carnival should be community-owned and community driven to stay closer to its roots.

“The festival was never a business. It was a community event. The event involved everybody that was living in the community. Everybody did their little bit. We went with caps in hand, begging pennies, and half a crown. If you give five shillings, that is a whole lot of money.

“People always asked me: ‘Do you get big pay?’ I say: ‘For what?’ I’ve never charged anyone for what I do because I don’t need to; I have a job, I have my wife, I have my family.”

Hackett was interviewed as part of Bristol Archive Record’s ongoing oral history of the city. An individual who is almost an institution in Bristol and St Paul’s, he arrived in the UK from Jamaica in 1952 at the age of 24.

A career in construction took him all over the country, with spells building the Hinkley Point nuclear power station on Somerset’s coast and even working alongside Welsh star and The Voice coach Sir Tom Jones: “He was always singing.”

After settling in Bristol, Hackett became engaged in community activities, including anti-racist protests.

He was strongly involved in Bristol’s bus boycott in 1963, called in protest at the failure to hire black staff for the city’s transport company, which led within weeks to the lifting of the so-called “colour bar”.

Hackett said his role in creating the annual celebration that became carnival came from his habit of attending meetings and joining committees.

As he puts it, some people preach, others enjoy gambling, but he “fell into sitting in on associations and committees”. Even today, in his eighties, “I go to the meetings because I am a nosey person, because I want to know what’s going on.”

Carnival is seen as something strongly derived from Caribbean culture, in particular Jamaica, and Hackett’s childhood memories are of Christmas celebrations: “We don’t have anything back home on as big a scale as the St Paul’s Carnival. In Jamaica, the carnivals move from parish to parish.

“I lived in the countryside in Jamaica until I was 16. There, carnivals are part of the Christmas amusement; everybody dresses up as a god or a devil and has their own role in the carnival. Each year we looked forward to it and it would go right on through to New Year’s Day.”

Hackett is saddened that the St Paul’s Carnival he helped launch has hit so many problems when the original ideals of 1968 were very simple.

“At the very beginning we just wanted to do something to say thank you to our community. I thought it was a good idea because everybody could have a part in it. The old people could watch from their doorways and the children would have smiles on their faces and shout, ‘Mum, look here, Look here.’ That brings joy.”

Bristol Archive Records: www.bristolarchiverecords.com

© Alex Cater 2012

We start with our April releases which includes AMJ Dub Collective

More news and detail soon.