https://sugarshackrecords.bandcamp.com/album/wolf

Set for release on Monday 18th March 2013 on Limited Edition 12” Vinyl & digital download, through Sugar Shack Records

This is the second in a planned series of remixes by the Rootikal Crew out of London. They have turned up the Dub Dial to 11 on “Jah Time Has Come” from the new Jashwha Moses album “No War on Earth” and yet again they’ve exceeded our expectations.

If their first remix was imbued with the spirit of mid-seventies downtown Kingston, their take on “Jah Time Has Come” is simultaneously both bang up to date and yet also captures a classic UK vibe. If it was indeed vintage, then no doubt it would now be labelled as a “Shaka Killer”. As it is, the Rootikal crew have already tested its sound system appeal at their own night and it passed with flying colours. It’s a heavy, heavy mix that picks you up and sweeps you along on a four minute spiritual journey.

With all this praise for the Rootikal mix, we shouldn’t forget the original mixes are equally brilliant. Both the vocal and dub get a vinyl outing on this 12” providing a totally different, but equally fantastic listening experience from the creators of the music Jashwha Moses and Mikey Taylor-Hall. With more than seventy years of writing and performing reggae between them they certainly know what they are doing and nail both mixes. There are no weak tracks on this record. Jahggae has arrived.

As if three strong cuts of “Jah Time Has Come” weren’t enough, we’ve really bumped up the value with both the vocal and dub of “Suffering Is In The Past” from Jashwha’s previous album, “Joshua To Jashwha – 30 Years In The Wilderness”, (Bristol Archive Records). For various reasons we couldn’t include these two excellent tracks on the vinyl release, an oversight that this new Jashwha record has allowed us to correct
Released 18th March 2013 on limited edition 12” vinyl from Sugar Shack Records and with five excellent cuts “Jah Time Has Come” is an essential purchase for all reggae fans and sound men.

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

ARTIST: Jashwha Moses
TITLE: Jah Time Has Come
RELEASE DATE: 18th March 2013
LABEL: Sugar Shack Records
DISTRIBUTION: Shellshock
FORMAT: Limited Edition 122 Vinyl and Digital Download
CAT NO: FOD096V
BARCODE: 5052571042168
GENRE: Dub, Reggae

Bristol Archive Reggae / Dub DJ set Number One by Michael Darby on Mixcloud

The double A side twelve inch vinyl release features an exclusive extended mix of the album version of “Pompous Way”, clocking in at nearly seven minutes the vocal is seamlessly followed by the dub in classic discomix fashion. Although recorded this year and dealing with the economic and political mess we are currently facing, the song doesn’t attempt to cater to any current fads. Instead it’s a slice of roots reggae the way it used to be, real musicians playing real instruments and singing about real problems.

For the AA side we have teamed up with Rootikal Productions, which is David Hill and Ashley Beedle – both men are long-time reggae lovers who bring a wealth of musical experience to the project. David is one of the people behind Rootikal, one of London’s most successful reggae nights, which has hosted some legendary guests including Cornell Campbell, Linval Thompson and Al Campbell – plus A-list selectors such as David Rodigan, Channel One and Aba Shanti I. He’s recently overseen the Rootikal Selection series of 45s, reworking versions of hard to find or unreleased Jah Thomas productions and re-editing dubs or adding trombone overdubs with Matic Horns. Prior to that, he worked with David Katz reissuing rare reggae on the Auralux label. Ashley is perhaps best known for his role in X-Press 2, The Black Science Orchestra and the Ballistic Brothers (also with David). In 2010 he recorded an album with reggae great Horace Andy, which led to a European tour. Ashley and David recently had the privilege of remixing several Bob Marley and The Wailers tracks after Island Records gave them access to the original Tuff Gong multi-track masters. They also present the Rootikal radio show together.

Rootikal were given free reign on the mix and their “Rootikal Humble Yourself Version” takes the track in a whole new direction. Shifting the emphasis onto the rhythm, the drum, the bass, the guitar, the horns and adding just a little melodica, the track is reinvented for the twentieth century. It becomes a lost classic from the late seventies and an entirely different listening experience.

In addition to the 12” limited vinyl, there is also a digital download available which adds a further two exclusive mixes from Oldwah, although this is his first official commission, Oldwah has been making his own unique reggae mixes for years and has built a large and loyal following on YouTube.
For further information on Rootikal please see www.rootikal.net

More information very soon on how to pre-order

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