Dancehall/Ragga charts

Review: Noted reggae vocalist Barry Biggs comes under the Emotional Rescue microscope here with celebrated LA digger Patrick Billard aka DJ Duckcomb remixing one of his cuts. First up is the original version of 'Illusion' which has big pianos over the clean digital dub. The soaring vocal is obscured by plenty of lush effects and melodies. After a version twists and contorts the original, the DJ Duckcomb Discomix slows things down and ups the dazzling disco vibes but keeps the dub dubby bottom end to ensure plenty of dance floor impact. This is a classy one as ever from this label.

Review: Jamaican musical heritage in all its glory gets distilled into this super new collaboration between Newham General (son of the late, great soundman Farda Waz) and Bristol's Dubkasm. Dub, reggae and grime all get drawn upon and twisted up with kette drums and rapid-fire vocals to make for something urgent and direct but timeless. The hard-hitting bars from Foots bring a sense of menace to the equally dark low ends, with digital synths and stepping rhythms all present and correct. The legendary Iration Steppas also feature with one of their signature mixes.

Review: Yet another good ole Studio One classic. Michigan and Smiley's 'Nice Up The Dance' is widely understood as one of the dancehall scene's most formidable classics. First out in 1979, this edition also comes with 'Real Rock', one of the most enduring tunes in reggae from time. Two rootsy monsters you won't regret hearing.

Review: Demon Singles Club's latest addition to their fantastic catalogue comes in the form of a re-issue of Freestylers' 'Ruffneck' EP. Formed in 1996, when DJs and producers Matt Canro and Aston Harvey made the wise decision to join forces, the duo went on to release their now iconic debut album We Rock Hard on legendary imprint, Freskanova. Met with quick critical acclaim, We Rock Hard became the duo's most commercially successful release to date. This latest release, 'Ruffneck', cherry picks four standout tracks from the hit-studded album. 'B-Boy Stance', 'Ruffneck', 'Here We Go', and 'Warning' are a journey through classic big beat and breakbeat electronica, which has remained the band's trademark sound to this day. Also including the original artwork, this is a thoughtful ode to the duo's boundary-pushing work.

Review: Jahlin was not only a talented singer and songwriter but was also someone who made music with a strong message. He got his education in Canada after moving there in 1975 following his younger days in amid and after booming a welder - which seems a popular first career choice for eventual reggae stars as Bob Marley took a similar path - he pursued his musical career. His 'Roots Reality' is as the title suggests a roots reggae song from the Roots Reality label in 1983. It has a positive vibe and the rather rare addition of a violin which is not so often heard in reggae tunes.

Review: Albert "Alchemist" Thompson's Promise Land comes courtesy of Freestyle Records and has great appearances on the mic from reggae and dancehall greats Frankie Paul, Joseph Cotton, Prince Malachi and Anthony John. It has never before been released and has had a long maturation period over the last 30 years. Albert Thompson was chief engineer at I&I Sound Recording Studio once it left LA and head to Jamaica and he saw work with greats like Dennis Brown, Bunny Wailer and Gregory Isaacs. He laid down these rhythms in 1991 during some downtime and then added the vocals 16 years later in London when working with talented local and touring Jamaican artists.

Review: There is real fire and fury in this opening tune on the new drop from Bongo Joe Records out of Switzerland. A ceremonial chant opens up and is sure to bring dance floor delirium from the off over the high-speed dub rhythms and raw percussive sounds. The raw, high octane and primordial influence of techno looms large throughout with Chouk Bwa & The Angstromers really going for the jugular. Heft modern bass weight, deft electronics and traditional Afro-Caribbean polyrhythms all collide with trance-including and mind-melting results.

Review: This new 45rpm single on Humble Action includes the original version of 'Musical Healers' by Hummingbird as well as a remix by Aryeh Yah. The a-side version is a nice twisted dancehall cut with some hot stepping rhythms that sound like they could well have been sampled by The Streets at some time. It's a future sounding cut even now with its sleek synth leads. It's a real trip too at over eight minutes long, and the remix is no less adventurous but has a more heavy low end.

Review: Rider Shafique, Nadia Latoya (MELONYX), Charlie P and K.O.G ankle feature on this new and hard hitting project by Nottingham's producer, engineer and songwriting talent Origin One. Step In Time is an album that documents the struggles and experiences of the artist's finds and peers as Covid-19 unfolded and lockdown hit. It was funded by Help Musicians UK who set out to help artists impacted by the pandemic and now comes on limited edition vinyl and maps out the evolution of reggae across the decades with vocal stylings and instrumentals from Origin One at the heart of it all. Crucial stuff from what were still weird times.