Back catalogue: Roots/Lovers Rock

Review: While not as celebrated as some of his Jamaican contemporaries, Winston Holness AKA Niney The Observer was a hugely successful record producer. This excellent two-disc set does an excellent job in rounding up the best of his output between 1973 and '75, a period where he enjoyed countless hits at home and over in the UK. There's naturally plenty of goodness to be found amongst the 49 tracks on show, with cuts featuring now well-known Jamaican scene stars - think Junior Delgado, Delroy Wilson, Big Youth, Max Romeo, Junior Byles, Horace Andy, U-Roy and ska survivor Tommy McCook - being joined by more dubbed-out 'versions' (credited to his studio band The Observers') and local hits by artists whose fame rarely spread beyond the Caribbean (Winston Wright, Hubert Lee, Earth & Stone). In an indispensable introduction to one of Jamaica's finest producers of the 1970s.

Review: Wackies impress upon us their latest compilation; this time, it's another (sixth) edition added to their Jah Children Invasion series, which charts the critical juncture at which dub reggae shifted from live-drummed beats and into drum-machine led, steppers' embraces. The result was a welcoming of 8-bit themes and pixelations, leading to the infamous coinage, digidub. Jah Children Invasion harks back to this not-so-small step for mankind, compiling scene contributions from such legends as Horace Andy ('Drop Off'), Jackie Mittoo ('Majority Rule'), Milton Henry ('Now You See The Scene'), and Chris Wayne ('Streets Of Africa'). The resulting sound is not one of total fascination with the 'digi' aspect of the sound, but a prototypical, melting-pot point at which the leap into increasingly sequenced progressions lent dub a cruder, but more driven development of the sound. A sonic Faustian bargain with a machinic devil, if you will.

Review: Soul Jazz returns with another of its supremely assembled and vital compilations, and this one focuses on reggae. Down Beat Special offers a thrilling journey through timeless hits carefully selected from Jamaica's revered Studio One Records, the epitome of reggae excellence. From Michigan and Smiley's 'Nice Up The Dance' to Dawn Penn's 'No, No, No' and The Wailers' 'Simmer Down,' this collection pulsates with iconic tracks. Originally a limited edition 7" box set, this remastered edition boasts 18 rare gems, including works by The Skatalites, Bob Marley, and Horace Andy.