Roy Ellis 'Mr. Symarip' Transilvanians
Almighty Ska

RWD-FWD: ...“This cassette is a re release of a 2 track cassette Reducer gave away to the 1st 23 punters through the door at our 2nd gig in 1985.We have added 2 other tracks from the same recording session because we are lovely people who wish to share enlightenment.Other than that this cassette appears as it did back then.At the beginning of Reducer we had no equipment of our own, so used what was available in the “back room” 4 track cassette recording home studios, we could just afford.These 4 tracks are the first ever recorded by Reducer – the then 3 members all playing the same synthesizer at the same time whilst tape loops ran alongside, and/or one of us playing bells & flutes, whilst the other two played the synth, all tracks are recorded live with no overdubs.This simple but extremely effective way of getting an un rehearsed spontaneity into our work proved to us we had an understanding & empathy that would go on to become the fully fledged Reducer.”

Ultra-positive consciousness from Afro-Caribbean London, circa 1979. Members of the legendary 20th Century Steel Band (one of Grand Master Flash's favourites) sailing Trinidad-wise over gratifyingly intricate African ritual rhythms. Strong vocals compliment reggae, funk, disco and soul influences to form a relentless groove machine.Steel an' Skin, a unit composed of young nightclub musicians born in Ghana, Nigeria, St. Kitts, Trinidad and the U.K., who once performed with Ginger Johnson's Afrikan Drummers, a highlife band under the tutelage of the late Ginger Johnson and played at Johnson's Iroko Country Club in Hampstead, London. Steel an' Skin began activities giving concerts and workshops in London schools, expanding nationwide to schools, prisons, psychiatric hospitals and summer festivals, including the world-famous Notting Hill Carnival. The group combined an admirably brave, open and unironic mix of musical forms with community outreach, non-cynical and untainted by preachiness or "social work." Good feelings from good hearts.This EM reissue consists of Steel an' Skin's 1979 debut 12 inch single "Reggae is Here Once Again", featuring "Afro Punk Reggae (Dub)", a fine disco-dub workout, plus some tracks from their 1984 recordings, as well as one unissued track for CD version. Also CD version includes a documentary DVD by Steve Shaw featuring perceptive commentary from Steel an' Skin's founder Peter Blackman, killer live and rehearsal footage of the band, workshop scenes (check out the 1970s suits and parkas!) and devastating views of inner-city Liverpool. Steel an' Skin soars above the 1970s ruins!

The LIONS is a unique Jamaican-inspired outfit, the result of an impromptu recording session by members of Breakestra, Connie Price and the Keystones, Rhythm Roots All-Stars, Orgone, Sound Directions, Plant Life, Poetics and Macy Gray (to name a few). Gathering at Orgone's Killion Studios, in Los Angeles during the Fall of 2006, they created grooves that went beyond the Reggae spectrum by combining new and traditional rhythms, and dub mixing mastery with the global sounds of Ethiopia, Colombia and Africa. The Lions also added a healthy dose of American-style soul, jazz, and funk to create an album that’s both a nod to the funky exploits of reggae acts like Byron Lee and the Dragonaires and Boris Gardner, and a mash of contemporary sound stylings.