Ska 301 Items

Personal revision of the well-known bolero, in which Drop Collective, the band from Barcelona fuses with their usual ska-jazz mastery, sounds of the two Antillean islands in a version that will surely become a classic.After their album "Come Shine" (2021, Brixton Records) DROP COLLECTIVE dares to revisit the immortal bolero, composed by the Cuban Miguel Matamoros, of which there have been so many versions. Although the band prefers to record their own-penned songs, this is an arrangement that the band is very fond of and is part of their live repertoire, so they couldn't resist.In October 2018 DROP COLLECTIVE were invited to perform at the 50th anniversary of the BCN Jazz Fest which paid tribute to Bebo Valdés and, at the same time, they were given an ambitious task: to do a version of "Lágrimas Negras" inspired by the one made by the Cuban pianist himself. Daniel Ferruz, the band's keyboardist, took on the challenge of making the arrangement with the initial difficulty of the personality that Valdés' version already has. He confesses that he was afraid to change things, but finally he decided to give it a roots reggae approach, but with more rocker spaces. He kept the sax solo and lyrics intact, and introduced a novel reharmonization at the end. The result is spectacular, the band from Barcelona fuses with their usual ska-jazz mastery, sounds of the two Antillean islands in a version that will surely become a classic.The recording was made at La Panchita Studio (Barcelona) and the B-side includes a dub version of the song by the dub wizard Chalart 58.

Brand new album from Chicago's ska punk powerhouse who deliver a 90s style reminiscent of THE Muffs, Less Than Jake or Dance Hall Crashers. Top shelf vocals from Caitlin Rose who leads the brass-heavy troop through 10 killer high-octane pop punk fueled ska tunes. Random color vinyl. (jump UP)

Brand new digital printed pic disc from Cali's Half Past TWO, music side includes ska versions of "holiday" by Green DAY, Weezer, Vampire Weekend, and Madonna. Picture disc side is very colorful in an alien theme!

Spanish ska-Oi! band Decibelios were initially around from 1980 to 1990 and they released a handful of albums during that decade. They returned in 2014 with a new album and tour. Recorded live 25.02.2017 in Texcoco, Mexico at the "Festival Comunion Punk & Skin". Limited edition of 300 copies with printed innersleeve and CD of the complete concert.

Thirteen track "best of" collection from Mexico's top 2-tone / traditional act, featuring guest spots from Neville Staple of THE Specials, Mimi Maura, Kingston Rudieska, Oreskaband and King Hammond. Full of big band uptempo scorchers reminiscent of Tokyo SKA Paradise Orchesta. Hot!

Cool Ska Inst. Cover Of Spanish Flea backed with a funky vocal cut.

A premium series of limited edition Japanese pressed 7"s - featuring unreleased and impossibly hard to find gems from the Duke Reid archives.

Limited to 850 copies. Cover with a slightly bent corner.

California based ska/reggae act teams up with the singers from 60's British legends Symarip for a collectible maxi 10" single with two new songs plus dubs from Roger Rivas (the Aggrolites). Both ROY Ellis and Monty Neysmith shine on these rootsy reggae cuts. Sleeve art by Chema Skandal

Jump UP Christmas 45 tradition continues with this double header of new & original holiday songs! Specialized UK champs THE Skapones don chimes on the 2 Tone skanker "ring THE Bells" flipped w/ DC's Scotch Bonnets dance floor pearl "winter Reggae Party". White vinyl repress ltd 250 copies

Jump UP's Xmas tradition continues with Florida ska/reggae/soul champs THE Freecoasters putting a delightful Jamaican spin on Donny Hathaway's "this Christmas" & Stevie Wonder "what Christmas Means TO ME". Claire LIPARULO's powerful voice invokes Stax/motown emotions beautifully. Green & red wax

Debut single from ska infused swingy rhythm & blues all star band with lead vocalist John Bunkley of Gangster FUN and Atomic Fireballs fame. Two jams pleasing the jump blues crowd, big horns call-and-response lyrics and some innuendo! "jumpin AT THE RED Door" b/c "fifth OF You". Big hole white wax.

Here is the much anticipated volume 3 of the HOT Sauce compilation LPs dedicated to the Trojan related UK labels between 1965 and 1975. HOT Sauce Volume 3 features outstanding original Rocksteady, Boss Reggae and early Reggae (“Reggay”) tracks including rare songs, overlooked gems, hidden treasures and a couple of hits. The record labels showcased on this third volume are Amalgamated, Duke, Gayfeet, Grape, Harry J, Rio, Randy’s, Treasure Isle, Upsetter and Trojan. The tracks here have been selected according to their musical interest firstly, their rarity, and their complementarity. These tracks are all outstanding tracks, “killer tracks”, there is no “filler” whatsoever. Particular attention has been paid to the way the songs are sequenced (or “mixed”) so that the album builds up nicely and gradually, generally starting with the Rocksteady songs on the A side and the 70s songs on the B side. HOT Sauce is a musical journey across early Jamaican Reggae - highlighting its diverse musical genres and outstanding artists – as it was once published by the U.K. record labels during this golden decade… Since the early 70s “Tighten Up” series, no compilations have really explored these labels in depth on vinyl.

Second album from long running NYC ska pop new wave act, mixed by Agent JAY of THE Slackers. Multiple US tours including an appearance at Sxsw21 under their belt, this female fronted powerhouse delivers 8 tracks including a cover of Bikini KILL's "rebel Girl". Limited edition pink vinyl.

New album from long running Washington DC act, produced by Agent Jay of THE Slackers. Soulful female vocals with a sound that infuses psychedelia and jazz into traditional ska & rocksteady. Features members of fellow DC jazz ska loyalists Eastern Standard Time. Twelve tracks on white vinyl.

POP Punk Meets Prog Metal Meets SKA ON This Incredible Genre Defying AND Constantly Surprising LP ON Limited Edition Aqua Blue Vinyl For over a decade The Holophonics have been blending ska, pop-punk, prog rock, and hardcore into an electrifying and genre-defying package. While they gained some internet fame from several perfectly crafter cover songs and albums, it's all been an effort to bring the casual listener into the wild world of their original material... and combined with years of ceaseless touring, the band has gained underground acclaim from peers and fans alike. With their 'checkered past' of cover songs permanently behind them, the band is set to release their new album "Lavos"; an ambitious concept album that would fifit perfectly alongside the RX Bandits, We Are The Union, or Refused. A deeply personal album for singer Eric Daino, Lavos is a combination of energy discharge from pent up anxiety, and a space to try and heal personal wounds. Eric says: "Lavos is an album about the anxiety, fear, and shame of working through trauma. The lyrics deal with the visceral symptoms of surviving - both physical and mental - and came out quickly in large, unfiltered swaths that speak to a constant sense of pressing urgency. The music however, takes a far more meticulous and detailed tack. Obsessively pored over and checked and rechecked hundreds of times - every melody, chord, and rhythm reflect the intense scrutinization to which I would subject myself before being ready to share my experiences".

The Versatiles were an exciting Jamaican reggae group, formed in 1967 by Junior Byles, also a firefighter at that time, Ben 'Louis' Davis and Dudley Earl.
Lee "Scratch" Perry, then working as chief engineer at Joe Gibbs' studio, was scouting for talent for Gibbs' new Amalgamated label, and spotted the group while they were auditioning for the 1967 Festival Song Contest with "The Time Has Come".
Perry signed the group to the label, but left Gibbs soon after. Three superb titles ("Just Can't Win," "The Time Has Come" and "Trust The Book" were recorded under the supervision of Lee Perry.
When Scratch left, Gibbs employed another up-and-coming engineer/producer by the name of Winston Holness, aka Niney the Observer, to take control of his sessions. Niney produced a few Versatiles songs for Gibbs' Amalgamated label (titles such as "Push It In" and "Lu Lu Belle") which were riddled with sexually suggestive lyrics, tame though they are by today's standard.
The Versatiles stayed with Gibbs for two years, before moving to work with Perry, and then to Duke Reid's Treasure Isle label. They also recorded for other producers such as Laurel Aitken.
The group split up in 1970, when Byles left the group for a successful solo career. Byles still working as a firefighter, continued to record for Perry up to the mid ‘70s…
During their short career, The Versatiles recorded about 30 tracks for a variety of Jamaican & British record labels. Most of these songs are top uptempo early Reggae tracks with Rocskteady vocals; to spice things up, quite a few are on the risqué side such as the hit PUSH IT IN. Never a dull moment with the Versatiles.

The Slickers were an exciting Jamaican Rocksteady and Reggae group in the late 1960s and 1970s. Although their legendary song JOHNNY TOO BAD was included in the Jimmy Cliff movie THE HARDER THEY COME, their story is mostly unknown and full of hearsays and contradictions.
Here is our "version" of the story:
Firstly, it is often assumed that The Slickers were just an alias for The Pioneers but it seems now clear that they were in fact two distinct formations.
In fact, the group was formed by Derrick Crooks (of The Pioneers) and Winston Bailey (not to misunderstand with Winston "Shadow" Bailey a Calypso singer) around 1965. It seems that Derrick was the only constant member and the line-up was constantly changing and overlapping with both The Reggae Boys and The Pioneers.
Other known members were Derrick's brother Sydney Crooks, Roy Beckford (not to misunderstand with U-Roy), George Dekker and Abraham Green (later known as Ras Abraham) who joined at the time "Johnny Too Bad" was recorded in 1970. Abraham is said to have been the lead vocal on "Johnny Too Bad". Besides being featured on the soundtrack for the 1972 Jimmy Cliff film, the song was covered by the British reggae group UB40 and countless more.
The Slickers have recorded about 40 singles during the 60's and the '70s. It seems they disbanded after recording their second album BREAKTHROUGH in 1979...
Although nothing is written in stone about The Slickers, one sure fact is that they were a brilliant Rocksteady and Reggay band… Many of their singles were outstanding such as NANA, YOU CAN'T WIN, MAN BEWARE, JOHNNY TOO BAD and of course the two hot shots on this single: RUN FATTIE and HOOLA BULLA!

Man from Wareika was the first album recording for Rico Rodriguez led by his own artistic imagination, not to mention the only roots reggae album to be released on Blue Note Records in the USA. After 15 years Rodriguez returned for the first time to Jamaica. He had left the country in 1961 when he was already heavily involved in creating the then new ska sound. In 1976 he added something new to reggae music. The nine self-composed tracks on the album offer intense Jamaican rhythms with seriously horn lines more linked to the jazz heritage. The trombonist album was released on Island Records in 1976 for the UK market and soon labeled as a revolutionary step forward.

After a nine year wait, The Eskargot Miles pick up straight where they left off on their 2021 album Rise Again. Expect to be transported to fairer shores, as the nine member Japanese ska band add their Japanese spin on a classic reggae sound. With recent P-vine releases from Little Tempo, Natsu Summer and Asuka Ando, The Eskargot Miles find themselves as part of a thriving scene, and P-vine is excited to bring the album to vinyl format with this limited edition pressing.

Legendary 80's Los Angeles 80's Ska/mod band release their first new single in 35+ years - a collectible picture disc 45 designed by Chema Skandal. A wonderful summery ska take on the Blue Swede / B.J. Thomas oldies hit with a dubbed out version on the flip. Limited edition 750 copies.

Chicago's first reggae band gets it's first proper anthology of rare and unreleased recordings. Twelve tracks of rock infused reggae ska that was light years ahead. Inc "jesse James" and "heart Full OF Soul" singles + "IT Happened", "strange Cargo", "tonight" & more. Yellow wax w/poster.

The second 7" in the Konduko series reissues this mega-rarity, Noel Williams aka King Sporty's own version of Bob Marley's Concrete Jungle. The connection between Marley and Williams was long-standing, both living in the tenements of West Kingston and gaining their musical foundations as part of the Studio One, that would reach fruition when they later co-wrote Buffalo Soldier together.

Clement Dodd's organisation was more than a label, running a sound system, studio, pressing plant and its own distribution. As Deejay on the system and later releasing his debut single on the label, William's learnt his craft, taking this knowledge to Miami and replicating much - expanding the Konduko label to encompass studio, plant and distribution.

First recorded with Lee Perry, Marley's 1971 original was famously rerecorded for The Wailers move to Island Records and their 1973 album, Catch A Fire. Here, a rare Williams' vocal is backed with horns atop a reggae-funk groove. The songs message of struggle is universal and everlasting, even with a touch of Miami swing.

This is backed by Young Girl, a single in its own right, from the same period. A rocksteady, breakbeat shuffle bely the songs roots in late 60s soul, with a powerful counterpoint vocal from wife and partner, Betty Wright. A collector's item itself, together they are essential.

About Carl Dawkins

Carl ‘Ras’ Dawkins was born on 1st August 1948 in Spanish Town, Jamaica, the son of a Jazz drummer… After moving to Kinston, young Carl attended Kingston Senior School where his classmates included the great Slim Smith and Jimmy Riley, two of the former “Techniques”. In 1967, at the tender age of 19, Carl recorded for Karl ‘J.J.’ Johnson some of his original compositions including ‘cBaby I Love You’, ‘Running Shoes’ and ‘Hard Time’ with the Carib Beats as a musical backing band. ‘Baby I Love You’ with ‘Hard Time’ on the flip were subsequently issued on two Johnson’s labels (JJ Records, Sir J.J.) in 1967 in Jamaica and on the Rio label (a Doctor Bird subsidiary) in UK the same year. While ‘Baby I Love You’ was popular, it was the great ‘Hard Time’ that propelled the single to the top of the Jamaican charts. After a spell in prison for possession of marijuana, Carl recorded a collection of singles for producers such as Clancy Eccles, Lee Perry and Leslie Kong. He returned to JJ and found success again in 1970, when he recorded one of that year’s best-selling singles, the superb ‘Satisfaction’, swiftly followed by two other major hits the same year, ‘Get Together’ and ‘This Land’ which sold heavily despite being banned by the government for its hard-hitting lyrics on the state of Jamaica at the time. During the 70s he recorded one album for Harry J - “Bumpity Road” - and many great singles for a variety of record labels and producers before gradually withdrawing from the scene during the 80s. Many years later, Carl is still very much loved by its many fans around the world. He is rightly considered being one of Reggae's all-time greatest vocalists…

About This Release

This killer double sider is the first reissue of two super rare and outstanding tracks by the great Carl Dawkins. Both tracks have never been reissued until now.

The very much in demand “I’ll Make It Up” was previously released as B side to One Dollar Of Music on Duke Du-3 in 1968. On the B side, the brilliant “Hot And Sticky” was previously released on Rio R138 in 1967.

Both tracks were produced by the Jamaican reggae producer, J.J. Johnson who ran two record labels Sir J. J. and JJ Records from his Kingston shop on Orange Street, next door to Beverley's Records, where he was shot dead in 1972.

These two avidly sought-after early Reggay tracks are quite rare. Splash Down is the instrumental version of Sufferer and both songs have been produced by Derrick Harriott. This is the first time these two wicked tracks are released together on a 7inch vinyl single.

THE Kingstonians Jamaican vocal trio, the Kingstonians were formed around 1966 by Cebert Bernard (aka Jackie Bernard) and his brother Lloyd "Footy" Bernard, along with mutual friend Lloyd Kerr. They began their recording career with producer J.J. Johnson, but had their greatest success between 1968 and 1970 with producer Derrick Harriott, who helped steer the singles "Singer Man" and "Sufferer" to the top of the Jamaican charts. An LP of the Harriott material was released in 1970 under the title “Sufferer”. The album was the career high point for the Kingstonians, who left Harriott to work briefly with producers Leslie Kong and Rupie Edwards before breaking up as the roots reggae era began.

THE Crystalites The Crystalites were the backing and studio band for legendary producer Derrick Harriott and included top 60s Jamaican musicians e.g. Bongo Herman, Bongo Les, Boris Gardiner, Gladstone Anderson, Karl Bryan, Winston Wright among others!

They were extremely productive between 1968 and 1974 and recorded 4 albums and countless singles covering many styles from Boss Reggae to Dub. More specifically, they recorded many wicked and awesome “versions” of hit songs of that time e.g. Sufferer by THE Kingstonians!

AKATZ are not Jamaicans, nor are they British, nor do they need to. They have been at the crossroads between Kingston and Bilbao chatting with the mocking spirit of the New Orleans Mardi Gras, who has shown them new directions to continue their creative path. The uninitiated will receive this album like headless chickens, as a fierce revelation, and longtime adepts will celebrate the event with offerings of smoke, brandy, and endless dancing.In a journey of almost 30 years, Akatz have developed their own personality that makes them easily recognizable, genuine and unique. Hardened in a thousand battles, they have always paid as much attention to creating quality music as to turning each concert into an unrepeatable party.YUYU was registered in November 2019 in the studios of Kaki Arkarazo (Kortatu, Negu Gorriak) and, pending publication, the curse of the pandemic ensued. Therefore, the band's first self-imposed mission has been to cast these 12 spells to the four winds. There are twelve songs of classic ska, reggae and Jamaican jazz with a R&B dressing, and essences of danceable swing and punk attitude. Lifelong melodies, with rhythm, swing, beat and flow, and a compositional solidness that would admit multiple readings of each song by musicians of different origins and backgrounds.YUYU presents a universe populated by creatures that seem fantastic but that - in reality - live among us, and that the band unmasks with fine clairvoyance. An album that can be enjoyed from the first taste. With fun, uncomplicated and well-crafted songs all sprinkled with a good dose of rhythm and blues.It is clear that AKATZ has been at the crossroads between Kingston and Bilbao, chatting with the mocking spirit of New Orleans Mardi Gras, who has shown them new directions to continue their creative path. The uninitiated will receive this album like headless chickens, as a fierce revelation, and longtime adepts will celebrate the event with offerings of smoke, brandy, and endless dancing.

Russian ska reggae act's all dub outing, an inspired opus with beautiful solos, guitars, brass & percussion. Nine reinterpretations of standards by Miles Davis, Dizzy Dillespie, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Henry Mancini and more, superb mix by Victor Rice. Heavyweight black vinyl.

First two cassette tape releases now on heavyweight metallic copper vinyl limited to 250 copies. A loving tribute to dank 70s dub reggae, deeply in debt to the original Jamaican engineers who turned their mixing consoles into the lead instrument a la LEE Perry and King Tubby.

Debut single from all star all female US ska reggae band formed by members the Scotch Bonnets, HUB City Stompers, and many more. "lioness" is lead by Lady Hatchet while "unruly Ways" has Jenny Wiskey on vocals. Both tracks are anthems of female empowerment! Orange wax fold over sleeve.

Debut vinyl outing from British ska/reggae act who formed in the early 90s, a infectious concept album that lyrically references 60's political events using samples and looped drums/horns. A 90's style electronica/ska hybrid that's unique in today's scene. White wax, pic sleeve, limited pressing of 300.

Keyboard wizard from reggae kings THE Aggrolites, Long Beach DUB ALL Stars, and Jason MRAZ's recent ska/reggae album releases his third solo album on Jump UP. Ten tracks of instrumental Jamaican grooves that swing and sway, includes 5 dubs on the B-Side. Beautiful retro sleeve and blue vinyl.