Ska 255 Items

Heavy roots reggae album from 1988 by avant-jazz horn player Jamaiel Shabaka. Remastered and released as a double LP gatefold sleeve in an edition of 500. With its unusual jazzy/improv'd sonic essays among straight-up heavyweight roots tracks, saying that 'The Land Of The Rising Sun' is an unusual-sounding reggae album is an understatement, and far from a surprise: after all, who in the reggae world started improving for days on end with Sun Ra?

By the dawn of the seventies, Laurel Aitken was well and truly established as the UK’s top Jamaican singing star. Over the years following his move from Jamaica in 1960 he had acquired a strong and faithful following in Britain and well beyond, but the recent Reggae explosion increased this many times over. Eager to exploit Laurel’s astounding popularity, Pama Records fought off competition from esteemed rivals, Trojan and Doctor Bird, to acquire rights to issue his material, the bulk of which subsequently saw release on their newly launched Nu Beat imprint. By the Spring of 1970, he had provided Pama with series of best-selling singles, and the hugely popular long-player, Scandal in a Brixton market, but with demand for his works showing no signs of diminishing, the company decided to collect a dozen of his most popular sides to date for what became the aptly titled collection, The High Priest Of Reggae. Despite selling in huge numbers at the time, the LP soon became a rarity and this, added to the enduring appeal of Aitken’s work has resulted it becoming one of the most sought after Reggae long-players around. Now, after four decades of waiting for its re-release, fans can finally obtain the LP, with the added incentive of 4 bonus tracks from those 69 sessions. Dust off your pork pie hats and fedoras and enjoy the 'madness'.

There were some cool ska albums released at the turn of the millennium, including 2 albums by THE SPECIALS! Both “SKINHEAD GIRL” and “CONQUERING RULER” dig into the TROJAN RECORDS songbook, and the band’s sound was top notch, lead by RODDY RADIATION, NEVILLE STAPLE, HORACE PANTER, and NEOL DAVIES. The release of these records on vinyl from Black Butcher Classics gives the albums a new lease on life and will be enjoyed by an entire generation of vinyl fans!

The Pogues' live performance at Chalet-à-Gobet in Lausanne, Switzerland, on June 15th, 1989, stands as a testament to their electrifying stage presence and unrivaled musical energy. Te band delivered an unforgettable performance, blending their signature blend of punk, folk, and traditional Irish music with raw passion and fervor. The Pogues captivated audiences with their infectious rhythms, poignant lyrics, and Shane MacGowan's distinctive vocals. This historic concert showcased the band at the height of their creative powers, leaving an indelible mark on the annals of live music history.

1966 Recordings. Alternate Takes here: A side with a wicked Ska Vocal backed with a great Ska Inst.

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

Killer early reggae vocal tune and an funky instrumental Reggae cut. TIP! A premium series of limited edition Japanese pressed 7"s - featuring unreleased and impossibly hard to find gems from the Duke Reid archives.

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

Alternate Take. Wicked Female Early Reggae Vocal with a cool old time reggae instrumental on the flip.

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

A side is a Jamaican Independence festival tune from 1968. Foundation. Both here are great Rock Steady Vocal cuts.

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

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.

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.

NEW This Week Specialized charity album featuring 16 top bands covering the best 2-tone ska from Madness, THE Specials, Bodysnatchers, Selecter, Beat, BAD Manners & more. Inc BIM Skala BIM, Rude BOY George, Boss Riot, THE Fuss, Crombies, Prizefighters, THE Crombies, Scotch Bonnets & more.

Limited edition 7" celebrating one of America's top pioneering ska bands. Two covers from the 90s never before on wax: "run Joe" (stranger Cole) and "bring IT ON Home TO ME" (sam Cooke). THE Beatles' "rain" originally on a 1987 Boston comp. Sluggo sleeve art just like their first 45!

Frontline is the 9th studio album by Dub Pistols. Chief rabble-rousers & festival favourites, the band are known for their veritable feast of jump-up party-starting sounds, melding dub, reggae, dancehall, ska & DnB into an irresistible tonic that has seen them amass a merry band of Pistoleros across the world.

For this chapter, they are joined by a stellar band of featured artists including both legendary & award-winning collaborators such as Horseman, Top Cat, The Freestylers, Myki Tuff and Chezidek alongside long-term Posse members The Ragga Twins, Lindy Layton, Natty Campbell, King Yoof and Cheshire Cat, and regular Dub Pistol frontman Seanie T.

So, saddle up and join the gang, it's time to ride to the Frontline!

In 2020, Cosmic Shuffling took the global rocksteady and ska scene by storm with its hit singles ‘Eastern Ska’ and ‘Short Break’ taken from the band first album “Magic Rocket Ship”. Highly acclaimed by the fans of sixties Jamaican sounds, this first album was sold out in a few weeks only. Now the band returns with brand new music!

Warning! This is original SKA music of the highest calibre. This new double A side 7” record will set the dancefloor on fire. ’jupiter’s Garden’ is an heavy, slow and extremely groovy instrumental ska blown by a six-piece horns section. It is instantly reminiscent of Don Drummond's melancholic compositions with The Skatalites. The music made by these Jamaican legends in the sixties will never be equalled, but Cosmic Shuffling pays a striking tribute to the style and sound of the Greats. Ready to take off on an outerspace dancing journey?

On the flip side, ‘asteroid Field I’ continues the journey through a zone of intense turbulence: the tempo becomes fiercer, the chords move away from traditional harmonies and the virtuoso soloists display their talent one after the other. All of this on a frenzied rhythm worthy of The Soul Brothers.

You can’t miss this record. Double scorcher. Double fireball. Available on 7” vinyl record with pantone silver ink label. Limited screen printed and numbered sleeves edition of 90 copies!

First 7" single of S&M series projectNon-Ska bands play Ska; two bands, one single, international artists.Opening with Portugal's most famous Oi! combo, MATA-RATOS (est. 1982), who skank their way through a new version of "Quero mais". For the first time on vinyl (the original was a bonus on the CD version of "Banda Sonora Do..." in 2016). On the back, the Chileans from LOS PROBLEMAS offer a completely exclusive track, recorded especially for the split. The five-piece band from Santiago de Chile debuted last year with the "Malos Vecinos" EP and now with their very first ska song. "Moonstomping all over the world, we can do the Ska...the Saga continous!" Limited to 500 copies, hand numbered. .

Debut Epitaph/Hellcat release for the pietasters. Produced by Brett Gurewitz of Bad Religion/Epitaph Records. Peaked at #44 on 10/25/1997

RSD Exclusive heayweight 180g 12" vinyl. 6 Tracks incl. Original 7" Mix & previously unreleased instrumental.

A new compilation collecting all of the band’s extended 12" remixes. This will be a one-time pressing on The Vinyl Factory's 'Eco-Jazz Recycled Vinyl.'

Recorded live in one of France's largest rock music festivals during the Back To Black Tour. Outstanding performance, top shape. Amy Winehouse made people rethink music.

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.

Originally released in 1987, this album is considered by many to be the birth of modern "third wave" ska in the USA. Remastered audio with "new" artwork that includes illustrations by legendary comic book artist BOB Fingerman. Repressed on random color vinyl in picture sleeve

Jump UP issues the 1999/2000 classic on vinyl for the very first time in cebration of RSD. All time classic with original members Lester Sterling, Lloyd Brevette, Lloyd Knibb and Doreen Shaffer. Guests include KEN Boothe. New sleeve art Chema Skandal. Colored vinyl 150 only for RSD indie shops.

The ‘Boss Reggae’ masters from Madrid repeats with Liquidator Music label by releasing this new 7” single with two brand new studio recordings to feed our souls. With this new disc Mango Wood walks by the years ’68 - ’72 with two new tunes placed on both edges. On one hand they present ‘Never Ever’, a late Rock Steady, where some later sounds can be noticed, as the organ that marked the change from Rock Steady to Reggae. And, in the other hand, we can find ‘Come Down’, a Reggae track a bit away from the Early Reggae sounds, getting a bit darker, like from 1972, with more complex rhythm patterns that marked the end of a crucial era in Jamaican music’s history. We already knew both tunes fro their live shows and now they are available in this single pressed on limited vinyl to 500 copies worldwide.

Emmanuel Rodriguez (Rico), was born in La Habana, Cuba, on October 17th 1934. He was one of the most important trombone players from Jamaica. He learned to play trombone at Alpha Boys School, the music school from where most of the best Jamaican musicians has come from, such as Johnny Moore, Yellowman, Lester Sterling or Roland Alphonso. His tutor was another pupil, Don Drummond, who later was one of the biggest Ska musicians. Rico continued his musical training at Stoney Hill Music school and joined the Rastafari culture of Wareika Hills along with drummer Count Ossie. Jazz influence was decisive his style, as well as the Cuban music from the 50’s. On 1961 he moved to the UK where he joined some reggae bands. On 1976 he recorded with Island Records his most important album: Man From Wareika. During the 70’s he joined the 2 Tone movement, being part of The Specials. From 1996, besides of other projects, was a member of Jools Holland's Rhythm and Blues Orchestra. On August 2015, being 80 years old, Rico Rodriguez entered in the hospital in London, after some time of convalescence, he passed away on Friday September 4th 2015 at, nearly, 81 years old. Andrés ‘Ska Beat’ Cotter is a well known bass player and producer, born in Buenos Aires in 1971. From 17th years old has been been playing Ska and Reggae, being founder of bands such as Riddim, Satélite Kingston and Ska Beat City. In this record Andrés Cotter, along with the prestigious Argentinian trombone player Bebe Ferreyra, decides to pay tribute to the great Rico Rodriguez in a Big Band format. They have selected four tunes from Rico’s repertoire, with some of the best local musicians, having as result 15 minutes of the highest musical level.

'Ska With Laurel' tells the story of Ska legend Laurel Aitken. A major force within Ska music, Laurel was a hugely influential figure in the development of new Jamaican musical styles in the 1950s and '60s. He also played a key role in bringing these genres to popularity in England. Laurel moved from Jamaica to England in the early 1960s and released his records on the Blue Beat label. Proving popular with the mods and skinheads in the 1960s and '70s, Laurel's music also influenced the Two Tone sound of the early 1980s, in particular bands such as The Specials, Selecter, The Beat and Bad Manners.

Two new songs from Ska-/ Rocksteady legend Roy Ellis!

The smooth and funky sound of prime-time Japanese reggae pop in the 1970s and ‘80s fired up an obsession with Jamaican music that persists to the present day.

If there is a year zero for the introduction of reggae music to Japan, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was 1979 when Bob Marley and the Wailers toured the country, trailed by an entourage of journalists, photographers and fans ready to spread the message of the music into all corners of Japanese society. But the story of Japanese reggae is not a linear one, and the music that is collected on Tokyo Riddim 1976-1985 captures the moment J-reggae entered the broader public consciousness, merging commercial city pop style with an infectious backbeat, that has drawn comparisons with the emergence of Lovers Rock in the UK.

Rather than look directly to Jamaica, many producers and artists in Japan were inspired instead by the more approachable sounds of The Police and Ub40, their reggae fix arriving pre-filtered through the lens of new wave pop from the UK. Playful and groovy, these album deep cuts have been overlooked for too long. Among them are Miki Hirayama, the idol singer who borrowed the bassline from Bob Marley’s Natural Mystic on ‘Denshi Lenzi’, Chu Kosaka, who headed to Hawaii to cut the Jimmy Cliff-inspired ‘Music’ and Marlene, the Philippine songstress whose cover of Roberta Flack’s ‘Hittin’ Me Wear It Hurts’ owed much to her producer’s obsession with Sly & Robbie’s Compass Point sound. Then there was Izumi “Mimi” Kobayashi, who enlisted the Babylon Warriors to perform on a dubbed-out version of her own track ‘Lazy Love’, the city pop-meets-new wave reggae sound of Miharu Koshi’s ‘Coffee Break’, Junko Yagami’s anti-apartheid deep cut ‘Johannesburg’ and Lily, whose ‘Tenkini Naare’ was produced by Ryuichi Sakamoto and closes out the compilation with a flourish.

While these stories may not always conform to neat narratives, they do provide a more accurate reflection of the indirect ways in which styles infiltrate one another and, in their naivety, have the potential to create something beautifully strange and entirely new. Previously only available in Japan, the tracks on this compilation are a testament to that curious alchemy.

Tokyo Riddim 1976-1985 is released on vinyl and as a full album download (no streaming), featuring original artwork by Japanese Fukuoka-based artist Noncheleee, whose cover pays homage to the iconic dancehall album art of Wilfred Limonious. Released on 1st September, Tokyo Riddim 1976-1985 is part of Time Capsule's Nippon Series, a loose series of compilations exploring different musical scenes from Japan between the 1960s and 2010s.

Symarip began in the 1960s as The Bees, the UK’s first major 60's Reggae band then as The Pyramids, Symarip and Seven Letters. In 1971 they moved to Germany to perform Afro-rock music under the name Zubaba. Frank Pitter, Symarip's original drummer, recalls watching Keith Moon, The Who's drummer on TV around 1965/1966 and deciding " right then and there to become a drummer, to make a living as a musician”. The Bees included: Roy Ellis (Vocals, Trombone), Monty Neysmith (Hammond Organ & Keyboard), Frank Pitter (Drums), Micheal Thomas (Bass), Josh Roberts (Guitar), Roy Bug Knight (Saxophone), Johney Johnson (Trumpet), Carl Grifith (Tennor & Alto Sax). They all originated from the Jamaican community and quickly became the U.K. main supporting act for visiting Jamaican artists. They toured extensively across the UK, playing for Lauren Aitken, Prince Buster, Eddy Grant, Millie Small, Owen Gray, Jackie Edwards, Desmond Dekker, The Pioneers, The Ethiopians, The Maytals... to name a few. They signed with the label President under the name The Pyramids, with Eddy Grant writing and producing their first album and their first hit, Train Tour To Rainbow City in 1967. Despite their popularity, they got little support from their record label. This is then that Monty Neysmith came up with the idea of turning Pyramids into Symarip, hence allowing the band to sign with Trojan. Symarip recorded their first album under this name with Trojan in 1969. It featured among others "these Boots Are Made For Walking", “Skinhead Girl”, “Skinhead Jamboree” and “Skinhead Moonstomp”. "Moonstomp" was in fact a version of Derrick Morgan's 1969 "Moon Hop". Additionally, it featured a vocal introduction: "I want all you skinheads to get up on your feet/Put your braces together and your boots on your feet/And give me some of that old moonstomping" that was very similar to the Sam & Dave' "I Thank You” song introduction. Over the years “Skinhead Moonstomp” charted several times for Symarip and finally reached number 1 with The Specials in 1980. Although their songs were the first targeting the Skinhead audience, they have become mega anthems for the black and white communities in U.K. and around the world. And Symarip special brand of Reggae is also widely recognized to have greatly influenced the Two Tone bands of the early 80's. Today's Symarip songs are still incredibly popular. 50 years after their releases, the legend goes on!

A collection of rare 60's sound sources, mainly by the Skatalites, that shows the heat of Kingston in the heyday of Ska!! Selections from Indian-Jamaican Dada Tewari's Caribou and Down Beat labels. Caribbean Recording Company, owned by Dada Tewari, was one of the first Jamaican studios to follow in the footsteps of Ken Khouri and Stanley Motta, and this album contains songs from the boogie shuffle to the heyday of ska. In addition to Lord Tanamo's ska anthem "In The Mood For Ska", this is the label's first album of mega-rare singles and top Caribou ska, including Don Drummond's last recording "Bellevue Special", "Up & Down" by the Mighty Vikings and "Way Of Fortune" by Pat & Roxie.

Original limited edition vinyl - 200 copies

Brand New 2017 Recut - finally available on Vinyl for the First time. 2LP+Mp3 in full Original Coverart. The legendary movie soundstrack based out of Kingston, Jamaica in April 2008, telling the story of the original vocalists and musicians involved. The sixteenth release on the Moll-Selekta label shares its title with a wonderful film, a heartwarming homage to the golden age of rocksteady. It documents the recordings being made for this very album at the Tuff Gong studios, Kingston, Jamaica in April 2008, telling the story of the original vocalists and musicians involved. Excerpts from an all star reunion concert staged in Kingston and older archive material complete the picture. Never before in the history of Jamaica, which already occupies a unique place on the world map of song, its sound embraced by western popular music, has such an illustrious collection of singers and players been assembled. The album showcases 15 rocksteady classics in sparkling, deeply inspired new versions, recorded in the studio which also played host to album sessions of a certain Bob Marley. Under the musical direction of Ernest Ranglin, a guitarist of considerable renown not only on the reggae circuit, but also on the jazz scene, mixed by legendary engineer Errol Brown - in Duke Reid’s employ at the Treasure Isle studio in the sixties - and freshly arranged by Lynn Taitt.

Debut album from Easy Star ALL StarS / THE Scofflaws trombone legend now on clear heavyweight vinyl. Thirteen tracks that range from roots jazz dub, scorching 60's ska and neo-traditional with kitschy vocals. All music was written, played, and programmed by Buford himself! Ltd 250 copies.

Repressed ON White Vinyl Two killer 50's rhythm n' blues gems re-done in ska style! Roddy Radiation (ex-THE Specials) finally gets his version of Frankie Ford's "sea Cruise" on wax, flipped with Chicago roots queen Bailey DEE's wonderful take on Phil PhilIP'S "sea OF Love". White vinyl repress w/jukebox strip.

Studio One Freedom Sounds is the new collection from Soul Jazz/ Studio One focussing on the intense period in the second half of the 1960s when Studio One’s vast and unbeatable output of ska, soul, rock steady and reggae made it literally one of the hottest musical empires in the world.
During this highly successful period, Clement ‘Sir Coxsone’ Dodd released hundreds and hundreds of superlative singles seemingly on an almost daily basis, in the process making huge stars out of Jamaican singers such as Alton Ellis, Delroy Wilson, The Wailers, Slim Smith, Jackie Opel and many more.
Powered by the finest in-house musicians working in Jamaica, whether it was The Skatalites, Jackie Mittoo’s Soul Brothers, The Sounds Dimension or The Soul Vendors, Studio One functioned as hit factory on the scale of Motown in the USA, shaping and defining reggae music for decades to come.
Singlehandedly Studio One’s founder Clement Dodd was able to create the most successful vertically-integrated record company that Jamaica had ever known with pressing plant, printers, studio, shops, and sound systems all running at once, with over 50 employees and hundreds of artists working with Studio One during this time.
Studio One Freedom Sounds tells the story of Studio One in the 1960s with a stunning set of ska, soul, rock steady and reggae killer tunes as well as informative sleevenotes and track-by-track info by Noel Hawks. The album is released as heavyweight double vinyl (+ free download code), deluxe CD and digital album.