The Congos… There is not a lot I can add here to the realms that have already been written about The Congos’ classic 1977 debut Heart of the Congos. It is possibly the pinnacle of Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry’s explorations in deep dubby roots reggae. ‘Open Up the Gate’ is a beautiful devotional hymn… …and […]
Read More The A-Z of Reggae: C is for… The Congos, Culture, Don Carlos and…B is for Dennis Bovell… and Blackbeard (same thing). A book could and should be written about Dennis Bovell and his journey through dub, reggae, post-punk and electronic music. In fact, I think those nice chaps at Sounds of the Universe said one was being written but don’t quote me on that. I might be spreading […]
Read More The A-Z of reggae: B is for… Dennis Bovell, Burning Spear, Junior Byles and…The Abyssinians… are as good a place as any to start a history of reggae. ‘Declaration of Rights’ and ‘Satta Massagana’ are two of the foundation stones of roots reggae. Bernard Collins and Donald Manning formed The Abyssinians in 1968 when they wrote ‘Satta Massagana’, which was recorded at Studio One in 1969 but did […]
Read More The A-Z of reggae: A is for… the Abyssinians, Aswad, African Headcharge…
