REGGAE RUNNINGS -- 25 April 2007

By Jesse I

 

Big up to Heartical Hi-Fi, and all involved with the outdoor Operation Bushment party that took place out near O'Brian's Crossing on the weekend. I was stuck in the city myself, but from all reports it was a wicked session despite imperfect weather, and gave many people their first taste of a "proper" sound system. Built by PBS presenter and DJ Uptight in the tradition of heavyweight UK rigs like those of Jah Shaka, Channel One UK, Abashanti and Disciples, Heartical Hi-Fi comprises over 10 speaker boxes and is purpose built for dub reggae music (and incredibly strong bass!). Here's looking forward to more from Uptight and Heartical Hi-Fi soon come.

Mista Savona's Melbourne Meets Kingston release continues to "sell off", and next month sees him touring Australia with Elefant Traks label-mates Astronomy Class. For the Melbourne dates (Thursday 3 May @ Ruby's Belgrave, and Friday 4 May @ the East Brunswick Club) he'll be joined by an 8-piece band and 4 vocalists, while Vida Sunshyne joins him for the rest of the tour.

If you're more into kiwi dub than Savona's dancehall stylings, there are other live sounds to check on Friday 4 May, as New Zealand's dDub play at the Northcote Social Club, with support from The Red Eyes, and DJ AlleyKat. The same lineup play again the following night at the Espy Gershwin Room. For some home-grown dub sounds, Project Saturn launch their self-titled EP this Friday 27 April at the Laundry in Fitzroy, with guests Live@Subs, Lincoln & Dallas, and the Stroke It! Soundsystem.

Saturday 28th April is Pressure Drop at Laundry, always a wicked monthly reggae session delivering nuff dancehall classics. Residents Natty Sistren, Tempa, and Nich Power are joined for this one by guests Bonnita, and Papa Stylee.

Saturday 5th May brings a new night with a familiar feel; "I-nity Inna Dance" at Maestro (213 Franklin St, City). At the site of the old Mi Casa (home of the Nice Up The Dance sessions, and Jah Lloyd's Big Bamboo club in the 90s) this place already has some good reggae history, and promoters Binghi Fire and Redbelly also have plenty of party experience behind them. Joining residents Redda Red!! for this one will be Housewife's Choice and Rise Up Sound.

Saturday 12th May is time again for More Fire at Brown Alley (corner Lonsdale and King, city), as Australia's longest running reggae/dancehall night enters its seventh year (the recent 6th Birthday Bashment was another one for the history books, though a lot of the runnings might not be wise to put in print!). This month residents Chant Down are joined by Rise Up Sound, Ms Butt, Gonzo, and Andy Culture.

Finally on the live/gig front, tomorrow night at the Espy weekly session High Tide wraps up for this season, with guests Freya and Deli (NZ) alongside Ras Crucial and I. High Tide should return to the Espy later in the year as the weather starts to warm up again...

After what feels like almost a decade of waiting, Stephen Marley has finally released his first solo album, Mind Control on Republic. Given his first-class production skills (as evident on Damian Marley's last couple releases), I was expecting big things from this one, and couldn't help but feel a little disappointed - with just 43 minutes of playing time, including a few lame crossover attempts, it just didn't deliver enough overall. That said, the album does have its share of big tunes, and is probably worth picking up just for the massive combination tune "Traffic Jam" with brother Damian and Buju Banton.

After many years of being better known outside Jamaica than in his homeland, Lutan Fyah has finally made a serious breakthrough on the Jamaican charts, and is currently at number one with his tune "Save The Juvenile" on the Real Lyfe label. UK imprint Cousin has just released his latest album, You Bring Blessings , produced primarily by Jamaica's In The Streetz crew. While 7" collectors will know the bulk of these tunes already, this is a good way to get them all in one place, and is recommended to all fans of the new-roots singjay school. In a similar vein, the Nocturne label has recently released Jah Mason's latest, Life Is Just A Journey (produced by Frenchie of Maximum Sounds); and Cool Nuh Black is the latest release from Natural Black, produced in his home country of Guyana for Walter Frazier's Vizion Sounds label. Not so much to talk about on the 7" front this month, so I promise a proper round-up next month.