Boomshots

Category: Foundation

Classics

  • WATCH THIS: Edward Seaga Speaks On “Reggae Golden Jubilee”

    The Former Prime Minister Turns Selector, Picking 100 Tunes To Represent The Best of Jamaica

    To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Jamaican independence, former Prime Minister Edward Seaga teamed up with V.P. Records to create the historic anthology Reggae Golden Jubilee. The producer of the Higgs & Wilson track “Manny Oh” returned to his musical roots in putting together this 4CD box set, selecting 100 tracks to represent the best of Jamaican music from early blues and ska cuts to the latest dancehall boomshots. We sat down with Selector Seaga to talk about everything from Bob Marley to mannish water. Video after the jump…
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  • HEAR THIS: Johnny Osbourne “Mr. Marshall”

    Check Out Where Major Lazer Got The Vocals For Their Soon To Be Released Single “Jah No Partial”

    While we anxiously await the release of Major Lazer’s new single (set to drop Monday 22nd October), we thought it would be nice to take a listen to the song that inspired it all. Johnny Osbourne’s 1980’s classic “Mr. Marshall” chronicled the daily struggle with police violence in the ghetto.  Take a trip down memory lane after then jump. (more…)

  • Watch This: Bitty McLean & Josey Wales “Running Over”

    Bitty McLean And The Outlaw Josey Wales Link Up Over A Sly + Robbie Production

    We’re excited to announce the soon-to-be released “Running Over” single by Bitty McLean featuring non other than “The Outlaw” himself Josey Wales, and if you think that wasn’t enough the track is produced the legendary foundation duo Sly & Robbie. The will also be released on a 12 inch 45RPM “Disco 45” single on 180g vinyl with a heavy cardboard picture sleeve, with a discomix version of this cover of Freddy McKay’s hit with foundation dancehall legend Josey Wales.  The riddim was built by sampling Black Uhuru’s “Shine Eye Girl,” however for Bitty’s upcoming album another version of the riddim will be used which was recorded recently in Kingston with the Taxi crew. Check out the trailer after the jump. (more…)

  • HEAR THIS: Cocoa Tea Pon Radio Lily

    Cocoa Calls In To The Strictly Boomshots Show

    We don’t usually do phoners on the Strictly Boomshots show—but we made an exception for Cocoa Tea. The fisherman from Clarendon has caught more than a few classics in the stormy seas of reggae music. Think about all the eras this classical reggae dancehall superstar spans—from Junjo to Jammys to  Music Works to Bobby Digital to Xterminator and most recently his own Roaring Lion productions—we’re talking hits pon top of hits. Long story short, the Miss Lily’s fam was more than happy to have Cocoa ring up this Monday. We reasoned about his forthcoming album Ina Di Red, and his big collabo with D’Angel—which has folks speculating whether he’s really resting in her nest. (For the record he has the utmost respect for her DJ skills, as for the rest of the rumors… draw your own conclusions.) He even dropped some science on Christopher Come-Rob-Us, broke down the true meaning of “dancehall,” and made a plea to free up his bredren Buju Banton. You don’t want to miss this one. Interview And Live Session After The Jump…

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  • Letter From Kingston: Digging On Beat Street

    Sevens Clash Goes Shopping At Augustus Pablo’s Old Record Shop

    Today, Beat Street is a shadow of its former self. A long, slow rate of attrition initiated by the digital drift of the music industry, and assisted by governmental neglect, has gradually gutted what was once a vibrant scene. With a disappearing domestic market and unable to subsist solely on the occasional pilgrimage by fanatics from abroad, stores are being shuttered one by one. Pablo passed away in 1999 at the age of 44 due to complications from a rare nerve disorder, but the family maintains ownership, and Rockers International stands defiant in the face of the changing tide. They are truly one of the last of a dying breed.  (more…)

  • Reasoning With Scientist

    A Dub Legend Speaks on King Tubby, The Roots of Dub, & The Vampire-Killing Power of Drum & Bass

    History will be made tonight at B.B. King’s in New York City when the Dub Champions Festival presents Scientist and the Roots Radics band performing their legendary 1981 album Scientist Rids the World of the Evil Curse of the Vampires live in its entirety for the first time ever. The Radics’s sessions for Henry “Junjo” Lawes at Channel One Studio became the stuff of legend, largely because the brilliant young engineer Scientist was at the controls. Born Overton Brown in Kingston, Jamaica, Scientist was just a teenager when he first began working with King Tubby’s, the originator of dub music. He managed to win Tubby’s confidence and the student soon became a master, the most in-demand studio engineer in Jamaica. With a big assist from Emch of Subatomic Sounds we caught up with Scientist for this rare in-depth interview and he had so much things to say. Suffice it to say that half the story has never been told. Q&A after the jump. (more…)

  • Lee Jaffe Speaks On Peter Tosh

    “Legalize It,” An Exhibition Of Jaffe’s Tosh Photos, Is On View Now At Dem Passwords Gallery in L.A.

    Lee Jaffe was born in the Bronx but always felt right at home in Jamaica. The man who played harmonica on Bob Marley’s “Three O’Clock Roadblock” was also a great photographer who shot the cover of Peter Tosh’s 1976 solo debut, Legalize It. Many of Jaffe’s images are collected in his indispensible photographic memoir One Love: Life With Bob Marley & The Wailers. But as Tosh’s lyrics said “Half the story has never been told.” Earlier this month an exhibition of remarkable photographs and video footage shot by Lee Jaffe opened at at Dem Passwords gallery in Los Angeles. The show captures images of the Bush Doctor during the Spring of 1976, just months before the release of Legalize It and 11 years before his assassination.  Interview and photos after the jump. (more…)

  • Massive Attack To Reissue “Blue Lines” Album

    Take A Fresh Listen To The Seminal Debut Disc From Bristol’s Wild Bunch

    Back in the late 1980s, before terms like “trip hop” and “dubstep” were ever uttered, a sound system called The Wild Bunch decided to start producing their own music. DJs Daddy G and Andrew Vowles joined forced with graffiti artist-turned-rapper Robert “3D” Del Naja. Their 1991 debut album, Blue Lines, was co-produced by the late great Jonny Dollar and Cameron McVey, who became the group’s first manager. Geoff Barrow, who went on to form Portishead, was an intern and tape operator at Bristol’s Coach House studio when the album was recorded. Future solo star Tricky was introduced on the track “Five Many Army.” The album also featured vocals by McVey’s wife Neneh Cherry and the renowned Jamaican reggae singer Horace Andy on songs like the majestic, ethereal “Hymn of the Big Wheel.” The single “Unfinished Symphathy” became a big hit in England, but more importantly Blue Lines introduced a whole new sound and a new way of making music, with a looseknit crew—similar to the Jamaican sound system model—rather than a strictly defined band. Massive Attack are currently working on a new record in Bristol, which is cause for celebration to a certain generation of music lovers. But if you missed the Blue Lines phenomenon the first time around, fret not… (more…)

  • Beres Hammond Set To Drop New Album

    The Double Disc “One Love, One Life” Will Show Both Sides of Hammond’s Artistry

    A new Beres Hammond release is always cause for celebration. From love songs like “What One Dance Can Do” and “Tempted To Touch” to reality tunes like “Warriors Don’t Cry” and “Putting Up Resistance” the maestro’s catalog runs the gamut of styles and sounds, and the classics never seem to stop coming. (more…)

  • THROWBACK: Garnet Silk “Nothing Can Divide Us” Live

    The Archangel Testifies To The Power of Love

    From “Splashing Dashing” to “Mama Africa” to the “Lion Roars,” Garnet Silk blessed us with some amazing records during his brief, brilliant time on earth. The LPs and 45s trace the outlines of a stellar career, but if you never got the chance to experience Garnet live, then you’ll never fully overstand why so many people believed his voice would lead reggae to the promised land. Just check out this classic performance on Buju & Friends stage show, as Garnet sings about a love so powerful that nothing—and no one—can stand in its way. Anyone who’s ever been kept apart from the one they love by powers beyond their control will be sure to feel Garnet’s fire when he sings: “I was born to love you. And you were born to love me too. And I can’t deny it, for I love you more each minute.” One look at the ladies in the crowd and you can plainly see the’re feeling it too. Hard to believe it’s been so long since the archangel flew away home. (more…)

  • Unreleased Treasures From The Randy’s Studio 17 Archives Debut On BBC Radio4

    Reshma B Joined Clive Chin For a Transfer Session Of Original Master Tapes From The Randy’s Vaults

    Boomshots UK Correspondent Reshma B appeared yesterday on “Front Row,” BBC Radio 4’s flagship arts show, to talk about the legacy of Randy’s Studio 17. She also premiered never-before-heard snippets of unreleased tracks from the Randy’s archives. You can listen to the broadcast here. But of course half the story has never been told. (more…)

  • Joseph Hill Speaks on “Two Sevens Clash”

    Remembering Culture’s Armagideon Theme Song

    Thirty-five years ago was July 7, 1977—a numerological cataclysm of epic proportions in a year of turmoil and great music. (Seven/seven/seventy-seven was sorta like the original 12.21.12.) But none of the the apocalyptic anthems released during that fraught year could touch Joseph Hill’s inspired ravings on the classic Culture selection “Two Sevens Clash.” Before the late great Mr Hill’s passing, we had a chance to reason with him about the tune. Here’s what he had to say… (more…)