Reggae

Bad Brains - Into The Future

The DC hardcore legends return with their hybrid brand of punk and reggae fusion

The DC hardcore legends return with their hybrid brand of punk and reggae fusion – a staple in the punk pioneers’ genetic makeup since the get-go of their colourful career. Despite numerous line-up changes throughout the years, the band have never…

A guide to Scotland's club scene

DJ, co-owner and promoter of Third Door Sarah David on the beauty of student nightlife

So here you are. You are about to embark on this incredible journey of discovery. You want to hunt out fresh and exciting experiences, to meet and embrace new people and to embark on the next chapter of your life... oh... er, yes and, of course, study.

Crate Digging: The Riddim Tuffa Crew

Edinburgh based duo Adham and Frontline Selecta pick some tunes prior to their Wee Dub Festival set

Last year was a really good year for us as we managed to launch our own label and put out a few records. Riddim Tuffa feat Little Kirk ‘Kill Them Out’ (Tuffa Dubs) is a regular stamper in our DJ set. The groovy bass and amazing vocals from Kirk is a…

Preview of 2012 - Major Lazer

Tsunami of sound from Diplo and Switch's musical alter-ego

Brace yourselves for some sub-heavy electro dancehall from Diplo and Switch as they unleash their collective alter ego Major Lazer: ‘A Jamaican commando who lost his arm in the secret Zombie War of 1984. The US military rescued him and repurposed…

Crate Digging: DJ Astroboy, resident at Departure Lounge

The club night's defining moments, prior to its final instalment

When we started the night back in 2003, as a group of friends who just wanted to hear some different music in the club, little did we think it would take off like it did. The mixture of live music and DJ sets of African, Latin, jazz and soul influenced…

Crate Digging: Andrew Divine

The Divine DJ picks some of the long-running indie night's best

Divine’s summer vacation has been a perfect opportunity to stock-pile some new (old) vinyl ammo aimed straight at the dancefloor. These recent 7” excavations are all awaiting their debut Divine spins at The Admiral, beginning with Tangerine Peel ‘Solid…

Steve Mason & Dennis Bovell - Ghosts Outside

Reggae remix album of Mason’s Boys Outside with producer Dennis Bovell

(Double Six/Domino) Formerly of The Beta Band and his own King Biscuit Time and Black Affair projects, Steve Mason’s refreshing capacity for reinvention continues. Taking its cue, consciously or otherwise, from the 90s vogue for dub reinterpretations…

A rough guide to the genre of music known as Lovers Rock

Clubbers' Decktionary: A guide to the myriad genres of clubbing

Lovers Rock adj. romantic style of reggae music cultivated on the London reggae scene, c. 1975-1985. While contemporary strands of reggae (dub, roots, rocksteady etc) were becoming increasingly politicised and serious, Lovers Rock maintained a…

Dawn Penn, voice of Studio One records, lines up UK tour

Singer of You Don’t Love Me (No, No, No) set for UK dates

Dawn Penn From Born in Jamaica. Keeps her current whereabouts hush-hush. Occupation Singer for seminal Kingston label Studio One as a teenager in the 1960s, including her own reggae covers of tracks such as ‘To Sir With Love’, ‘Here Comes the Sun’ and…

Fortified presents: Scientist vs The Upsetters

‘Let me tell you man, reggae is the hardest music to engineer'

Capturing the sounds of the studio and helping to commit them to wax while preserving and, if possible, enhancing the essence of the performance, the studio engineer is a conduit between the art and physics of recording. In many respects the process is…

Deadly Hunta appearing at One Drop, Edinburgh

Covering a broad church of complimentary styles, One Drop promise that you’ll hear reggae, dancehall, hip hop and more at their latest event. It’s a good thing, then, that their headliner is Brit MC Deadly Hunta, whose own CV is similarly…

Made In Jamaica

(15) 107min (Network) Following the template of Buena Vista Social Club this music doc steadicams its way round the ghettos of Kingston, exploring the variety of music on offer: the venerable reggae scene, represented by Bunny Wailer and the like…

Skinnyman guests at Edinburgh's One Drop night

Initially signing to Talkin’ Loud, his calling card was his debut album Council Estate of Mind, that summed up the reality of city life with sharp rap, grime beats and heavy bass. Describing his own productions as ‘rhythmatic urban poetry’ he…

Sierre Leone Refugee All Stars - Rise and Shine

Cumbancha Forming a band in West African refugee camps is a potent story and the resulting music – think reggae, dub, African ritual chant and more – is terrific. Here the All Stars go home to Freetown, Sierra Leone to record some songs, then head…

Kenny Knots set for date with Mungo’s Hi-Fi

Genuine roots and dub from Kenny Knots, who started his career in reggae singing with North London’s Unity Sound System as a teenager in the 80s. Debut single ‘Watch How The People Dancing’ was his first big success going on to have releases on…

Hitlist: Clubs

Cabaret Voltaire’s Alternative Freshers Week, Kinky Afro, Motherfunk, Pinup Nights, Weak at the Knees, Numbers & Fortified, Huntleys and Palmers Audio Club, Compact Disco, Streetrave 20th Birthday Party

The Heptones

Formed in Jamaica in 1965 The Heptones were one of the top vocal groups of the rocksteady era. Working with names like Coxsone Dodds and Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry back in the day they reunited in 1995 and have been bringing real reggae back to the live…

Horace Andy

After giving us The Congo’s first ever Scottish show, the Summer Reggae Sunsplash season turns up a more familiar talent in the distinctive vibrato of Horace ‘Sleepy’ Andy. Hardly warranting introduction, Andy’s career as first guitarist, then singer…

VV Brown: Travelling Like the Light

Underneath VV Brown’s forward roll fringe and glossy grin beats a rockabilly heart. Hyped as a ‘girl most likely to’ in 2009, it’s kind of a balloon burster to find her pop’n’roll debut doesn’t match up to her striking, wholesome-hot good looks. (She’s…

The Congos

REGGAE As mournful tenor trembles above falsetto and baritone amid a bubbling cacophony of bass and effect, the statuesque and trance-inducing ‘Fisherman’ ushers in a cult reggae masterpiece. It is tempting if unfair to say that The Congos have…

Balkanarama

It’s a full on fest of Balkan beats and gypsy jazz as Balkanarama hosts a big midsummer party in both cities. With live music (from Erdogan Orkestra, Kuchke and Black Cat); DJs for a fusion of electro, gypsy punk and reggae; belly dancing, pipers, jam…

Toots and the Maytals - O2 Academy, Glasgow, Fri 29 May

Toots and the Maytals pull in a stunningly diverse crowd. In their UK heyday, the late 70s and 80s, many of the band’s songs were embraced as anthems of radical musical and political movements and for a certain generation they remain a symbol of those…

Ojos De Brujo

If flamenco isn’t really your thing, then you should probably turn away now. But come on, everyone needs a bit of flamenco in their life. Hip hop is also here in abundance too, consummating with each other to produce an exotically interesting mix.

Riddim Tuffa

DRUM & BASS/DUBSTEP/REGGAE Riddim Tuffa has been steadily gathering momentum since moving to the GRV in 2008. Their music policy has its roots in reggae but happily embraces all the myriad forms it has inspired, with ragga, jungle and dubstep…

Profile - Benga

Name Benga Occupation DJ and producer who, alongside Tempa labelmate and childhood friend Skream, has been operating at the forefront of dubstep since the genre emerged. Where’s he from? Croydon, Greater London, where Benga started making a name…