2013 new release of the year roundup

[Reggaemusicstore]

and my 2013 new releases round up would include rapahela give thanks for life,

dread tune Robin

The Murray Man side on this "Jah Is Looking Over" kills it too, a superb vocal & riddim. I like both these sides not only for the riddim but for the soulful expressive vocals & I have to say I'm finding it increasingly difficult to find much enjoyment in the endless wave of european singers, most of whom IMO are totally unsuited to reggae vocals. (Sits back & waits for the stream of insults to be aimed at me).

Robert Dallas - Tradition Man 7", another killer.

Crucial Alphonso - Leaders Of North Africa 12" on Lion Roots - seems to have gone virtually unnoticed but is one of the best horns instrumentals I've heard in a long time.

Vivian Jones - Third World Man - Disciples 12" - not often that a cover version matches the original but this is a rare example that does.

Anything that Roberto Sanchez has a hand in is usually excellent and his releases this year are no exception.

[talawa]

That vivian jones remix from Russ is wicked tune for sure

[lankou]

One i forgot is the great His Majesty 10" on Manilla Jeepney (NYC), featuring Peter Hunnigale, Ranking Joe and Ansel Cridland, all in top form, not to forget the solid dub version, also by Russ D.
Quite a few solid tunes on The Lions' album, on Stones Throw Rds.Straight out of LA.

[RB]

i don't like or hear much new stuff but "Angola" by Jah Bouks is pretty good
and yes, was a "hit" (as far as a culture tune can be a hit in 2013) in JA

[Donovan]

The Murray Man side on this "Jah Is Looking Over" kills it too, a superb vocal & riddim. I like both these sides not only for the riddim but for the soulful expressive vocals & I have to say I'm finding it increasingly difficult to find much enjoyment in the endless wave of european singers, most of whom IMO are totally unsuited to reggae vocals. (Sits back & waits for the stream of insults to be aimed at me).

Anything that Roberto Sanchez has a hand in is usually excellent and his releases this year are no exception.

Rather than insult you, I will agree with you. Also, I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Etana's Reggae 7" on VP. That song is simply great. I didn't buy the album (too much soul and r&b) but that single is great.

[Donovan]

I've done a mixcloud mix of some of the releases from 2013 which stood out for me :
http://www.mixcloud.com/aron-shamash/re ... undup-mix/

It won't play for me. Anybody else have luck?

[talawa]

I've done a mixcloud mix of some of the releases from 2013 which stood out for me :
http://www.mixcloud.com/aron-shamash/re ... undup-mix/

It won't play for me. Anybody else have luck?

Should play on any modern browser

[David]

its in some ways a bit off-topic, as its not a reggae record, but a deadly african lp (couldnt tell a specific style) with mindblowing guitar lines, try that one:!


http://www.honestjons.com/shop.php?Hybr ... l+national

[Robin]

and my 2013 new releases round up would include rapahela give thanks for life,

dread tune Robin

The Murray Man side on this "Jah Is Looking Over" kills it too, a superb vocal & riddim. I like both these sides not only for the riddim but for the soulful expressive vocals & I have to say I'm finding it increasingly difficult to find much enjoyment in the endless wave of european singers, most of whom IMO are totally unsuited to reggae vocals. (Sits back & waits for the stream of insults to be aimed at me).

Crucial Alphonso - Leaders Of North Africa 12" on Lion Roots - seems to have gone virtually unnoticed but is one of the best horns instrumentals I've heard in a long time.

i see what you saying steve and tend to agree. please though remember many european singers doesnt get the background you or other longtimers have, so they may do music in a difefrent way than it used to be. im not going into the bedroom producers debate which i find sterile sometime, but to start with, many of the "european" (to me uk is europe but eh) artists dont have english, let alone patois, as their first language. this implies they get inspiration / feeling mostly from the music itself and have only vague understadning of the lyrics, hence the lack of relevant meanings sometimes when they try to add their bit. this can be damaging to the overall quality i agree, and maybe sometime seen as disrespectful to some, but i think it can also be seen as positive. people all over the world express themselves through reggae nowadays, and as you already pointed out, some new artists really maintain and even help rising the overall level, so generally speaking, the scene is healthy imo. its all about moving forward isn't it.
with all due respects, i would have expect to see more reference here to european/worldwide productions, whcih i know many, many people value/feel, despite the critics emanating from you or others.

And yes crucial alphonso is a great european producer (going strong from a bedroom to a 2 room flat studio now hahaha) and the LR production havent been unoticed to me. big up yano eveyrtime.

[Reggaemusicstore]

i see what you saying steve and tend to agree. please though remember many european singers doesnt get the background you or other longtimers have, so they may do music in a difefrent way than it used to be. im not going into the bedroom producers debate which i find sterile sometime, but to start with, many of the "european" (to me uk is europe but eh) artists dont have english, let alone patois, as their first language. this implies they get inspiration / feeling mostly from the music itself and have only vague understadning of the lyrics, hence the lack of relevant meanings sometimes when they try to add their bit. this can be damaging to the overall quality i agree, and maybe sometime seen as disrespectful to some, but i think it can also be seen as positive. people all over the world express themselves through reggae nowadays, and as you already pointed out, some new artists really maintain and even help rising the overall level, so generally speaking, the scene is healthy imo. its all about moving forward isn't it.
with all due respects, i would have expect to see more reference here to european/worldwide productions, whcih i know many, many people value/feel, despite the critics emanating from you or others.

And yes crucial alphonso is a great european producer (going strong from a bedroom to a 2 room flat studio now hahaha) and the LR production havent been unoticed to me. big up yano eveyrtime.

That's true about the europeans not having the same background Robin & I appreciate that, but without getting into a long discussion about it now, my point of view is going to be different because of where and when I'm coming from. The point I made about the european singers wasn't meant as a race or colour things cos I could say the same about quite a lot of UK born/Jamaican parentage singers who would never have been good enough to work in JA back in the day, and also about a lot of Black American artists who may well be brilliant singers but don't have the particular feel necessary for reggae which to me is essentially a Jamaican thing. What it comes down to for me is that so many of the things which attracted me to reggae in the first place are just missing now in so much of the new music I hear. And I'm not sure if the more credit to european producers comment was meant for me or more generally, if it was meant for me I singled out Roberto Sanchez who's Spanish, the Crucial Alphonso tune from Belgium, and of course the Robert Dallas tune which I believe was built by Inyaki who's also Spanish. For the record I like a lot of French productions especially the ones using live instruments and I can see good music coming out of a lot of different countries now. But along with that there's also some very badly produced music too, being put out by very inexperienced people who really aren't good enough and that's dragging the standards down. I'm not going to mention any names but I've heard quite a few tunes which would have been laughed at & would never have got a play in a dance or anywhere else for that matter 20 years ago. The times are changing and this scene is changing too, but not always for the better. And I'm not alone in these views, I talk to a lot of people ranging from other "veteran" uk producers to customers of mine who think the same. So credit where credit's due but people need to be able to take constructive criticism if they want to move forward. We should all be making progress.

[lankou]

" For the record I like a lot of French productions especially the ones using live instruments and I can see good music coming out of a lot of different countries now. But along with that there's also some very badly produced music too, being put out by very inexperienced people who really aren't good enough and that's dragging the standards down. I'm not going to mention any names but I've heard quite a few tunes which would have been laughed at & would never have got a play in a dance or anywhere else for that matter 20 years ago".

Well, well, i'm afraid i could say exactly the same thing about today's UK productions,really ! (or anywhere else, for that matter!)
Frankly, there are a lot of UK artists getting praises here who would have remained totally unoticed in the days when it was performances in the dancehall - not just plays in the dancehall -which enabled the artists to break big. It is not so anymore, the process of elaborating and spreading a tune goes much faster, but often resulting in a lesser impact : no so hard to be a one-minute hero if you know how to preach to the converted! For instance, i haven't spotted many new Tippa Iries or Asher Senators in the UK.

Maybe because of information technologies, certain "artists" seem to forget the notions of patience, modesty, endeavour and determination...
In the past, most talents had gone through some severe elimination process: prove it in the dance or get lost!
Now it's totally different, you have to show yourself before you show what you can really do - it may lead to a lack of decency, and that's possibly where the problem lies.Still, does it lower the standards? Not really, as there are so many more sources to get your reggae music. Maybe the percentage of good tunes is lower but there are many more different standards.

Not written in defence of the french vocalists, most of them leave me cold to say the truth (whereas there are heaps of convincing musicians !). I'd tend to respect more someone who twists and turns his own language to fit into a reggae format, whatever feat it may be, than another who just apes the originators' patwa. Of course,if someone chooses to record in english, well, they'd better be ready to be counted by people whose native language it is. Can't believe there will ever be tons of Gentlemen or Alborosies, really, but there are also lesser-known artists from europe who sing well - with an exotic touch or not!

Yet,on a lighter note, i have heard a few examples of UK / JA artists who tried to sing in other languages for a little reggae exoticism and it turned out pretty hilarious for most of them !

As a conclusion, we can notice that a number of the best recordings in 2013 happen to be international collaborations. Do you really believe this happened by chance?

[Reggaemusicstore]

Maybe I didn't make myself clear Lankou but I wasn't talking about French productions or any specific countries at all with the bad quality ones, there's plenty of poor quality coming from the UK too.

[ras2thebone]

Diggory Kenrick - Spy Smasher / Mike Brooks - Calling (Coptic Lion 7")

Captain Sinbad - Reggae Music Will Mad Unu (Maximum Sound LP)
Errol Bellot - Youthman (Bristol Archive LP)
Milton Henry - Branches & Leaves (Iroko LP)

Could not agree more...

I will add Kabaka Pyramid's Lead The Way and Addis Pablo Selassie Souljahz in Dub 10"

[dougie conscious]

i haven't spotted many new Tippa Iries or Asher Senators in the UK.
solo banton,yt, jus as good as above

[Rico]

Jah 9 did some nice stuff

Here album is nice, and i love the track preacher man