REGGAE RUNNINGS -- 28 March 2007

By Jesse I

 

I'm still feeling the effects of Pressure Drop's first birthday as I write today - congratulations to Natty Sistren, Tempa and Nich Power for a year of wicked parties at Laundry, and a rammed session Saturday night. Pressure Drop returns to the Laundry on April 28, with guests Bonnita and Papa Stylee.

Next fortnight it's Chant Down's turn to celebrate; as Australia's longest running reggae/dancehall night More Fire reaches the 6-year milestone on April 14 at Brown Alley (corner Lonsdale and King, city). As usual, this promises to be another bigger-than-big birthday bashment, with residents Jesse I, Ras Crucial and Damajah joined by the extended family - Housewife's Choice, Troublemaker, Andy Ites, Maruza, and Tony Bashment - plus nuff guest MCs, party treats and other surprises. Go deh!

In the meantime, there are a whole heap of one-away shows happening this coming month, starting this Saturday 31st March as hiphop/reggae activists Combat Wombat return to Melbourne's live scene for a show at Laundry. Mista Savona would have to be one of the hottest people in Australian music right now after the success of his Melbourne Meets Kingston release on Elefant Traks, and he'll be playing support for this one, alongside Chant Down.

Sunday 1st April kicks off a series of big nights at the Prince Bandroom, as we're treated to a run of sideshows from the East Coast Blues and Roots Festival. First up are Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars, playing their fusion of traditional West African music, roots reggae and rhythmic traditional folk, along with support from Jali Buba Kuyateh, Troublemaker, and DJ Carlos.

The following night (Monday 2nd April) it's Lee Scratch Perry at the Prince, back in Australia with a full band for the first time since 1999. While Scratch's place in the reggae history books has been well earned by his amazing production career, his live shows are legendary for different reasons - you never know exactly what you'll get from this self-confessed madman! Support for this one comes courtesy of Uptight Selection, Binghi Fire and RuCL.

Tuesday 3rd April it's Ziggy Marley's turn to take the stage at the Prince Bandroom. While I personally didn't hear a great deal of reggae in his 2007 Best-Reggae-Album-Grammy winning "Love Is My Religion", Ziggy has a long and proud history in the music, producing original reggae since his childhood with the Melody Makers. Guests on the night include Natty Sistren Sound, Andy Ites, and Bomba-Mento.

Easter Sunday (April 8) brings a real change of pace, and one for the true dancehall massive, as Sydney's #1 dancehall, hiphop, reggaeton & soca party comes to Melbourne for the first time at Shiva (139-141 Bourke St). Sydney 's Surgeon General Sound (Nick Toth and K-Note) will be leading the charge, along with Kay-Z, Nukc, Ras Crucial and I - plus hosts Diafrix and RuCL. This also promises Melbourne's first Dancehall Queen contest - check out www.myspace.com/surgeongeneralsound for more info.

Wednesday 18th April is one for the true dub heads, as Tomo (of Japan 's Redmeption Sound) plays his last Melbourne show before heading home. Uptight of Heartical Hi-Fi will be bringing in some extra sound to Bar Open (317 Brunswick St, Fitzory) for this session, so you know the sound will be heavyweight! Playing support on the night will be Uptight, Binghi Fire, and Delay.

Finally on the gig front, Ming presents "From The Roots Bear The Fruits" at North Bazzar (222 High St, Northcote) on April 21, with guest selection from Tempa, Sista Itations, Binghi Fire, Toola, and I. Maruza presents "Kinky Roots" on the same night at So Bar (270 Russell St, city), featuring himself, Nukc, Tempa, Vibesman and Ruffiki.

Looking at new releases, Greensleeves records have just released Chuck Fenda's latest full album The Living Fire - one for all those that have been waiting for the massive tune "Gash Dem" to come out on CD format. The album is definitely worth the wait too, with a heap of new tunes from production crews Juke Boxx and Voiceful alongside recent hits like "Freedom of Speech" and "Judgement". Anthony B also has a strong new release on Greensleeves this month, Higher Meditation, produced by Frenchie of Maximum Sound.

2007 continues to be a slower year than usual when it comes to new 7" singles out of Jamaica, but the big tunes are still there to be found. Capleton's fresh cut "Be Like Dis" on Sly & Robbie's enduring Taxi riddim is one of the biggest tunes for me in recent times, and brings a timely call for unity in Jamaica's music scene. The Oneness label brings the best new roots riddim of the month, simply titled Oneness, a tough one-drop featuring strong vocals from Luciano, Spectacular, Lutan Fyah and Al Borosie. Other strong riddms to check include the Atariq on Atariq, Serengeti on Pure Music, This Morning and Peace Train on In The Streetz; and on a dancehall tip, Full Clip on 38 Degrees.