teabowl

Live

Seeed. Downbeat 2006, Audio CD, $26.13

Reggae from Germany. Why not? Is it surprising that Germans can get their groove on and sound indistinguishable from Jamaicans? Francophone Europe has a long tradition of embracing reggae, particularly reggae from Africa (Alpha Blondy, Lucky Dube, etc.). Germany has, in the last few years, developed its own authentic reggae/dancehall scene with acts like Gentleman, Mono & Nikitaman and Nosliw. But the biggest, most popular reggae outfit from Germany is without a doubt Seeed (yes, three e’s). In the (apparently spectacular) live configuration, there are 11 band members, a whole soccer team’s worth.

So far, they’ve made three studio records (four if you count a somewhat silly ‘compilation’ for the English-speaking market) and the Live record I’m talking about here. The music is a blend of modern roots reggae and dancehall. The lyrics are half in German and half in English (the English is a very authentic-souding Jamacian patois, no less). The fun factor is writ large, and this is immensely entertaining summertime music (as is most reggae… but then I’m a bit of a reggae aficionado). As an English-speaking person, your entertainment and amusement mileage may vary with this. Musically, it’s fantastic - in my opinion more elegant, musically spirited and better arranged and produced than much of commercial new reggae out of Jamaica these days (excepting, maybe, Damian Marley’s recent records, which are lovely).

Seeed often celebrate Berlin, their city, so there’s a lot of ‘local patriotism’ in their lyrics. A lot of ‘Berlin’ boasting to go with the Seeed boasting. Seeed’s message is empowering. Lyric sample (with loose translation):

[Du] befreist alle Tiere aus allen Zoos | Bringst den Frieden direkt nach Nah-Ost | Jeder fragt sich, woher hat der die Power bloss? | Seeed Sound macht kleine Typen gross

You free all the animals from all the zoos | You bring peace to the Middle East | Everybody’s asking, how did he become so powerful? | Seeed’s sound makes little guys huge

Seeed has apparently had some success in Jamaica, with tracks like ‘Waterpumpee’ (Anthony B guests) and ‘Dickes B’ (with Black Kappa). That’s a big stamp of approval for a band from Germany.

This is party music, drive-your-car-with-the-windows-down-and-turn-it-up music. There will be summer wherever you decide to play this. And if you happen to understand German, you’ll laugh a lot. (As I’m writing this I realize that perhaps, this is the ultimate in ‘long tail’ music: there’s me and, like, ten other devoted reggae fans who will fully appreciate this music, bilingually, for the humour in both languages.)

Funky Nassau

Various Artists. Strut Records 2008, Audio CD, $11.00

This is a really great little compilation that neatly summarizes an era and a particular sound. Compass Point was Island Records’ founder Chris Blackwell’s studio in Nassau in the Bahamas. It was a very popular recording studio in the early 1980s - lots of ‘big’ acts recorded ‘big’ records there, like AC/DC’s Back in Black and the Stones’ Tattoo You and countless others.

But Chris Blackwell had also assembled a kickass ‘house band’ consisting of Sly & Robbie and a few other reggae and new wave greats. This band supported artists like Grace Jones and is responsible for creating the legendary ‘Compass Point Sound,’ a blend of reggae, disco and new wave/no wave.

This compilation presents an informative and entertaining cross-section of Compass Point’s 1980s output. The liner notes are excellent and (almost) worth the purchase price by themselves.

A related recommendation:

Private Life

Grace Jones. Island 1998, Audio CD, $9.70

Vastly more entertaining and vital than you probably think. Most importantly, there’s something very contemporary about this sound. I’m not sure what it is, but it still sounds relevant. Maybe this band really was so far ahead of its time and it’s full relevance is only now coming into orbit. For me, anyway :)

Street Gospels

Bedouin Soundclash. Usa Side 1 Dummy 2007, Audio CD, $5.99

(Direct URL: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000R4S6I2/)

Bedouin Soundclash, from Kingston, but maybe not the Kingston you think, as one reviewer points out, are a reggae/pop three-piece that channels the Specials, The Clash, a little Madness, The Police and Sublime. I can also hear some Dave Matthews Band and maybe some South African rock music from the 1980s and 90s (I’m thinking bands like Bright Blue or The Usual, bands most readers wouldn’t be familiar with, with an ‘ethnically’ influenced folk pop sound).

Their third album, Street Gospels, is a varied and interesting affair - definitely worth buying and listening to. I like it for its variety, scenic detours and also for its commitment to trying things other bands wouldn’t. For instance, Hush is an a cappella number that’s a nice mid-album break and a poignant piece of harmony singing (from a band whose vocals are perhaps best described as ‘adequate and enthusiastic’ rather than ‘great’).

What is interesting is that Bedouin Soundclash seem to have gotten the big attention they deserve mostly in Canada, at least to date, but are lacking recognition in both the US and UK. They won a Juno for Best New Group in 2006 (odd, since their first album, Root Fire, came out in 2001). Stylistically they sometimes strike me as more similar to the new crop of British bands than typical North American indie fare. Hard-Fi, Maximo Park, The Fratellis all come to mind as candidates for direct comparison, even equals: I think that what Bedouin Soundclash may need is the ‘breakthrough recognition’ some North American bands have found in the UK (I’m thinking White Stripes - but maybe that’s just a tad ambitious :).

There really aren’t very many truly good North American ‘retro’ pop bands. There are The Killers (who I run hot and cold with and should probably give another listen), LCD Soundsystem (who I haven’t warmed up to despite several valiant attempts and the fact that I keep buying every album they make) and, well… Bedouin Soundclash. They’re a band whose songcraft I’ll enjoy watching mature over the years, whose reggae skank certainly gets my toes tapping and whose sound has a rousing but rootsy punch that I imagine I’ll enjoy for a while.

Trojan Dub Massive

Various Artists. Sanctuary Records 2005, Audio CD, $8.77

Trojan Dub Massive

Bill Laswell. Sanctuary Records 2005, Audio CD, $10.06

(Direct URLs: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0007DBJMI/ and http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0007NMKOY/)

Always experimental and always an outsider musician as far as a general sort of listenership would be concerned, Bill Laswell’s contribution to popular music has nevertheless been a fantastic journey of the offbeat and powerful. I’m familiar with Laswell’s work primarily through his remixes/reworkings/dub plates. All of those terms, incidentally, don’t really seem to capture what he does, though: it’s a creative re-imagining of a source body of work, executed by someone who has complete mastery of the digital audio production realm (I think of Bill Laswell as someone with the same level of limitless production capabilities as Amon Tobin, for example - only Laswell’s been at it a few decades longer). I’ve immensely enjoyed his reworkings of Bob Marley, Miles Davis and Sussan Deyhim over the years. (I’ve toyed with his ‘Imaginary Cuba’ disc in the record store but haven’t bought it yet. And everyone who can get their hands on them should listen to the Gigi albums he produced.)

These two CDs are collections of classic dub tracks by famous creators like King Tubby, Sly and Robbie, The Upsetters, Prince Jammy, Augustus Pablo and others. And Laswell gently re-imagines them, strings them together, interlaces them with small bits of sound that weave them together into a coherent whole. Levels are adjusted, the bass made maybe a little crunchier, dubbier, tighter (some of the originals were way out there in terms of crazy analogue dub production… and today’s ears may have slightly different expectations). Bill Laswell also reigns in the pervasive tape hiss from the originals (a result of endlessly spliced, erased, overdubbed tapes that were basically in tatters by the time the producers were through with a track). Everything gets a new sheen, but one that’s appropriately analogue-sounding and respectful of these classic tracks and their immense straight-on assault on the ears.

On a good stereo, with good headphones, late at night, these two discs are a wonder of sonic exploration. It’s the sort of thing that can keep you up a good deal past your bed time. Time well spent.

Based on a True Story

Fat Freddy’s Drop. Kartel 2006, Audio CD, $11.67

(Direct URL: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000ICLT9G/)

My sister introduced me to this a few years ago. She lived in New Zealand then, as do Fat Freddys Drop, a live dub band. This is basically dubby roots reggae played by a (very good) live band. It loses momentum a little during the second half of the record, but much of it is spectacular. It’s really great late-night music.

This is one of those sleeper CDs, the records that someone recommends, and you start to like them a little… and then they just sort of stay in your CD player/on your MP3 player and never really go away because there’s always some new aspect to be heard. Highly recommended.