March 8th – Leamington Spa Assembly Rooms – Supporting Selecter
March 29th – Exeter Phoenix – Supporting Selecter
March 31st – WAMA High Wycombe – Headliner
May 27th – Veg Fest, Bristol – Headliner
Aug 18th – Wowfest Isle Of Wight
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| CD Reviews |
| Written by Nev Brooks |
| Saturday, 21 January 2012 04:45 |
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This trio of Desmond Taylor (Dehvan Othieno Sengor), Dennison Joseph and Donald de Cordova were supplemented for the recordings by a host of local musicians as well as the engineering and co-production talents of Richard Lewis (UK Scientist), a mainstay of the British reggae scene. The earlier release through Bristol Archive Records ‘Dole Age’ (reviewed here) showed a band coming to the top of their game in 1981, it contained their first two seven inch singles but also seven live tracks from classic shows at both Glastonbury and Bath University. ‘Taking The Strain’ then builds on this showing a band full of confidence, not afraid to experiment and more to the point highlights some superb musicianship. So what does it sound like? I have to say this is roots reggae at its very best, on a par with the best to come from Steel Pulse, Aswad and the like, I’d go so far as to say that it pushes one of my personal faves Black Uhuru hard. What instantly comes to mind are the little touches by UK Scientist, the slightly slowed dub bass on some tracks, the crystal clear sound, the guitar wrapping around the vocals and the not so obvious use of keyboards!!!!! And do you know what? This album gets even better with the addition of a bonus live performance from the London Lyceum from a support slot with Eek-A-Mouse back in 1985. Stand out tracks for me then are ‘Lick And Run’, Stride On’ and ‘Crimes Of Passion” but in all honesty there’s not really a weak track here. From the bonus tracks ‘Slow Poison’ is absolutely burnin’ in the words of a certain Mr. Marley, listen to that brass section!!! Overall then a very worthy addition to any music collection. http://www.bristolarchiverecords.com/bands/Talisman.html http://www.bristolarchiverecords.com/vinyl.html http://www.uberrock.co.uk/cd-reviews/17-january-cd/3739-talisman-taking-the-strain-bristol-archive-records.html |
JOSHUA MOSES
’JOSHUA TO JASHWHA – 30 YEARS IN THE WILDERNESS’
Released 9th April 2012 on LP, CD and Digital Download
From the beginning of Bristol Archive Records involvement in documenting Bristol’s neglected reggae heritage we’ve wanted to release an album that showcases the great talent of one of the local reggae scene’s mainstays, Joshua Moses.
Unfortunately, Joshua has no copies of the many recording sessions he has done in the years since his first session in 1978, and so it has taken more than eighteen months of painstaking research and the pursuit of numerous leads to gather together the fifteen tracks on “Joshua To Jashwha – 30 Years In The Wilderness”. The result is more than worth any effort involved on our part and is as strong a debut album as anyone could wish for, guaranteed to create a buzz among reggae fans worldwide.
The tracks on this album were recorded between 1978 and 2003 yet prior to Bristol Archive’s involvement the only tracks to have been previously released were the very scarce “Africa (Is Our Land) and it’s dub counterpart “Home”. The former, included on the “Bristol Reggae Explosion 1978-1983” and both tracks will be reissued on a very limited 12” in February 2012. The only other track to have previously seen the light of day is “Rise Up”, first heard on “The Bristol Reggae Explosion Volume 2”. Again we have included it’s dub counterpart and again we are releasing a very limited edition 12” alongside “Africa (Is Our Land)” in February 2012.
The other 11 tracks were recorded over a period of twenty years and include a trio of live recordings, but all the tracks have one thing in common, they are all roots tunes of the highest order and Joshua being a multi talented musician has created the music with as much skill as the lyrics. Having dealt with repatriation with “Africa (Is Our Land)”, we move on to “House of Dread”. One of the highlights of Joshua’s live shows in the early eighties, it welcomes all of humanity to embrace Rastafari in universal unity, although there is the caveat that the rich may not be welcome.
Evildoers come under attack in “Stick It Up” which attacks the hypocrites and parasites, (vampires and old pirates), who have caused so much suffering throughout history. We then move onto “Jah Time Has Come” that skilfully adapts Aswad’s “Promised Land” rhythm as Joshua looks forward to the coming of Jah and universal justice. Another candidate for the twelve inch treatment is “Suffering Is In the Past” and it’s dub counterpart, a tale of life’s struggles and overcoming suffering. This is followed by “Rise Up”, Joshua’s call to fight oppression and injustice wherever it is found. “Steel” calls for love to triumph over evil. Joshua then proclaims his Rastafarian, Jamaican and African identity in “Bobby Wrong”. “Children Of the Light” and “Nothing To Lose” show Joshua’s vocal versatility as he uses a falsetto voice, whilst “Protection” says that if you embrace Jah he will guide and protect you and show you the way. The final track “Distant Guns” introduces a bluesy guitar giving the song a unique and extremely catchy feel as Joshua sings how love will triumph over adversity come judgement day. All the tracks are sung with the utmost conviction, by an artist who truly believes what he sings.
It’s likely that if Joshua had been recording in Kingston rather than Bristol he would have become an international star, his music avidly collected and lauded with praise. It may be rather belated, but this release should go a long way towards establishing Joshua’s reputation internationally.
The other purpose of this release is to draw a line under Joshua Moses and see him reborn as Jashwha Moses, Jashwha has had many trials and tribulations over the decades and his lonely struggle for musical success has often been an uphill battle. Now with this career retrospective and a new name to tie in with his new, but equally spiritual material, he can hopefully look forward to the success and wider recognition his talents have always deserved.
ARTIST: Joshua Moses
TITLE: ‘Joshua to Jashwha – 30 Years In The Wilderness’
RELEASE DATE: 9th April 2012
LABEL: Bristol Archive Records
DISTRIBUTION: Shellshock
FORMAT: Format: CD, Vinyl and Digital Download
CAT NO: ARC250CD and ARC250V
DOWNLOAD LINK (For review purposes only; ):
WEBSITE: www.bristolarchiverecords.com
CONTACT: Mike Darby, E: [email protected] T: 07885 498 402
PRESS CONTACT: Garry Hutchinson, E : [email protected] T: 01429280582
BLACK ROOTS
‘ ALL DAY ALL NIGHT ’ (Deluxe edition)
Released 23rd April 2012 on CD via Bristol Archive Records
Having previously teamed up with Nubian Records to release the critically acclaimed “Black Roots – The Reggae Singles Anthology”, Bristol Archive Records have once more been allowed into the Black Roots/Nubian tape vaults. This time we bring out a 25th anniversary deluxe CD edition of “All Day All Night”, the album that saw them teaming up with the Mad Professor and moving away from their original sound for a more polished version. Whilst the music may have been brought up to date, the band’s lyrics rarely strayed away from the same themes of social and historical justice that define the roots genre.
As well the original dozen vocal tracks, we’ve added several dub versions and the extended 12” mix of “Pin in the Ocean”. The music itself saw the band embracing new technology and production techniques to give themselves a more contemporary UK sound, expertly helmed by the UK’s leading reggae producer Neil Fraser. The dub mixes give another dimension to the music, the Mad Professor’s signature mixing style meaning these mixes wouldn’t seem out of place in his own “Dub Me Crazy” series.
A quarter of a century after its first release, “All Day All Night” is worthy of reissue and hopefully will find a new audience amongst fans who were too young for its original release as well as appealing to those who want to supplement their vinyl issues and enjoy the many extra tracks included on this CD. Bristol Archive Records have paid their usual attention to detail and to complement the newly re mastered music, the booklet will include many previously unpublished photos of the band.
Back together after many years, Black Roots are working on a new album to be released in late 2012 as well as performing around the UK. The fact that several of these songs have found a firm place in their live set, emphasises the quality of the writing and the need for this long overdue reappraisal. Bristol Archive Records have once again fulfilled their mission and rescued another deserving and high quality album from obscurity for a new generation of fans.
Tracks CD:
1. Realize
2. Pin In The Ocean
3. Release the Food
4. Freedom
5. Poor Children
6. Spare The Rod
7. Conman
8. Seeing Your Face
9. All Day All Night
10. Mighty Lion
11. Suffer Me Not
12. Childless Mother
Additional tracks:
13. Pin In The Ocean (Extended Mix)
14. Reality Dub
15. Folitrickshun Dub
16. Dub Free
17. Face Dub
18. Fertility Dub
Release All Day All Night (Deluxe Edition)
Artist Black Roots
Format CD
Cat No ARC252CD
Label Bristol Archive Records
Barcode 5052571026526
Release Date 23rd April 2012
Genre Roots Reggae
Website: www.bristolarchiverecords.com
Contact: Mike Darby, E: [email protected] T: 07885 498 402
Black Roots – The Reggae Singles Anthology achieves a Top Ten position in Record Collector Reggae Albums of 2011
Revelation Rockers achieve a 5 out of 5 Album review for ‘Jah Praises’ to be released March 2012 in Record Collector
Good start to 2012
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For those with an interest in reggae this is a bit of a landmark recording. It was originally issued on vinyl way back in 1984, and was in fact Talisman’s first studio LP. The band themselves having been mainstays of the Bristol scene since around ’76, albeit with differing personnel through that time. And it’s also perhaps worth pointing out that on the original release of ‘Taking The Strain’ Talisman were in fact a three piece. 