As Hackney One and Notting Hill Carnival come around once again and London gets out on the streets and infront of speakerboxes, here's a UK soundsystem style roots mix... Many of the tunes included here are ones I first heard played out by certain UK soundsystems, and then went off hunting to find what they were: big respect and thanks particularly to Negus Melody, Lord Ambassador, RDK Hifi, Young Warrior, King Earthquake, Iration Steppas, Channel One and Aba Shanti, who will forever be connected in my mind with playing many of these tunes at particular times. Love the way music gives us memories...

Want to draw attention to a couple of tracks here: The Law by City Culture is taken from the brilliant, must-buy Breadwinners LP, which I cant recommend enough - really deserves support. No one is doing live instrumentation roots music in the UK like them right now. Love this record.

Also two killer Alpha Steppa connected productions here, Violin Step and Material Things. Very happy to say that my first ever vinyl release as part of the Aketi Ray band should be coming out on Alpha Steppa's Steppas Records label later in the year - keep an eye out and a ear open for that: Aketi Ray is a live acoustic dub-jazz project,and the 12" release will feature a digidub rework by Alpha & Omega. There'll be an Aketi Ray album to come next year...something a little different for your ears!

So here we go: apart from one US and one FR its all UK productions, 80s up to the present day, starting off easy and getting harder as it goes, 2 hours of roots music, soundsystem style...

Raise Your Voice - UK Soundsystem Selection

To Be Poor Is a Crime - Still Cool
To Be Rich Should Be a Crime - Jeb Loy Nichols
The Law - City Culture / Breadwinners
To Jah I Call - Twinkle Brothers
Raise Your Voice - Aisha
My Fortress - Marlene Ammers
Only Love - Messenger Douglas
Promised Land - Brinsely Forde
Dubbing on the Kings Highway - Gussie P
Psalm 61 - Rasheda / Black Steel
Violin Step - Ashanti Selah & Alpha Steppa
Bloodshed - Errol Arawak
Babylon - Linval Thompson/Kheru Jahman Dan
Teardown Babylon - Blood Shanti
Material Things - Dub Dynasty
Bells of Life - Leroy Mafia
Sacred Fire - Chazbo meets Empress Shema
Their Reward - Prince Alla / Ras Kush
Bonify - Errol Arawak
Utopia Land - Teddy Dan / Kheru Jahman Dan
Dreamer Dub - Willie Tee
Last one:
Meteor Dub - Junior B

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