Skanking in the 21st Century

In the mid 90’s I was a huge fan of Californian so called skate punk bands. I loved the melodic intensity in songs like Bad Religion’s American Jesus or Pennywise’s Bro Hymn.

But these bands weren’t only playing punk. Some of them also incorporated elements of reggae, mainly ska. Kill All the White Man by NOFX and Time Bomb from Rancid are two great examples.

Slowly I drifted away from punk and instead started to explore my favourite bands’ reggae influences. That’s when I discovered Jamaican ska pioneers The Skatalites and the UK 2 Tone sound that emerged in the late 70’s.

I abandoned punk and begun collecting ska and, a few years later, reggae. Now I mainly listen to reggae and dancehall, but occasionally a great ska tune or riddim drops in.

My new mix consists of 15 contemporary ska tunes that have made it into my record collection. The tunes ranges from Mungo’s Hi-Fi’s digitalized Belly Ska riddim to Fay-Ann Lyons’ and Mojo Morgan’s tribute to the classic Rudy, A Message to You, originally performed in the rock steady genre by Dandy Livingstone in 1967.

Skanking in the 21st Century is made after the same recipe as my previous mixes – a continuous mix with no full tracks and some added sound effects.

All tunes are easily accessible on CD or mp3. If you like what you hear, please support the artists and the labels and buy the tunes.

Download Skanking in the 21st Century here (right click, save as) or listen in the player below. You can also check it out on Soundcloud.

So put on your dancing shoes and get in a dancing mood. Because this mix will move your feet to the skanking beat.

Artist – song title (label – riddim)

1. Marina P – Divorce a L’ Italienne (Scotch Bonnet – Belly Ska)
2. Ras Daniel Ray – Olympic (Scotch Bonnet – Belly Ska)
3. Ranking Joe – I Love Jah (Scotch Bonnet – Belly Ska)
4. Mungo’s Hi-Fi – I Love Jah Dub (Scotch Bonnet – Belly Ska)
5. Anthony B – Praise the King (Rootdown – Kokoo)
6. Louie Culture – Do Something (Rootdown – Kokoo)
7. Matthew McAnuff – Memory Hills (Rootdown – Kokoo)
8. Omar Perry – Ska Ta Fright (Corner Shop)
9. Fay-Ann Lyons – Lonely Girl (Supersonic – A Message to You Rudie)
10. Mojo Morgan – Rude Bwoy (Supersonic – A Message to You Rudie)
11. Skatronics Jamaica – Yah So (Skajam)
12. Burro Banton – Run the Street Red (Irievibrations – Work Off)
13. Luciano – Feeling For Love (Irievibrations – Work Off)
14. Jah Mason – Create A System (Irievibrations – Work Off)
15. Sojah – U R the Wife (Irievibrations – Work Off)