Red Rose makes you dance

On Anthony Red Rose’s debut solo album Red Rose Will Make You Dance he teamed up with legendary engineer-turned-producer King Tubby. This set was originally released in 1986 and collects ten early computerized cuts, tracks recorded at the dawn of the digital era, a time when King Jammy sat comfortably on the throne thanks to his game-changing Under Me Sleng Teng.

But King Tubby came right back at him with the insanely lethal Tempo, a cut that also has been versioned and re-licked time after time after time. This scorcher is included on Red Rose Will Make You Dance and is by itself a reason to invest in an album that was something of a blueprint for King Tubby’s Firehouse style.

Advertisement

Jah Ark Manifest split the price money

The soundclash at Sweden’s Öland Roots Festival had a bitter ending when Denmark’s Firehouse questioned the judges ruling which led to some debate. Reggaemani has talked to DJ Shirkhan, one of the judges.

− Jah Ark Manifest admitted that their win wasn’t completely fair and offered Firehouse a new “dub fi dub” session. The promoter had even arranged a new round. However, Firehouse rejected, but accepted nearly half the price money that Jah Ark Manifest offered, writes DJ Shirkhan to Reggaemani, and continues:

− We were very pressed for time at the end of the soundclash. However, Sammy K was clear on the fact that the last dubplate would determine the winner.

If you’re curious about the soundclash, check out Safari Sound’s audio recording.

Jah Ark Manifest are – after all – Kings of the Island

Last night at Öland Roots Festival Norwegian Jah Ark Manifest were crowned Kings of the Island in a soundclash between Sweden, Norway and Denmark. In addition to the title, Jah Ark Manifest won SEK 10.000 and a huge trophy. The tension rose during the battle, and afterward the judges’ questionable ruling broke out in a lengthy and heated argument.

The first night of Swedish Öland Roots Festival featured a massive soundclash between three Scandinavian sounds – Swedish Stereo Steppers, Norwegian Jah Ark Manifest and Danish Firehouse. Hosts and judges were DJ Shirkhan and Sammy K from Safari Sound.

The competition was divided into three sessions, only allowing dubplates. During the first session there were no eliminations, and the sounds had ten minutes each to flex their muscles.

For the second round the teams had 15 minutes each and one sound was to be eliminated. After an audience vote, it was clear that Stereo Steppers were out, even though they certainly got the crowd cheering with a dubplate from legendary Swedish reggae artist Peps Persson.

The sounds put on some tough dubplates with artists ranging from foundation fathers such as Johnny Osbourne and Leroy Sibbles to newer talents such as Natty King, Konshens and Fantan Mojah.

The final was a seven tune “dub fi dub” session. And it was a tough one. The score was 3-2 in favour of Firehouse and things were heating up a bit. The judges had a hard time reading the audience’s votes, but decided after some deliberation to name Jah Ark Manifest the winner. The Firehouse crew – and parts of the audience – questioned the ruling.

According to judge DJ Shirkhan a two hour argument followed on the question of the rightful winner. He admits that it was an unfair draw, but that it was fair win. Reggaemani congratulates Norway on the win (although I personally voted for Firehouse).