Various Artists - Global Reggae Selection Volume 1

With the traditional music industry in disarray (as the big labels brazenly recycle their back catalogues to pay off their debts) we're seeing something of a resurgence in the reggae underground. Compilations from labels of a leftfield bent or unusual remit appear to be on the rise, gathering together diverse ranges of artists the listening public would otherwise be unlikely to hear.

Urban Sedated records are a small outfit based in Dartford in Kent with a truly international and expansive vision. Global Reggae Selection Volume 1 celebrates what the label calls "a new genre of reggae music that incorporates elements of hip hop dub and world music", featuring vocalists and recordings from all over the earth. In the spirit of global cooperation, 50% of profits from the cd go directly to the artists themselves.

Though the rhythms used may be instantly familiar, the abundance of influences, languages, deliveries and styles is anything but. Senegalese deejay Elhadji praises the prophet Mohammed amidst lion roar FX over the real rock rhythm; The Angolan Prince Wadada showcases his Bounty Killa like delivery while riding a sparse digibass cut to Heavenless. Europe is represented by Slovenia's King B Fine (with a brisk happy jaunt entitled Picture On The Wall), the UK's Solo Banton (also a member of the Reality Shock crew) and Serbia's FC Apatride Utd, whose strict and stringent views on how their miserabilist anti-dancing brand of roots be played are testimony to how global and individual the notion of reggae has become. The USA's contribution is Reason & Prezident Brown with their synth dub meets hip hop beats ode to Mother Earth, Her Beauty. Australia gives us Babylon Mixed Business by King Tide, who (with producers Martin White and Tony Hughes) have a Mungo's Hi Fi like touch when mixing the different eras of Jamaican music. And whilst no Jamaican artists are included, Mistry Babylon by Trinidad's I Ancient bears the standard for the Caribbean with one of the strongest offerings on the disc.

What's heartening about the Global Reggae concept is that it makes no attempt to play up to the false authenticity of the "world" music market. The arrangements are often bright, upbeat and fuse acoustic elements like hand drums with unashamedly digital keyboard sounds. The idea of "global reggae" could easily have been married to a nebulous "one love" roots-only philosophy yet dancehall influences are also given plenty of airing. This fits neatly with the Urban Sedated theory (as expounded upon in the sleeve notes) that all bass heavy rhythmic styles have united as one in the new millennium, but is also symptomatic of a refreshing desire to show the music as it is and not as foreign audiences prefer.

Whether Global Reggae is one genre or many, whether there is common ground between all its exponents, and whether the globalisation of reggae is a good thing - all these questions are up for debate. What is surely beyond doubt is that compilations like this keep the discussion going, opening our minds to the latest developments of an art form that respects no boundaries as it travels from country to country and from ear to ear.


Reviewed by Angus Taylor