Boomshots

Tag: Augustus Pablo

  • WATCH THIS: Addis Pablo ft. Shanique Marie “From Morning” Official Music Video

    WATCH THIS: Addis Pablo ft. Shanique Marie “From Morning” Official Music Video

    Boomshots Premieres A Hot Dub Collaboration

    We last met up with Addis Pablo in 2017, at the Greensleeves Records 40th Anniversary on his dad, Augustus Pablo’s birthday, June 21.  He spoke of how his dad taught him all the basic chords and melodies and how he was working very hard to become his “own creative force.” Since then Addis Pablo paid tribute to his father in 2018, alongside his sister, Isis Swaby at the Apple Store New York in Williamsburg, drawing a diverse crowd of VP Records executives and “The Nomads.” Now he releases the visual for “From Morning,” a collaboration with Shanique Marie, and a single off his Majestic Melodies EP.   Interview and Video After The Jump…

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  • Tetrack: Never Too Late to Get Started

    Tetrack: Never Too Late to Get Started

    Classic reggae album sees reissue, featuring early work of Carlton Hines

    Forty years have provided more than enough perspective to confirm the name Augustus Pablo as a standard bearer in the world of dub reggae. With a catalog of over 40 albums and 200 singles, Pablo rates among the great artist-producers (musicians who ran their own recording sessions versus being strictly financiers or executives). Despite his stature, Pablo was not a prolific producer of full-length vocal LPs, so his handful of efforts in that format are significant. His Hugh Mundell album Africa Must Be Free By 1983 has rightly achieved iconic status among reggae LPs. Tetrack’s lesser-known Let’s Get Started, recorded at the same time with many of the same musicians, matches Africa Must Be Free By 1983 artistically and arguably surpasses Mundell’s album in terms of the songwriting. This is due largely to the contributions of Carlton Hines, whose later writing credits would include Gregory Isaacs’ “Rumours.” Story Continues After The Jump…
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  • Greensleeves Records Celebrates 40th Year Anniversary at B.B. Kings Blues and Grill in New York City

    Greensleeves Records Celebrates 40th Year Anniversary at B.B. Kings Blues and Grill in New York City

    Star-Studded Event Captures Music in A Time Capsule

    The founders of Greensleeves Records, Chris Sedgewick and Chris Cracknell launched the record label in 1977 and sky rocketed the careers of many foundation artists and cross over artists, including: Barrington Levy, Shabba Ranks , Beeenie Man, Mr. Vegas, Shaggy, Elephant Man, Vybz Kartel and more. Partnering with VP records in 2008, only strengthened the label’s international ties. On Wednesday, June 21, 2017,  the two powerhouses came together at B.B. King Blues and Grill, to celebrate Greensleeves’ 40th year in the music business. On the summer soltice at New York City’s hottest musical venue, the label showcased it’s shinning stars: Alborosie, Queen I-frica, and Addis Pablo.More After The Jump…

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  • HEAR THIS: Suns of Dub Meets Mighty Crown “The Far East Mixtape” FREE DOWNLOAD

    HEAR THIS: Suns of Dub Meets Mighty Crown “The Far East Mixtape” FREE DOWNLOAD

    Addis Pablo and Ras Jammy Buck Up The Far East Rulers Inna Dubwise Extravaganja

    “We’ve pretty much been working on this forever,” says Addis Pablo, son of melodica master Augustus Pablo and co-founder of Suns of Dub, along with Ras Jammy, who is (contrary to popular belief) no relation to King Jammy nor—despite a striking similarity of appearance—to the elder Pablo’s frequent sparring partner Hugh Mundell. The pair first met at Rockers International Record Shop and began dubbing live—with Addis on melodica and Jammy mixing tunes and crucial sound effects—at Jamaican hotspots like Kingston Dub Club. Inspiration for this mixtape struck when the Suns traveled to Japan (Land of the Rising Sun) last October and linked with Cojie, Mighty Crown’s roots/foundation specialist, and began plotting their brand-new 40-track hour-plus excursion pon the version. The sounds thereon includes self-produced instrumental tracks and dubplate specials seasoned with vocals by the likes of Chronixx, Jesse Royal, Sizzla, Luciano, Lauryn Hill, and Mr. Williamz. Suns of Dub begins a UK tour today (see the full schedule below) and will tour Europe this summer as an onstage dub production team onstage with an expanded lineup (including Jah Bammy on vocals, Carlo on binghi drums and additional instrumentation courtesy of Dub Assassin) plus a 16-track mixing board to allow unique and precise mixes at each and every show. “We try to keep it spontaneous,” says Addis, “the next thing we could add a rock guitar or a violin or a tuba.” Ras Jammy agrees that audiences should expect the unexpected. “Last year we were playing the chalice onstage and smoke up the place.” Addis adds, laughing, “Steamers!” Audio & Interview After The Jump… (more…)

  • Jacob Miller: Rockers Forever

    Jacob Miller: Rockers Forever

    Thirty Five Years Ago Today Reggae Music Lost A Great Soldier

    On this day in 1980 legendary #reggae singer Jacob “Killer” Miller died in a tragic car accident on Hope Road in Kingston Jamaica. “I was sitting with my father in Hope Road when he heard the news on Sunday,” recalls Rohan Marley. “Jacob and my Father always spend time together on Sundays.” Miller was one of reggae’s greatest performers. His merry, manic brilliance shines through clearly in the crucial 1980 concert doc Heartland Reggae, particularly the performance of “Tired Fe Lick Weed In A Bush” during which he puffs a huge spliff on stage while using his microphone to taunt the cops at the venue before somebody hands him a police cap and he starts chanting “Babylon, Babylon falling down.” Jakes spent just 27 years on earth but the #Rockers music he made with Inner Circle and Augustus Pablo shall live forever. In fact, one of his classic cuts with the Bad Boys of Reggae, “Tenement Yard,” is enjoying a major resurgence 40 years after its release.  Audio After The Jump… (more…)

  • Japanese Melodica Master Anna i Talks Augustus Pablo and His “Far East Style”

    Japanese Melodica Master Anna i Talks Augustus Pablo and His “Far East Style”

    Classical Piano Lessons At Age Eight Didn’t Thrill Her, Then She Discovered Augustus Pablo

    July 1st marks the 20th anniversary of International Reggae Day a celebration of the global impact of Jamaica’s musical culture. And there’s no greater representative than Tokyo-born Anna i. She always loved music, so at the age of eight her parents gave her classical piano lessons. But her passion for playing wasn’t sparked until a vinyl-collecting friend introduced her to soul, jazz, and especially reggae. She was particularly drawn to the “Far East” dub style of Jamaican melodica master Augustus Pablo. Absorbing his sound, she taught herself to play the instrument and within a few years she was playing with the German punk band The Slits on tracks like the 2009 banger “Babylon.”  Earlier this summer she joined Jamaican keyboard master Monty Alexander during his birthday celebration at B.B. King’s, improvising “Happy Birthday to You” during a dub-jazz jam session. She’s now under the wing of Patricia “Miss Pat” Chin—the P in VP Records—who has big plans for the young melodica master. The ReggaeGirlAboutTown recently caught up with Anna i at VP headquarters for an in-depth conversation. Anna even treated Boomshots to an off-the-cuff performance. Video After The Jump…

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  • Better Days: Reasoning With Steely & Clevie

    Remembering Wycliffe “Steely” Johnson Aug. 18, 1962 – Sep. 1, 2009

    Two The Hard Way: Steely & Clevie did it real big during dancehall’s digital era.

    Even after reading the sobering words of his musical sparring partner Cleveland “Clevie” Browne in this Sunday’s Jamaica Observer, the untimely death of ace Roots Radics keyboardist and pioneering dancehall producer Wycliffe “Steely” Johnson still comes as a terrible shock. The 47-year-old musician, composer, and groovemaster has played such a vital role on so many classic reggae recordings—from Gregory Isaacs’ immortal “Night Nurse” to the ubiqitous Punany riddim to “Sorry” (by “the other Foxy Brown”) to dancehall blasters like Tiger’s “When” and Shabba Ranks’s “Ting a Ling” even soulful cuts like Beres Hammond’s “Double Trouble” and the hit remake of Dawn Penn’s “No No No”—that it’s hard to imagine Jamaican music without him. [UPDATE: V.P.’s new Reggae Anthology pays tribute to Steelie & Clevie] (more…)