Recommended Reggae music (#1 - #10)
Reggae
GIANT PANDA GUERILLA DUB SQUAD: SLOW DOWN
With just the right amount of mainstream appeal (just enough to bridge the gap between the pure roots style and more pop leaning approaches), Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad creates some of the freshest, most addictive reggae this side of Jamaica. With hints of Bob Marley, Fela Kuti and even in places, Sting, Slow Down's twelve songs are perfectly balanced in groove, melody, message and appeal. For reggae fans, this is one special album that shouldn't be missed.
CD price: $13.00
NOAH DUB: NOAH DUB
With stylistic influences and echoes of Twista, Nas and Common, NOAH DUB whips out some memorable and solid esoteric redemption rap, bubbling over with groove, intelligence and a knack for perfect mixing. Well-rounded and full-spectrum tracks abound on this self-titled disc, leaving you with a sensation as rich as their music. Check them out.
Recommended if you like Twista, Nas & Common.
MAÑANA ME CHANTO: Arriba
Mixing up the traditional rhythms of rumbas and cumbias with reggae and playful ska, Mañana Me Chanto has found a perfect common ground between all the styles and genres they bring together. Always danceable, light and personality-enriched, their take on rock en espanol is one of energy, spunk and accessibility. It's Latin rock that reaches out to the current generation.
CD price: $11.97 / MP3 price: $7.97
RICOUNET: Chansonnettes pas trop nettes
It's almost unbelievable that this album is for kids. These hip little French pop songs draw from jazz, lounge and world music, occasionally nodding to nursery rhymes. Most importantly, there is a something catchy to each and every song, something your kids can dance to right away.
Recommended if you like Georges Brassens, Henri Salvador, Charles Trenet, Pierre Perret, Bob Marley & The Wailers.CD price: $14.90 / MP3 price: $11.90
ALOYSIUS AND FRIENDS: Songs for Sibusiso
World music for kids? Hallelujah. Now your kids can explore and encounter new parts of the world through fun and upbeat songs. From Jamaican ska and reggae to Afro-Cuban and Zulu choral songs, Aloysius and friends know how to include kids in an international musical dialogue. Featuring the music of The Sinikithemba Choir, a South African group in the style of Ladysmith Black Mambazo who shined on Paul Simon's "Graceland" album, this collection of songs expands kid's ears and minds with interactive and engaging songs. An excellent pick for any family.
CD price: $12.97 / MP3 price: $12.97
MARTY DREAD: The Hits (1993-2003)
if you're looking for a waft of the islands in your reggae- the Hawaiian islands, that is- Marty Dread is the pick. Producing professional, clean, modern reggae that nods its head to Bob Marley while being true to his own voice, Marty's "Hits" from the last ten years makes for an exceptional album of danceable, enlivening reggae.
CD price: $15.00 / MP3 price: $15.00
NOMO: LP
In the style of the legendary Fela Kuti, Nomo captures the natural, effortless groove emanating from Afrobeat, coloring it with the fluidity of jazz and the sassy backtalk of 70's soul and funk. With steady backing keyboards, a thinking-as-one horn section and clever, addictive, circling bass lines, this is quite a stunning release that begins a new conversation between continents. Held together at the heartbeat with the body-shakin', earth-trembling drive, Nomo's weaving of the urban with the worldly is impressive and ingenius.
Recommended if you like Fela Kuti.MP3 price: $13.99
FERTILE GROUND: Spiritual War (2000)
Infusing the swish of jazz with the sexy flow of soul, a dash of the 70s and a kicking backbeat that can occasionally resemble trip hop, Fertile Ground takes ingredients reminiscent of Earth Wind and Fire and Cassandra Wilson, mixing up the buttery vocals with funk-tinged grooves. The bordering-on-psychedelic detachment and cool disposition courts a steamy, suggestive flow so that you'll find a yummy blend of heavy vibe music.
CD price: $13.00 / MP3 price: $13.00
SLICK & ROSE: Objects in the Mirror
With sensual, jazzy, bottom-rich harmonies, R&B bouncy groove and buttery soul, Slick & Rose wrap it up their three-dimensional urban sound with the craft of hip hop. If you fancy the smooth but punchy hooks of Les Nubians, Floetry, Zap Mama and Tribe Called Quest, this is a disc worthy of your dough. No less than a feast, this album tantalizes all the taste buds in your musical palate from hip to sexy, hot to chilly, danceable to introspective tracks. Cutting through each well-woven texture are crisp, buzzy, resonant vocals that take nu soul to unchartered heights. Bravo.
MP3 price: $10.00
SOLDIERS OF JAH ARMY: Soja Ep
If the words "Bob Marley," "UB 40" and "Steel Pulse" inspire a tingle in your brain and a prickling in your desire, this is the next addition to your decorated reggae collection. With its insightful, probing and reflective lyrics, calling out for veils of illusion to be breached, supported by some of the thickest grooves to make their way into our reggae collection in months, Soldiers of Jah Army deliver a no-brainer pick for any remote fan of reggae. This is the kind of reggae that takes every ounce of your attention- half of you is entranced in the beats while the other half is engaged in the dead-on, piercing, socially conscious verses. A must.
MP3 price: $10.97