Nubian Records Store


Take It

Black Roots

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"All our songs were inspired by the over sight of how the youth dem lost their way in the jungle of capitalism, slaying dem brothers and sisters without any hesitation. That brutality comes from the mindset of our so-called leaders. Especially the title track, Take It, which sums up the world's concept, putting money before life, not of Jahjah,

"All our songs were inspired by the over sight of how the youth dem lost their way in the jungle of capitalism, slaying dem brothers and sisters without any hesitation. That brutality comes from the mindset of our so-called leaders. Especially the title track, Take It, which sums up the world's concept, putting money before life, not of Jahjah, the almighty God, Rastafari". So, says the band about this album.  And when you read this, it becomes clear that Black Roots are not about to be turned away from the path that they have chosen.

They have never shied away from making social and political commentary or singing about African emancipation.  But always with that ability to be inclusive, encompassing all people and races into that message, speaking about knowledge, empowerment and of coming together to stand up and fight against those that seek to oppress and enslave the poor and the weak in society.

It couldn’t be a more significant time in history to impart these messages as more and more countries lurch to the right infringing and diluting the rights of minorities, refugees and the poor.  There are several references to children and how they must be protected as they represent the future.  But when you see the plight that they are in, the band asks are we taking hunger, poverty, displacement and the effects that this is having on them seriously?  The band know this not to be true.  It seems that war fuelled by greed is more important that building a world that is safe for them.  There are references to false prophets making promises that are self-serving, that drive people into oppression by ensnaring and trapping them in a cycle of poverty and brutality that they cannot break out of.  They refer to Trump as the reincarnation of Hitler and to the Tories in the UK as false prophets whose gift is oppression and false imprisonment.  Has anything really changed, they ask?

Africa is a theme that they return to again and again.  But in this set they speak of the world not being free until Africa is free and comparing the whole World to Africa.  Perhaps they are reflecting that unless and until the most oppressed and downtrodden are freed then the World cannot be truly free.

This album builds on the work that Black Roots has done since 1979 when they first formed in St Pauls Bristol and is the 4th studio album since they got back together.  The first of these 4 albums was On the Ground released on on Sugar Shack UK in 2012.  It is followed by 2 albums Ghetto Feel 2014 and Son of Man 2016 on Soulbeats Records.

They are, also, performing live again delivering that conscious and uncompromising message with those harmonic vocals backed by a deep melodic roots reggae rhythm that makes them so unique.  And in support of this new album they are touring in France in November 2018.

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I Believe ep

Black Roots

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Here is another heavyweight remix ep from the mighty roots reggae band Black Roots hailing from St Paul’s Bristol.

The song ‘I Believe’, originally released on ‘On the Ground’ (Sugar Shack Records - September 2012) is lifted from this album and given a new edge and sharpness on these 4 mixes. It is a seminal song, one of the most popular off the

Here is another heavyweight remix ep from the mighty roots reggae band Black Roots hailing from St Paul’s Bristol.

The song ‘I Believe’, originally released on ‘On the Ground’ (Sugar Shack Records - September 2012) is lifted from this album and given a new edge and sharpness on these 4 mixes. It is a seminal song, one of the most popular off the album so this was a strong motivation to go back into the studio to create and put some different versions out on release. Its lyrics are strong and powerful. They draw on personal experience.

Black Roots sing that ‘life in the system is not easy because it doesn’t cater for I and I but if you believe in the higher power you can still hold your head up high’. Isn’t that the truth! In spite of the fact that the ‘system’ has discriminated against you, that life for you is hard and difficult, that you are powerless and disenfranchised you can still find that inner strength and belief in the higher power to show you the way to transcend this pressure, believe in yourself and live positive.

Jah Garvey and Buggsy, 2 emcees based in St Paul’s Bristol, join Black Roots in the lyrical mix, to add another layer of reasoning to the underlying message of this song. Jah Garvey too is a roots artist inspired by his exposure to the plight of people that he encounters on his daily journeys and feels that he must support their lives through his music encouraging happiness, enlightenment, personal growth and development. He features on 3 of the mixes and Buggsy who describes himself as the fast spitting Rasta emcee from St Paul’s Bristol, boasting a flow like an automatic weapon features on 1 mix. He describes himself as a soldier in Jah Army joining up with the ‘old skool’ to help to deliver a message full of ‘truth and right’ and shows his respect for Black Roots in the lyrics that he chats.

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Move On ep

Black Roots

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Black Roots have produced, written, composed and recorded some highly acclaimed songs during their long career. One of these is ‘Move On’.

The song is about a relationship that has broken down, in which the man realises that his partner has fallen in love with someone else and that he feels that he has no choice but to ‘Move On’. How many of us

Black Roots have produced, written, composed and recorded some highly acclaimed songs during their long career. One of these is ‘Move On’.

The song is about a relationship that has broken down, in which the man realises that his partner has fallen in love with someone else and that he feels that he has no choice but to ‘Move On’. How many of us have faced this dilemma in life’s journey?

First released on their debut vinyl outing simply called ‘4 Track Demo 12”’ back in 1981 it was picked up by the legendary BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel and played on national radio. This helped to propel the band to prominence. Then it appeared on their debut album ‘Black Roots’ that came out in 1983. Since it has featured on some re-releases notably on French label Makasound’s ‘On the Frontline’ and ‘In Session’, and Sugar Shack’s ‘Reggae Singles Anthology’. It is one of the band’s anthems. This is a song that is recognised world-wide and is undoubtedly one of their top 10 best songs of all time.

So it seemed a reasonable proposition for the band to bring it back into the studio some 35 years on to rework it, redefine it, modernise the sound and then release it. And here it is as a digital download only offering, 5 mixes of this wonderful song recorded back in July 2013, once again at J&J Studio, produced by Jeff Spencer and the band, and mixed by Louis Beckett. One of the cuts features Jah Garvey, an upcoming artist, also based in Bristol, who lends his lyrical skills to give added meaning and poignancy to this song.

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On The Ground

Black Roots

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Following the 2011 release of some of their back catalogue by Black Roots and their label Nubian Records have teamed up with Bristol Archive's parent label Sugar Shack Records to release an album of brand new material called “On The Ground”.

It may be more than twenty years since the original line up were together in the studio, but on this record

Following the 2011 release of some of their back catalogue by Black Roots and their label Nubian Records have teamed up with Bristol Archive's parent label Sugar Shack Records to release an album of brand new material called “On The Ground”.

It may be more than twenty years since the original line up were together in the studio, but on this record they've picked up where they left off and are right back in that classic Black Roots groove that will keep their existing fans happy and appeal to a whole new generation of reggae lovers, many of whom weren't born when Black Roots released their string of classic records.

The music is entertaining and upbeat, but it is still roots music. These songs have a social message that is just as relevant in the troubled world we inhabit in 2012 as the band's songs were during the ups and downs of the 1980's.

Opening track “I Believe” makes it clear that for all the progress we've made, for many people life today is just as hard as it's ever been. Surviving the system isn't easy. Second track “Pompous Way” is also concerned with society, but this time with fixing it and reaching out to the next generation rather than labeling them as the problem. The music itself harks back to Black Roots of old and other than the mention of the digital age could easily have been recorded thirty years ago.

Another song that sounds like it could have come from the band's first incarnation is “Militancy” definitely sounding like Black Roots of old and also touching on the theme of slavery, a theme that receives further exploration in the aptly titled “Slavery” recalling the memory of the great evil that befell millions of Africans and their descendants.

There are more upbeat songs recalling a life in rural Jamaica with “Long Long Ago” or celebrating Africa with “Oh Mama Africa.” In fact whatever the message the band are delivering they still do it with great and enjoyable music, the new members of the band more than earning their place alongside the founding fathers.

More than three decades after they formed, Black Roots returned back with a 17 track CD album that defies the passage of time and will appeal to all reggae fans.

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Dub Factor 2 - The Dub Judah Mixes

Black Roots

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Dub Factor 2 - The Dub Judah Mixes is the second dub album that was released by Black Roots. in the early 1990s. If you know of Dub Factor - The Mad Professor you will, with this new reissued version, be able to compare and juxtapose the talents of these 2 dub masters who worked with the band on different full album projects. After the vocal

Dub Factor 2 - The Dub Judah Mixes is the second dub album that was released by Black Roots. in the early 1990s. If you know of Dub Factor - The Mad Professor you will, with this new reissued version, be able to compare and juxtapose the talents of these 2 dub masters who worked with the band on different full album projects. After the vocal versions were produced they were let loose on the mixing desk to shape, interpret and transform these Black Roots rhythms into these 2 dub versions that now make up the Dub Factor series.

Mad Professor worked with the band in the late 1980s and produced and mixed ‘All Day All Night’ and ‘Natural Reaction’ whose rhythm tracks led to the first ‘Dub Factor’ album after Black Roots gave him free reign at the mixing desk to cook up the dub versions that made up this album. It’s success prompted the band to follow this up with another volume of dub mixes and what better person to do this job than the eclectic, up and coming and talented producer of the time and dub head Dub Judah himself who was doing production work for the band in 1993.

Dub Judah, of Dub jockey label fame, is still recognised and celebrated as one of the most respected names in UK Dub. He continues to work on his own projects but now spends part of his time playing bass for Norman Grant and the Twinkle Brothers .

His contribution to these recordings back in November 1993 at Coach House Studio in Bristol day was central to the success of the project. He was brought in to programme the drums , play the keyboards and do his magic with the percussion over dubs; contribute to the vocals on 2 songs (Tribal War and What Them A Do); produce the ’With Friends’ set and as an added bonus was also given the freedom of the mixing desk to concoct and mould these dubs versions. So after breathing new life into the songs that make up the ‘With Friends’ set it would have been an injustice not to release these dubs as the follow up album. And so, Dub factor 2 was given life. In essence this album is the dub version of ‘With Friends’.

It was first released on 3rd February 1994 on Vinyl, Cassette and CD and is now being reissued on 20th March 2020 as part of the programme by Nubian Records to make available all of Black Roots’ back catalogue on digital platforms. ‘Dub Factor 2 - The Dub Judah Mixes’ is the second album of dub mixes released on the Nubian Records imprint as the band sought to exploit the growing popularity of dub music in the United Kingdom and outernationally back in the early 1990s.

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With Friends

Black Roots

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This album was first released in 1993 on Vinyl, Cassette and CD and it is now to be reissued as part of the programme by Nubian Records to make available all of Black Roots’ back catalogue on digital platforms. ‘With Friends’ will be out on 26th April 2019. It is the last full album recorded by the band before activity ceased in the mid-90s for

This album was first released in 1993 on Vinyl, Cassette and CD and it is now to be reissued as part of the programme by Nubian Records to make available all of Black Roots’ back catalogue on digital platforms. ‘With Friends’ will be out on 26th April 2019. It is the last full album recorded by the band before activity ceased in the mid-90s for several years in their 40 years long career. The next full album to be recorded by the band was On the Ground that released in 2012 in collaboration with Sugar Shack Records.

Black Roots had talked on occasion of inviting other artists to perform some of their classic songs and the circumstances of the band at this time lent themselves to work up such a project. And so, Dub Judah, BB Seaton, Trevor Dixon and Mikey Forbes, all London based artists, were approached to perform on this album.

Dub Judah a very respected vocalist, musician, live performer and producer working through his own Dub Jockey record label was asked to and agreed to produce the album. He was given the key task of breathing new life into these songs and used his versatile musical skills to good effect changing the feel of the rhythm section. The recordings play and feel different even though they are all classic Black Roots songs. He added his vocals to two massive songs ‘What Them a Do’ and ‘Tribal War’. The lyrical content of these blend with his personal beliefs reflecting where he was at spiritually and he sang them with heart. You can hear it when you listen back to these two songs.

Harris Lloyd "B.B." Seaton, also known as "Bibby", a Jamaican reggae singer, songwriter, and record producer who was a member of The Gaylads, The Astronauts, Conscious Minds, and The Messengers, took on the task of laying vocals on ‘Release the Food’ and ‘Opportunity’ giving these new depth and insightfulness.

Trevor Dixon, a lovers rock singer best known for singing on ‘Woman of Moods’ that was first released in 1988 on Groove & a Quarter Records, sang ‘Move On’ and ‘Let It Be Me’, two ballads that suited his smooth and silky vocal style.

And Charles Bryan aka Delroy Ogilvie, one of the original front men with Black Roots, came back to do a cameo performance on ‘Chanting for Freedom’ punching out the lyrics in his own inimitable style with Mikey Forbes, another guest reggae singer doing a great version on ‘Confusion’.

The other songs featured on this album and given the treatment by Kondwani Ngozi and Errol Brown, the remaining vocalists with Black Roots at this time, are ‘Juvenile Delinquent’. ‘Survival’, ‘Africa’ and ‘The Father’.

And so was born ‘With Friends’. The final curtain on the first part of Black Roots’ long and continuing musical career.

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Natural Reaction

Black Roots

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Natural Reaction was the last studio album of original songs that the band recorded last century. It was also the last collaboration with Neil Fraser aka The Mad Professor but the first that was recorded and mixed at Ariwa Studios in London.

Charles Bryan, one of the singers, Trevor Seivwright, the drummer, and Derrick King, the bass player had

Natural Reaction was the last studio album of original songs that the band recorded last century. It was also the last collaboration with Neil Fraser aka The Mad Professor but the first that was recorded and mixed at Ariwa Studios in London.

Charles Bryan, one of the singers, Trevor Seivwright, the drummer, and Derrick King, the bass player had left the band by the time the band started recording this album. And this provided the opportunity to try something a little bit different. The band teamed up with talented multi-instrumentalist Black Steel who was doing a lot of work for Ariwa at the time and he laid the bass, drums and keyboards for the tracks. It was the first time that Black Roots had used a digital sound to build their tracks but it gave it a new edge.

Originally released in October 1990, on Vinyl, CD and Cassette, Nubian Records has now made Natural Reaction for download.

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All Day All Night

Black Roots

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This album was the fourth Black Roots release and first hit the streets on Vinyl and Cassette early in 1987. More recently Bristol Archive Records re-released a ‘deluxe’ version in 2011 on CD featuring bonus dub tracks.

It was recorded in Cardiff in 1986 and was the first studio collaboration with Neil Fraser aka The Mad Professor. And over the

This album was the fourth Black Roots release and first hit the streets on Vinyl and Cassette early in 1987. More recently Bristol Archive Records re-released a ‘deluxe’ version in 2011 on CD featuring bonus dub tracks.

It was recorded in Cardiff in 1986 and was the first studio collaboration with Neil Fraser aka The Mad Professor. And over the next few years Mad Professor was to work on another 2 albums with the band.

In this work, Mad Professor uses his production skills to take the band in a new direction, that ‘live feel’ that punctuates the early releases ‘Black Roots’ and ‘The Frontline’ is gone. The sound in this album is fuller, deeper and more mature without compromising the band’s unique roots feel that is punctuated by powerful and harmonic vocals. Mad Professor’s work as producer is made easier by a powerful horn section, brought in by the band and used on several tracks, led by Vin Gordon, the legendary trombone player who was living in Bristol at the time, and assisted by Mike ‘Bammie’ Rose on Tenor Sax and Flute.

This download version consists of 15 songs featuring 11 of the 12 original tracks, with the extended mix of ‘Pin in the Ocean’ replacing the original vocal version and it is finished off by 3 extra dub mixes.

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In Session

Black Roots

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ORIGINAL SLEEVE NOTES that appeared on the 1985 release:

'Black Roots, from St Paul's, Bristol, are leading contenders to be Britain's top touring Reggae band playing the nations major colleges, universities, venues and festivals, as well as many appearances elsewhere in Europe.

They have been featured in Peter Powell's show, a recent 'In

ORIGINAL SLEEVE NOTES that appeared on the 1985 release:

'Black Roots, from St Paul's, Bristol, are leading contenders to be Britain's top touring Reggae band playing the nations major colleges, universities, venues and festivals, as well as many appearances elsewhere in Europe.

They have been featured in Peter Powell's show, a recent 'In Concert', and many television and commercial radio shows as well as for John Peel and David 'Kid' Jensen, from whose BBC Radio 1 sessions this L.P. has been compiled.'

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