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The Reggae Thread


Reggaebass

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I just thought I’d start a general reggae thread where anything reggae or ska related can be  posted , like videos , events,  news , techniques, equipment,  anything your working on , or just about anything really 🙂

I started bass lessons when I was about 15 and was taught by a blues bassist , but I quickly found out that reggae was my passion, so I was playing blues and reggae, this was one of the first tunes I played ,  

 

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Great start to a thread. I love natural mystic... in fact anything by BM I like. Exodus and and Babylon by bus are my favourite albums. I’d like to play more reggae. My band does none but I’m convinced a couple of more main stream Marley songs would go down really well. Difficult with a female vocal though 😬

What’s your favourite reggae bass line to play? 

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There’s a cracking reggae tune I stumbled upon on a comp album and I’ve not been able to find it since  It’s got this ascending into part on keys which makes me think of a spider skanking up the keyboard. Anyhow in lieu of that here’s a fine tune form some guys from upstate New York

 

https://youtu.be/QXtjAPJ_fLM

Edited by krispn
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2 minutes ago, bassfan said:

Great start to a thread. I love natural mystic... in fact anything by BM I like. Exodus and and Babylon by bus are my favourite albums. I’d like to play more reggae. My band does none but I’m convinced a couple of more main stream Marley songs would go down really well. Difficult with a female vocal though 😬

What’s your favourite reggae bass line to play? 

Exodus was the first album I ever bought and Babylon by bus is a great album , I prefer female vocalists sometimes, this is one of my favourites 

 

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Reggae was my inspiration to start playing bass.

Loved the bass lines from Aswad and Maxi Priest in the early/mid 80s and the Reggae Hits albums opened many doors for me This led to a huge collection of Dub and Sly & Robbie/ Black Uhuru and Steel Pulse.

Gregory Isaacs , Freddie McGregor and Lovers Rock are all favourites..

TBH I think it lost it's way in the 90s - I haven't bought any Reggae this century.

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11 minutes ago, TheGreek said:

This led to a huge collection of Dub and Sly & Robbie/ Black Uhuru and Steel Pulse.

I’m so glad to hear that you’re a fan  TheGreek,☝️ I first saw black uhuru in the 80s , and I was totally blown away, Robbie is my favourite bass player , imo it was the best era for reggae.

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We do a three-song medley of Buffalo Soldier, Is This Love and Three Little Birds. One of my favourite bass lines to play out of all the songs we do is: Is This Love. I don't play the original bass line, although I have looked at it, and my line might be a bit too busy for pure reggae, but I have some gaps to fill with only me and one guitar on that medley!

I'd like to do 'Waiting In Vain' if we had a keyboard player of another instrument to fill the gaps!

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Handsworth Revolution by Steel Pulse kicked off my love of reggae, closely followed by Forces of Victory and Bass Culture by Linton Kwesi Johnson. I still search high and low for reggae to top those but to no avail, I don’t suppose that’s a surprise really as I discovered those albums during formative years and it’s difficult to find new stuff to beat the things you got into in your youth. Doesn’t stop me trying though! Recent discoveries in the genre have been Samsara, Laika Come Home, and the aptly named Secret Dub Life of the Flying Lizards, who knew?

Edited by Frank Blank
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Here's something a bit unusual. Well, I think it is because I have found it difficult to find... contemporary instrumental reggae. I say "contemporary" because I know there was stuff back in the day, but the recordings seem a bit muffled, and I don't find them very satisfying because of that. Also, the more modern stuff that I have found 'do it' more for me.

I started a Spotify list for myself and went looking (ok, listening) for material to add to it. Being instrumental was not enough to get on it, I also had to like it of course. After lots of searching, I only have nine tracks on it! Am I too choosy, or is it that there just isn't much to choose from?

Here is a link to my list https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6tPKi3RjabfMRbG9urIThG?si=yucIcrxlRhuJeogVn3SAEA.

If you don't want to check it out direcly, here is the listing of my playlist:

  • Sr. K. by Antidoping
  • Mandela (Dub Version) by Antidoping [be patient, what comes after the 52 second introduction is well worth the wait]
  • Bird on a Fence (Professor Skank remix) by One Drop Forward
  • Lovers Dub by Nigel Williams
  • High Horse Riddim by Dejavu Lifestyle Music Limited
  • Dub in the Bushes by Reblesteppa
  • Reward Rythym by M. Johnson
  • Joyful Dub by Avatar
  • Shackles & Chains Instrumental by Ziggi Recado

Recommendations most welcome.

Steve

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I've seen Samsara a few times. We are very lucky here in brighton to have a few really great reggae bands on the circuit. Dub organiser are also well worth a look if you are local. They put on quality live dub nights in komedia.

Also definitely check out the resonators, also from Brighton.

I recently made enquiries into setting up another one so watch this space....

 

Edited by GisserD
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