"The Encore": A Review of The Soul Riddim Selection by Various Artists

So now you have my attention, what are you going to do with it? Having long had this kind of internal conversation with the genre itself, probably on the first day of my life, I do find myself, as many fans of the music do, with this kind of ‘what have you done for me lately’ type of approach to artists, producers and even labels in some instances. Music fans are bandwagonists. We’re very fickle and we need not much inspiration at all to change our minds and the powers that be in music have to, in many cases, act as mind readers to see what we’re thinking and what it is that will get us to respond in their favour. Things vary even more when you get into specifics and in terms of output, just because ‘we’ may’ve ABSOLUTELY LOVED the last thing you did doesn’t at all mean that we won’t LOATHE the next. In terms of Reggae music, you see this most evidently and frequently with producers and RIDDIMS especially. Can you even begin to rethink of all the various producers who dropped riddims of varying degrees which you definitely paid attention to and have seemingly vanished from the face of the earth since? This happens SO frequently and my mind is literally DRIPPING with labels, but I think that I’m going to focus in the opposite direction and in doing so, I’ll mention an example which covers so many aspects of this: Steven ‘Lenky’ Marsden. The first time most people heard of that name would have been back with the MONSTROSITY that was the Diwali Riddim first dropped. People called it gimmicky (and it kind of was) and people said that it was a sign that creativity in the Dancehall had been depleted because someone could make something catch on which was based on something as simple as a handclap. But whatever they called it, they had to acknowledge that the DAMAGING riddim was something special, because it was. Now, you look at the IMMEDIATE follow-ups from Lenky (who had come to gain his name working for the legendary Penthouse Records where he did so many powerful projects, like El Shaddai from Jahmali) and it’s with a big riddim, the Masterpiece, which kept everyone’s attention definitely, but then you get into pieces like the Dream weaver (even though it was wicked) and the Time Travel (even though it was too) riddims and that attention began to waiver and undeservingly so (as I said, both of those riddims were wicked). And now, while people like you and me certainly won’t forget his name, Lenky doesn’t sit in the row of powerhouse Dancehall producers like Don Corleon and Steven McGregor, as I would’ve suspected he might when the Diwali bust. So, if it’s so hard for a person like Marsden, given his history (he also played keyboard in Buju’s "Shiloh Band"), imagine what in the hell a tiny little label from out of Munich, Germany might have to do!

Well ‘thankfully’ said label, Oneness Records, doesn’t have a GLOBAL SMASH like the Diwali to follow up on (although they’d probably welcome the opportunity), but what they do have to work up to this time around is my early favourite for 2010 Reggae Album of the Year, the increasingly MASSIVE Long Journey from ‘the great’ Naptali. The label wasn’t born to release that album and had a few releases prior, most notably the big and bad General Key Riddim and the eponymous Oneness Riddim, but definitely Naptali’s album is what exposed them to people like you and me. So what do they do for an encore? Oneness gets soulful and brings forth their brand new sparkling composition, the Soul Riddim Selection. Of course the riddim did make an appearance on the album (and I’m now wondering if they’re going to give any of the other riddims on that masterpiece similar attention (and if not, why not), particularly that piece of musical brilliance which backed ‘Redeemer’) and although, time wise, that might not have been the first time anyone had ever heard it (more on that in a bit), again it was definitely the first time the masses would have gotten a taste of it and to be honest I wasn’t blown away by it, but maybe I should’ve been. Why? This thing is GORGEOUS and while Oneness Records probably aren’t going to even come close as far as taking compilation (current favourite is Digital Acoustics from Necessary Mayhem) or riddim of the year (Classic Riddim so far), it’s definitely a more than adequate ‘successor’ to Long Journey in my opinion. As usual, the most important aspect to dealing with riddim albums, outside of the riddim itself, is exactly who the label/producer have linked up to voice the piece and even before I got my hands on the Soul Riddim, I was largely impressed by who I saw here and I was even more interested or curious, perhaps. The list of artists isn’t exactly surprising, but some of the names were just so well placed and so APPROPRIATE on a riddim that the prospect of hearing these artists in particular voicing the Soul Riddim became a pretty big deal for me. Not only that, but the more and more I went back to listen to the Long Journey album, the tune over this riddim became a stronger tune (and that same statement goes for the entire album, that album is one which gets BETTER and BETTER each and every time you spin it, which is a pretty rare quality for a new or newer album, indeed) and I stepped it up a level in terms of scrutiny and still it has held up fairly well. The riddim itself is very laid back, but it has a very nice ‘bubbly’ appeal to it. I don’t that in the Dancehall sense (incidentally Lenky also had a riddim called the Bubble Up, which didn’t catch on much either) (despite the fact that it, too, was wicked), I mean that it has a nice ‘prevailing’ groove to the vibes and it’s not just this kind of skeletal Roots track at all. And the vibes are just so nice and easy and COMFORTABLE that the Soul Riddim doesn’t take long to grab your attention and stick to them for the duration of the thirteen predominately very strong tracks on the album.

Although, clearly, I tried to stress it like such, it is important to remember that this project isn’t the second release EVER from Oneness Records. As I said, they also have (at least) two riddim album releases to their credit, so should you be one of the billions of people who just recently caught on with Long Journey, do keep in mind that they do know what in the hell they’re doing at this point. That much is evident with the very first track on the brand new Soul Riddim Selection, ‘Grandma’, the much aforementioned tune from Naptali (alongside Arofat) from his wonderful album. What more can I say about this tune? I’m going to call it the best on the riddim by the slimmest of margins (undoubtedly somewhat due to the fact that it’s very familiar to me at this point) because it is just so nice. It’s livicated to the memory of Naptali’s Grandmother who has passed on and it’s a very moving tribute and Arofat definitely only adds to the vibes of a tune I appreciate so much more now than when I first heard it and will probably continue to enjoy even more. A HUGE beginning there, albeit an expected one. Things continue along that same level with Lutan Fyah who checks in next with the BIG tune, ‘Be Conscious’. This is nearly vintage Fyah as he rather casually strides through the riddim with a quietly scathing inspirational social commentary. “The children been stripped from their roots, hey. Babylon is a political prostitute”, is just one of several points of note on this very very strong tune and I’m now thinking about going back and maybe changing me vote as the best tune on the riddim. Finishing the opening stretch of tunes on the Soul Riddim Selection is the very ‘soulful’ voice Raymond Wright from out St. Catherine, with ‘Cry Cry‘. I’m still working on how I actually feel about Wright’s vibes, but this tune is decent enough. His music always has this ‘larger than life’ type of feel to it because of his voice and this tune is no exception and I’m sure it’ll catch a lot of listeners ‘off guard’ as it did for me. All in all the start here is very strong, particularly the first two tracks.

When I first saw the lineup on the riddim there a few things which caught my eye here, particularly amongst the artists of whom I actually knew a great deal before listening. The most eye-catching moment DEFINITELY came at track #8, where on ‘As The World Turns’ we get a BIG combination featuring sweet singing Mark Wonder alongside Mr. Mortimer, Natural Black. For me (and hopefully for you), this is a HUGE deal and the tune definitely doesn’t disappoint. It was just last year that Wonder released The True Stories of Mark Wonder and Friends, which was a very strong album built wholly on combinations and this tune would have been very high on that list with the two making a very powerful duo and urging the masses to take a second to stop and give praises to His Majesty. REALLY big tune for me personally and I’m so happy the link here was made by whoever orchestrated it.

And of course seeing Capleton and Luciano on ANYTHING is a big deal and they both grace the Soul Riddim Selection with their presence (individually). For his part, Capleton tells us that he is ‘Truly Blessed’ on one of the biggest moments on the riddim. The tune isn’t as laid back as I thought it would’ve been, Capleton definitely brings a bit of spice with him and in the midst of telling everyone to slow down and appreciate the goodness in their lives, it makes this one a real highlight here (he namedrops Naptali a couple of times on the tune . . . I mean, Naptali . . . You should’ve gotten on the track!). Capleton, however, is outdone by his friend Luciano whose tune, ’Weapons of War’, is arguably an even bigger deal. This piece just GLUES itself to this Soul Riddim (you have no idea how many times I’ve called it the ’Soulful Riddim’, none) and pushes itself near the heights. It’s also a similar (yet stronger in my opinion) tune to Lutan Fyah’s ‘Be Conscious’. It’s another very strong social commentary, this one centering on anti-violence and just general anti-corruption. Listen to it, take it in and learn something, definitely. And I’ll also add Edge Michael to this conversation (Michael is actually the nephew of the legendary ‘Stepping Razor’, Peter Tosh). His tune, ‘My Lady’ DEFINITELY isn’t one of my favourites here, but he’s been doing good work as of late and hopefully he can continue his nice swing and have a big second half of the year.

Now, unsurprisingly Oneness has also tapped a few ‘under-known’ artists and up and comers to voice the Soul Riddim as well, with most (if not all) of them having German ties. The first I’ll mention is Denham Smith, who I remember ‘running into’ on the big Surfer Riddim from Pow Pow. His tune here, ‘Jezzibel’, recounting his so unfortunate dealings with a less than upstanding young lady, is decent enough. It’s not one of the stronger efforts here, but Smith has a very accessible skillset and style that I think his ultimate direction may lead him to the R&B arena and this tune (especially on the chorus) isn’t very far from that at all. There’s Fyah T, whose name sounds familiar, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard of him. His tune is another social commentary, ‘Set It‘, and it’s pretty good actually. Apparently Fyah is an official artist, from out of Germany, for Oneness and he has an album forthcoming in September (presumably on Oneness as well) and what is probably my first taste of his vibes is pretty good actually. And I most certainly have heard of the BIG Singing U and his biblical ‘A Chapter A Day’ is nothing less than I would’ve expected from an artist with his capabilities and talents - It’s one of the best tunes on the riddim. I’ve been keeping a rather inconsistent eye (but an eye nonetheless) on the singer for awhile now and he’s doing big things. In terms of ENTERTAINMENT, this tune is also one which most attracted me and definitely looking forward to more from Singing U (LIKE AN ALBUM, which was supposed to drop last year) in the immediate future. Shocking Murray, who I believe is a good friend of Singing U’s, also has a go with the Soul Riddim and he offers another big effort, the Haitian tribute, ‘Shaky’ (which is incorrectly marked as ‘Skaky’ everywhere I’ve seen thus far digitally). This song is probably the most high-powered on the riddim as the fire and brimstone style chanter pushes the vocals up a bit and the hype up a bit to get his well developed point across to the masses: Mission accomplished. And ‘lastly‘, I HAVE to give big respect and credit to Oneness Records for including a clean version of this LOVELY riddim. You can just play the riddim itself and enjoy it, it’s so well done and so lovely that it’s sure to brighten some moods around your house, just play the thing!

Yeah that’s why I put lastly in the single quotes, because I save something very interesting for last - Achis Reggae favourite Sara Lugo! I don’t know this for sure, but I would think that if the time matches up, then the very first time anyone would have heard the Soul Riddim would have been backing Sara Lugo’s SWEET SWEET tune ‘Familiar Stranger’. The riddim is COMFORTABLE and this tune is probably its most BLANKETING moment. Sara Lugo is a BIG artist and when she blows up and takes over the whole of German Reggae, remember who told you so.

Overall, I’m giving the Soulful Riddim Selection a very laid back and largely unconditional recommendation. This one should be fine for you even you aren’t such a big fan of Reggae music because the vibes, while definitely familiar, aren’t the kind of LOCKED in type which many times newer fans just aren’t able to catch on to. The sound here is much more ‘transferable’ with most of the artists (even the ones who go on the same subjects) having a very fresh and different sound. That, of course, is a credit to the planning by Oneness and who they chose to voice the Soul Riddim. Building a good riddim and recording it with the ‘right’ names is different than building a good riddim album correctly and they’ve managed to do both in this instance. So, while it doesn’t reach up to the EPIC heights set forth by Naptali, in the case of Oneness, the Soul Riddim Selection is more than enough to keep me interested in seeing what they’ll do next.

Rated 4.25/5
Oneness Records
2010
Digital+


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