'Na Na Na' by Soom T!

BOOM!

Taken from the Strawberry Jam Riddim from Necessary Mayhem. In stores now. BOOM!

'A Blastback': A review of "Set The Standard" by Mr. Williamz

Dynamite. Frustratingly, there exists no formula that I know of, which is capable of predicting something as rare and unusual as musical styles. You can listen to a particular artist and listen to them describe his/her influences and how and where they grew up and when you actually take in what it is that they do - it sounds absolutely nothing like you'd imagine give their specific background. Other times, it's spot-on and what they bring is precisely what you'd expect and, again, it has no predictor at all. Reggae music is a prime example of this as you can be fully shocked by who you're likely to musically encounter making music in the genre and to the degree that it has become not only their livelihood, but a large portion of their entire life as well. That'll stand up as accurate for the literally countless record labels you'll run into from everywhere making different styles of Reggae music and, eventually, it leads you to the vocalists and a never-ending and uncountable amount of diverse styles. From a delightful and diminutive young German woman who looks like a university student but sings Reggae music like an angel to a musical descendant of the legendary Bounty Killer who just… deconstructs and constructs the spoken word at a pace which has never been heard before, we definitely get to experience a wide array of very impressive styles which remain somewhat odd, but have fully incorporated themselves, in one way or another, into the landscape of the music. Also, we can sit and look forward to how possibly might artists of tomorrow who are inspired by the likes of a Sara Lugo or an Aidonia, bring that sound into their own work. And today we take a look at someone else who has managed to quite a bit of blending on his own and come up with a style which is so familiar and so 'comfortable', that it has actually made him one of a kind. Mr. Williamz has an approach which isn't anything that we haven't heard before. As a matter of fact, we've heard it often and can hear it whenever we want. The issue with him, however, is that what he does is somewhat of a 'lost art'. The DJ who grew between the UK and Jamaica has a method which is full on old school Dancehall music -- not updated or with a modern texture -- it is of a time long gone, but apparently someone forgot to tell Mr. Williamz that and now, thankfully, it's just too damn late. 

Originally it wasn't a connection that I actually made because of who Mr. Williamz spent his time with, musically. From the first time I heard him he was always associated with the venerable Curtis Lynch Jr. and company at Necessary Mayhem from out of the UK. While they do quite a bit of different things, NM is one of those labels (much like Germaica who we dealt with not too long ago) (big album, "Still Disturbed" by Ward 21, in stores now) who focuses on making authentic and old school centric Dancehall music which melded perfectly with Mr. Williamz who, regardless of who he's working with, brings forth this very fresh presentation from a quarter of a century ago or so. Mr. Williamz is a throwback and he isn't a "throwback" in the tired and just awful way that term is usually applied - but if there were a person who made Dancehall music and were named 'Throwback' - he'd be Mr. Williamz. So, as you might imagine (and as you should know) Williamz and Lynch have made for a devastating pair over the past few years.

Now, after countless singles and more than one EP release , Mr. Williamz takes the obvious next step and deliver, along with Necessary Mayhem, his looooooooooong awaited debut album, "Set The Standard". I have probably been waiting on this album for the better part of half a decade or so. In terms of the outward reaching sense, Williamz rose to prominence at a similar time as another outstanding UK product, Gappy Ranks, who now has three full albums to his credit and while Mr. Williamz definitely didn't take a break (or at least one that I knew of), it just seemed as if the eventual album was always a matter of 'coming soon' (more on that later). But we have been patiently awaiting the set and the wait is over. Necessary Mayhem, as well, have been doing big things consistently and they've remained quite active and more popular these days than they were a few years back. And though the label has worked alongside some of the biggest names in Reggae music today, such as Etana, Busy Signal, Ziggi Recado, Tarrus Riley as well as legends like Gregory Isaacs, Shabba Ranks and Maxi Priest, I think it says a great deal when you consider that, at least to my knowledge, outside of a remix project featuring the late Isaacs, "Set The Standard", sets the standard for full album releases for Necessary Mayhem. Mr. Williamz' very first tune was with the label (and is on this album) and though he has developed his prodigious talents with a variety of different producers, it seemed to always be with Lynch that he reached his full potential. Also, as we've been discussing recently, there has been a tremendous dearth of high level and high quality Dancehall albums over the last few years and, Williamz joins an increasingly impressive lot which also includes Sean Paul, Wayne Marshall and the aforementioned Ward 21 as big names from the Dancehall who strike with albums in early 2014 [THANK YOU!] (and I think that it says so much when the number of big named Dancehall stars with albums in a given year is doubled and tripled, EASILY, by Soca artists with albums of a similar level, which has been the case in recent years). For his part, we fully know what to expect from Mr. Williamz - a fireball of an old school Dancehall album. Let's take a closer look. 

If you haven't listened to much of Necessary Mayhem's output over the years (shame on you!), what they do often is to remake classic old tracks and present them to current artists so, this album should be full of very familiar sounds to more frequent listeners of the genre and that is something, as I said, which blends perfectly with this particular artist. "Set The Standard" begins with its title track, which I was familiar with and is a very nice and BRIGHT tune which does well set the standard for what is to follow. Mr. Williamz has this very easy going type of style somewhat reminiscent of the great Super Cat and for fans who come from that era, and even some who come after, this tune which makes its foundation on being ORIGINAL, is golden as Williamz keeps the listener paying a big attention with his blistering lyrical display. 

"And nuff will seh dem real -

Dem a real cartoon

Yuh listen to dem song, dem sound like a baboon

It sound like dem record it in a bathroom

Unuh watch it now wi send dem back to di class-" 

'Middle East' is a very fun track which I just recently heard for the first time prior to this album. As its title suggests, the tune has a kind of Arabian spin on the riddim and it also has a bit of a bite to it as well. I won't ruin its ultimate direction for you, but it is a very fun song and one of the most sonically pleasing on the whole of the album. There's also 'Touch Down', near the head of "Set The Standard" which isn't my favourite tune on the album, but I have to admit that it picks up steam as it progresses so give it a few spins before passing a final judgment and the premise of the song is also very, very clever. 

If you've followed the work of Mr. Williamz, you're going to see more than a few selections here which you already know and know very well. That is surely the case with two of the bigger ones in 'Babylon In Helicopter' and 'No Cigarette'. The former is actually Williamz' first tune and was featured on Necessary Mayhem's cut of the Police In Helicopter Riddim and was a very big hit for the artist, while the latter is an even stronger tune in my opinion across the Joker Smoker Riddim. These two efforts have gone on to become signature tracks for Mr. Williamz and I don't know that he could have had a first album sans them - regardless who produced it. Still, to my opinion, reigning supreme in the whole of his catalog and on this album (DUH!) is the MAMMOTH 'Real General' from a few years back. I don't tink that it was ultimately as popular as the two previously mentioned songs, but for me it was quintessential Mr. Williamz and if I had to recommend just a one song to anyone wanting to listen to his music, it would easily be 'Real General'. 

'Mi just seh 'easy Mr. Will, Jah know seh yuh skilled

Yuh style and yuh pattern value more than a mil

More than a trill, more than a triple zill

A ganja mi smoke and mi nah tek no pill

NO DANCE CAN NICE UNLESS WI DEH PON DI BILL"

An extremely fun and brilliantly chaotic set which has no equal on this album. And I don't know it for sure, but it comes through as the type of song which had a spontaneous birth and it didn't require too much planning and was very organic (and you can probably say that about most of Williamz' music, actually). In either case, it worked! You may also recognize 'Tommy Ranks' which was the title track of one of the several pre-album EP's that Necessary Mayhem did with Mr. Williamz (and a big credit to whoever sings the background and chorus on that tune because she did a great job). There's the solid 'Ganja Man, Ganja Woman' which features Williamz alongside Killa Mosquito which is a tune which took awhile to grow on me -- that riddim on this song is HYPNOTIC and I probably listened to it a few times before I even began to hear the vocals. 'Shell Down' was another familiar one, this piece alongside Specialist Moss. Again, it is another very easy and free-flowing track and one of the biggest highlights here for me. And also check 'London', which I'm pretty sure is a song that I know, but I couldn't tell you from where I know it (AT ALL), as well as the album's closer, 'It Haffi Bun' with Benny Page. Both are two of a the more colourful selections on "Set The Standard" and because of that, there collective presence was welcomed. 

"Tommy Ranks" EP [2011]

New to my ears, on the other hand, was a quartet of songs which I was really looking forward to hearing. The first of them is the heavy 'Miss Brown', which I think is an older composition that I just did not hear. It is a very clever lyrical display from Mr. Williamz and just a really exciting tune. And speaking of clever lyrical displays, 'Shout It Out' is GORGEOUS and was another which I'd never heard. From that particular aspect, 'Shout It Out' is the best song on the album. It is just a flood of lyrics as Mr. Williamz goes Papa San all over "Set The Standard". 'Run The World' is also very impressive on that level, as Williamz gives a proper credit to the art form he performs. 

"Cause even before the moment yuh birth -

Yuh heartbeat ah pump, that's how yah life work

It come in like a drums at the Reggae concert

Yuh stand up gainst the speaker, you fill it ah jerk

And that is when you know what life is worth

Who caan tek it haffi get up and splurt

Serious thing, I waan yuh listen to my words:

Dem ah fight gainst the music, but that nah go work"

BOOM! Probably my second favourite song on this album, 'Run The World' is a giant song. And lastly is 'Ganja Palace'. When I first heard this song, its intro period full on scared me - I was nervous! But it develops nicely as Williamz tells all just how hugely important the herb is in his life ["Sight mi wid a spliff, you know it bigger than a chisel. Wi no fear siren, nor policeman whistle. Real ganja dada from di day when wi christen"].

Mr. Williamz

Overall, the only real critique I have of this album is how it was compiled. As I said, we've well been waiting on this one for awhile and it had gotten to the point where I didn't know if it was taking so long because they were making entirely or primarily new songs - but when I saw the tracklist, I was surprised that it took so long with so much material that was previously known (and you may even know more of the songs than I do). However, I now look at it as a kind of a 'catch up' to what Mr. Williamz and Necessary Mayhem have been working on up until this point and, in that respect (or in any other actually), "Set The Standard" is very good. It even really gave me more of an appreciation of his work and his style. Williamz is patient. He never really seems to hurry about his work and, as I alluded to, it channels through in this very easy and laidback type of sound which even further displays this kind of old school approach. And speaking of things of old, I have to mention this album's cover which is straight out of the 1980's and was a brilliant touch by whoever decided on it. From beginning to end "Set The Standard" is an excellent and very FUN look at the music of someone in Mr. Williamz who, seemingly without even trying too hard, continues to set himself apart from the rest.

Rated: 4/5

Necessary Mayhem Records

2014

Digital

Review #490

January Artist of The Month: Chantelle Ernandez!

Chantelle Ernandez

I, humbly, do consider myself a pretty good judge of talent. While I have certainly seen big talents in artists who would subsequently prove that they didn’t have very much, I’ve also been relatively early to jump on quite a few young who have either gone onto show themselves to be stars or are still, presumably, along that decorated course. Still, I’m actually quite happy that (currently) I’m not the one making the music, and thus no one’s future is in my hands, so I do tend to defer, in many cases, to those who do take that responsibility amongst themselves and, of course, that means looking at labels and producers. In this case, we’re going to the UK and looking at Curtis Lynch Jr. and company at Necessary Mayhem, simply one of my favourite labels, who (rightfully so in my opinion) have taken a grand interest in Kingston born (CUTIE) Chantelle Ernandez, who is currently blazing with her DOMINANT lover‘s tune, ‘My Forever’.

The link is a very interesting one when you consider the fact that, at least ostensibly, Chantelle Ernandez is another of a long line of Jamaican singers who most people would hear and almost immediately think of as a potential R&B type of singer and reading through multiple bios for the singer, it’s obviously something which she embraces . . . Necessary Mayhem doesn’t do R&B. They don’t do ‘crossover’ and they don’t do ‘mainstream’. Unless things have drastically changed (and they haven't), the label is most surely going to be presenting Ernandez with old school Lover’s Rock, Dancehall and Roots pieces for the majority of the time that she’s with them, but apparently that’s no problem for her.

Chantelle Ernandez is a young veteran of sorts as she’s paid her dues as both a backing singer and a front woman as well. Not too long ago she appeared in (undoubtedly one of the several incantations of) Sly & Robbie’s group, UnitZz. That assemblage did big things, particularly in Japan, and it helped to get Chantelle’s name in circulation. And recently she also appeared on compilations such as Sly & Robbie’s Grammy nominated ”One Pop Reggae” (as part of UnitZz), ”The Best Supporting Acts” also from Sly & Robbie and one of my favourite pieces from last year, Necessary Mayhem’s ”Digital Acoustics”, where she featured on ‘Sort Me Out’, a kind of a mash up which featured her alongside Dancehall royalty, Shabba Ranking and the late UK Reggae legend Deborahe Glasgow.

However, despite also appearing on Necessary Mayhem’s recently released relick of the Shaolin Temple Riddim, where she sang ‘We Are Strong’ alongside the always impressive Blackout JA. The gold bar of Ernandez’ solo releases to date has been the ”My Forever - EP”, which also comes via the big UK label, digitally through the magic wizards who cast spells at Zojak Worldwide and is currently available.

This release features (of course) the title track surrounded with the aforementioned ‘Sort Me Out’, ‘Good Man’, ‘Poison’ and ‘Hotta Fyah’ and is a wonderful way to introduce her to bigger audiences and potential audiences.

So keep an eye out for Chantelle Ernandez (she’s gorgeous, shouldn’t be too hard to do that) and her future work from Necessary Mayhem. I’ll be very interested to see how exactly the label guides her. The state of and sound of UK Reggae is largely changing from the seemingly never-faltering UK Lover’s Rock into . . . Stuff that sounds like Gappy Ranks and Mr. Williamz and I’m not complaining about that. HOWEVER, in my mind I would think that maybe Ernandez would be set up as a bit of a new age Lover’s Rock singer which would definitely make a great usage of her R&B ’stylings’. Whichever the route ultimately taken by Lynch and Ernandez, however, not only am I convinced by what he hears in her, but my ears are saying the same thing - HUGE FUTURE.

Chantelle Ernandez @ Myspace
Chantelle Ernandez @ Facebook
Chantelle Ernandez @ Twitter

'Very Necessary': A Review of "Digital Acoustics" by Various Artists

If ever you take a moment to stop and smell the proverbial Reggae roses, you just might notice how wonderful we, as Reggae fans, have it these days. Besides being literally swamped with big big tunes from nearly every corner of the earth in this day and age, we’re also so lucky to be around at a time where we’re able to witness a changing of the guard in even the most common circles of Reggae. The most glaring example, of course, comes in Jamaica where not too long ago - As recently as a couple of years ago - The arena of Roots Reggae was still dominated by this long reigning conglomerate of Sizzla, Capleton, Anthony B, Luciano, Buju Banton and the likes, and while those artist are still active participants in the game, to go to those levels and not mention the name Tarrus Riley is nearly criminal at this point. If you take that on a global concept, of course, it still applies with just about every region seeing a nice shift to younger talents and I even point closer to the Dutch scene because, again, just a couple of years back there were European super-stations for Reggae, such as France and Germany, but you now almost have to include the Netherlands in that discussion as well. Still, until most recently, the one area which seemed to be such a staunch and somewhat frustrating holdout to the passage of time was another very established European hotbed of Reggae, the UK. From the outside looking in, the international faces of Reggae in the region have been for quite some time now the same names. People like Achis Reggae favourite Lloyd Brown, Tippa Irie, Chukki Starr, Peter Hunnigale, Peter Spence, Bitty McLean and other similar artists. And not only that, but just off the top of my head, the youngest person on that list is probably Starr, who is thirty five years old and has been making full blown albums since 1998. Also, the area had come to exist with this kind of HEAVY old school Lover’s Rock style which, to people like you and I - Heavy Reggae heads - Is a beautiful thing, but isn’t very current and certainly isn’t very mobile, in terms of going forth. To put it simply: Someone needed to spray a canister of air-freshener on the UK Reggae scene because things just didn’t seem to be changing as nicely as in other regions as of late and, apparently that’s just what happened.

If you take into context the rise to power of Gappy Ranks, what is most interesting is that again, looking at it from the outside, how easy it seemed to be. It was just ‘Stinkin’ Rich’ and boom for the artist and he became the hottest thing doing Reggae in England all of a sudden. However, behind the scenes, potentially an even more crucial development was under way at the same time as Curtis Lynch, Jr. and company at Necessary Mayhem was in the process of adding their names, respectively, to those big stations which tend to be interwoven within the lexicon of UK Reggae, such as ‘Saxon’ and ‘Ariwa’ and ‘Peckings’ and ‘Maximum Sound‘. And although, such in the case of Gappy, they seemed to do so with kind of laissez-faire type of a stride, when you REALLY look at Necessary Mayhem did (and we’re about to), they really worked their collective asses off and continue to do so to the point that, in terms of activity and hits scored, one could certainly make the case that they’re now one of the most in demand and biggest in the whole of the European Reggae scene. Personally, if you couldn’t tell, I’m also a big fan of their work and REALLY look forward to what they release because the output is always so nice. Why? Necessary Mayhem (fittingly titled yeah? There simply HAD TO be a shakeup in UK Reggae, it was necessary to go forth and they shook it up) has defined, but not restricted, their sound to doing this wonderful recreations of old school Jamaican Reggae and Dancehall riddims and providing them to a mouthwateringly appetizingly talented group of artists, which range from unknown and brand new, to bonafide reigning stars, all the way to the well established and in some cases, legendary, names in and out of the UK scene (more on them in a bit). To date, to my knowledge, the greatest and most fulfilling collection of what Curtis Lynch and company have been up to at Necessary Mayhem has been their STERLING compilation release, ”Digital Acoustics” which, at least to my opinion, serves not only the purpose of simply providing good music to the listeners (and it definitely does that) but also, as I alluded to, it really captures the nature of the vibes you can expect to hear from the label right now and, at least presumably, going forward as one of the, if not THE biggest label of the future in UK Reggae music. Previously, Necessary Mayhem had released (and re-released) a variety of different compilations. Most notably was a string of fairly strong riddim albums and EP’s. What those pieces lacked in volume - With just a few artists on each, which is apparently just NM’s style - They certainly made up for in quality. Those projects were originally released, for the most part, prior to the start of the year and in 2010 Necessary Mayhem made the digital switch to the wonderful people at Zojak Worldwide (nice move) and the digital distributor also went to work on some of their back catalog, leading up to ”Digital Acoustics” which will certainly go down as the label’s crowning achievement, thus far, in terms of compilations and justly so. It’s also primed to go down as one of the crowning achievements of 2010 altogether as, although like always, there’re some very nice contenders (such as the recently released ”Bobo Revolution 2” from, incidentally, Maximum Sound) and certainly more to come, a very strong case is to be made that this is the leader of the pack for Reggae compilations this year. And even if you won’t go that far, what I’ll challenge you not to honestly concede is the fact that ”Digital Acoustics” is clearly one of the more interesting and colourful compilations of the year and a powerful statement from one of the fastest rising Reggae labels on the planet.

In terms of acknowledging this big release, I’m pretty late to the game. I was absolutely delighted to see that it has, commercially, gone on to be promoted quite well actually and, for what it’s worth, although we’re still waiting on Strictly The Best for 2010, this album has been about as popular as any other compilation this year to my experience. Certainly that has to do with the fact that Necessary Mayhem’s ”Digital Acoustics” is absolutely WICKED and the madness begins straight away on the first track, ‘Real General’ by the downright LETHAL big up and coming UK artist, Mr. Williamz. You may know how high I am on this artist and a song like this piece here is the exact reason why. ‘Real General’ is RIDICULOUS! The tune rides an updated version of the old Come Down Riddim (which you know for having backed a Super Cat tune of the same name) and it has that wonderful old school Dancehall dusty and bouncy feeling to it. It’s HUGE and it is, hypnotically, the best tune on the whole of the album. Another young strong English artist, YT, strides in next and gives Mr. Williamz quite the run, with his infectiously impressive ‘Write Some Lyrics’, where he challenges his peers to raise up their collective levels, lyrically and to stop relying on long gone glory:

“Old fart inna di business nuff ah dem need a hit song
Neva write no good tune from 19 how long?
But still you caan tell dem seh dem a no di bomb
Dem still offa reputation!”

Of course, the tune places a bit of pressure on YT to ALWAYS step up with his ‘A game’, but I’m going to assume he realized this and brought it anyway, in which case - Good for you, because the tune is BIG time material. I’m sure that Little John would resent it if I called him an “old fart”, so I’ll just call him “veteran” instead and recommend that you check out his effort for ”Digital Acoustics”, ‘45 Special’. This is one for the heavy old school, fucked up, dusty and dirty, zinc fence scaling Dancehall massive who’re (and probably already have been) eating this one up (and I’m one of them!).

I hesitate to call them ‘combinations’, but of the remaining eleven tracks on ”Digital Acoustics”, six feature more than one artist (and in some cases more than two and more than three). These pieces have a healthy mix of the old school and the new school, and most do very well to my opinion. First up is an artist by the name of Chyna Soulstar (who I have heard of before) with Demolition Man (who I haven’t), with ‘Lord Save My Soul’ over a very souped up version of the Rumours Riddim. This one took a bit of climbing on my tastes to grow on me and had I written this review a month or so ago, I probably would’ve said that I didn’t like it very much, but now it’s clicking for me, so definitely don’t just glide past it. Million Stylez (more on him later) and Joey Fever (whoever he is) had no such ‘worries’, because their tune, ‘Young Gunz’, had me from the first time that I heard it. Apparently Fever is a next talented artist also from out of Sweden and although it’s, unsurprisingly, Million Stylez who steals the show, he doesn’t do it by much and Fever has now impressed the hell out me so I hope he finds his way back to England and Necessary Mayhem studios. Next up (CUTIE) Chantelle Ernandez is joined by two legends in the business, the late Deborahe Glasgow and the King Emeritus of the Dancehall, Shabba Ranking, for ‘Sort Me Out’. This tune is built on the strengths of older vibes (particularly ‘Mr. Loverman‘), which featured both the Ranking and Glasgowe, originally. Ernandez’ definitely gives the tune a different ‘colour’ (it’s a bit more aggressive), but it’s certainly not a bad mix, by any standards and, again, I actually like it. The very DARK ‘Call Me’ had a bit of work to do on me, like ‘Lord Save My Soul’. This one features Dready, Sweetie Irie, YT and Brinsley Forde (more on him later too) and it has so many different moods that it literally goes from sounding ‘happy’ to sounding like something out of Ward 21’s ridiculous vault of tunes. To my ears it’s YT whose presence highlights the tune, but they all do a fairly nice job and this tune, as strange as it is, is also a nice piece. YT is back again and this time he’s joined by Tenor Fly, UK Apache, David Boomah and MC Shabba (who, I believe, is the one with the ridiculous accent) on ‘Dubplate RMX’. Once again, it’s YT taking the tops on the tune, but I have to say that this one is, by far, my least favourite tune on ”Digital Acoustics”. And thankfully, the final ‘community’ style track and also the album’s final track altogether, ‘Champion Sound’, rights the ship as Mr. Williamz, Million Stylez, Blackout JA, wicked St. Lucian artist Jah Mirikle and . . . Yep, you guessed it - YT link up for one of the most impressive sounds on the whole of the album. This one is gifted with a version of the Pirates Riddim and was apparently quite a nice sized hit in the UK a couple of y ears back and hearing this one, it’s no wonder why, really.

Back in the land where one person writes a song and goes into the booth and records it by themselves to a riddim, on the remaining five solo tunes, ”Digital Acoustics” offers up definitely its biggest names in terms of active artists. The aforementioned Million Stylez goes all John Holt on the people with ‘Police In Helicopter’, over Necessary Mayhem’s sterling remake of the classic riddim. Stylez absolutely destroys whatever was left of the classic tune (which certainly wasn’t much) on a piece I’m sure Holt would be very pleased with (and I’m sure he’s also pleased with his royalty checks). Then is my choice of the album’s second strongest tune as the biggest and baddest man on the Dutch scene, Ziggi Recado, comes through with his big and bad ‘Joker Smoker’. This one has been heavy and I should have to say too much in regards to its known quality, but what I will say that is if you STILL have yet to fall into Ziggi’s crazy vibes, you’ve got some serious explaining to do because songs like such are simply showing him to be one of the most talented artists around today, regardless of origins. Mr. Williamz also dusted off the Joker Smoker Riddim for his tune, ‘No Cigarette’ but for this album, he goes Leroy Smart and Baby Wayne style with ‘Money Friend’ and he does so with his increasingly typical . . . LAID BACK and easy brilliance. I’m slowly but surely coming to recognize this man’s style as a bit of blast from the past (and not just a kind of ‘coincidence’ on various songs). I love it, I think he has some of the greatest potential around and it’s songs like this which make me think so (but especially ‘Real General’). Brinsley Forde works his way from out of the pack and does so with a reborn classic of his, ‘Can’t Tek No More’. The song has received a bit of a rebirth from since it’s been remixed anew (most notably by UK Hip-Hopper, Dizzee Rascal) and after appearing on a compilation like this and running with Necessary Mayhem in general, the former King of Aswad (hell, he may still be doing that) is also receiving a kind of rebirth and it’s so nice to have him around. And the final solo selection on the album comes from??? No, not YT, but Maikal X, who apparently caught that same flight from Holland to the UK that Ziggi was on because he also reaches ”Digital Acoustics” on the Police In Helicopter Riddim with ‘Get Away’. This tune speaks of someone trying to steer their life in the proper direction, ‘getting away’ from one’s troublesome past and just living a nice life in the struggle. After a few dozen spins, I have a very nice taste for this tune and I actually have come to think of it as one of Maikal’s better tunes lyrically.

Overall - COOL. Necessary Mayhem’s ”Digital Acoustics” is a COOL album. What I really like from it, and the label in general, is how nicely it works the edge in terms of combining the times. It’s really one thing to take an old riddim and to throw a whole heap of new artists on it and see what they can do, but it’s another to make it work. And to speak of that in more specific terms - Way back when I was speaking of that kind of stereotypical UK sound being this type of old school Lover’s Rock, when you listen to this album and the pieces from UK artists like Mr. Williamz and YT and then you listen to what Gappy Ranks just did with ”Put The Stereo On”, perhaps the shift of changing the style from Lover’s Rock, to a kind of retro-Dancehall vibes in the UK is already under way and if that is the case - Then bring it on! And I hesitate to say this because I don’t want to overrate or overestimate the album, but you potential have a bit of a landmark release in ”Digital Acoustics” because, at least presumably, what is in store from Necessary Mayhem is BIG BIG vibes for a long time and here, we have what figures to be one the biggest early examples of the strength of what should be one of the most prominent Reggae labels in the world. Now if they could just get me a Mr. Williamz LP, I’d be a happy man.

Rated 4.65/5
Necessary Mayhem/Zojak Worldwide
2010
CD + Digital




Necessary Mayhem