Jah Observer

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2 March 2011 Author Ronan Lynch

Austin “Spiderman” Palmer is the founder and selector for the Mighty Jah Observer sound system. He started his sound as a youth in the late 1960s and has continued through the various trends in reggae, preserving his unique approach to music all the while. Two characteristics mark out his system from all the others who play in Europe and the UK: firstly, his rig is still valve-driven; and secondly, he eschews the “boof boof” dub played by his contemporaries in favour of the more soulful cultural vibes of yesteryear.

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Profile: Dandelion Sound, Freising/Germany

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5 September 2010 Author Ronan Lynch

This issue, Irie Up speaks to Dandelion Sound from Bavaria in the south of Germany, an original and independent crew who are carrying forward the soundsystem tradition with their own handcrafted equipment, their own style and plenty of warmth and humour to the reggae scene.

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Brother Culture: Setting the record straight

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2 July 2010 Author Ronan Lynch

The London-based MC Brother Culture is one of the most active MCs on the reggae circuit. Regularly travelling to work with new and established sound crews, he has watched the styles and fashions of reggae change over the years, from his early days with the Twelve Tribes organisation to the fusion styles now popular in reggae. While he is best known as an MC rooted in the UK steppers style, he’s also recorded with grime, hip-hop, jungle, drum and bass and dubstep producers. Recently, he sat down with IRIE UP magazine to set the record straight.

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Sugar Minott – Father of Dancehall

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5 May 2010 Author Ronan Lynch

Sugar Minott is one of the foundation artists and producers of reggae music from roots to dancehall and raggamuffin, with a string of famous hits from ‘Vanity’ to ‘Herbsman Hustling’. He’s also been one of the most active independent promoters of young singers through his own record labels and soundsystems. He’s one of the artists who stayed a yard, and today he still lives in the Maxfield Park area in Kingston, Jamaica, close to his beloved Studio One.

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Zion Train: Setting the record straight

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4 March 2010 Author Ronan Lynch

It’s the coldest winter in years, and snow is falling thickly as the Zion Train rolls into the yard at Yaam in Berlin. They are more than halfway through a fifty-date tour across Europe, and there’s no time to hang about. We’re all quickly inside, drinking tea to warm up, as the crew pace about, stretching their legs.

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The original Rockers: Calman Scott

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7 January 2010 Author Ronan Lynch

Kingston, 1976. Jamaica is caught in an international power struggle. Michael Manley’s socialist government, in power since 1972, has made enemies in the USA by nationalised the bauxite industry, and by supporting the Cuban government. It is an election year, and the Americans are supporting the opposition leader, Edward Seaga. Jobs are hard to find, and prices are high. But mysterious shipments of guns pour into the Kingston ghettos that summer, and the election escalates into political warfare. Gunmen kill more than 500 people. The songs tell the stories. War inna Babylon. Police and thieves. One evening, singer Calman Scott made his way across town through the gunfire to record a session that changed reggae music forever. This is the story of the original rockers.

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