Soul Jazz Records: Studio One Dancehall – Sir Coxsone In The Dance The Foundation Sound (Limited Edition, Free MP3) Vinyl 3LP Soul Jazz Records

Real roots of dancehall right here! Soul Jazz has once again done the hard work and put together an essential compilation of early dancehall from Clement ‘Sir Coxsone’ Dodd’s legendary Studio One. These are the singers and DJs of the time over classic Studio One rhythms, all blessed by the studio and electronic wizardry from the Brentford Road headquarters. There are some seriously rare 12″ singles on this comp, don’t even bother with the Discogs search. That’s all besides the point though, as the cuts are just pure fire. How else could Studio One continue to rule the dancehalls of Kingston from the 1950s through the 1970s and beyond? The emergence of dancehall at the end of the 1970s saw many upstart competing producers begin recording vocalists and deejays performing over replayed classic Studio One rhythms. This further cemented the influence of Clement Dodd’s vision and guaranteed it would go on for decades more. Beyond that however, Dodd was quick to respond and he soon began voicing the new stable of Studio One singers and deejays, such as Sugar Minott and Lone Ranger, over original classic Studio One rhythms recorded in the late 1960s. Sir Coxsone In The Dance: The Foundation Sound contains the best of Studio One’s output from that tumultuous time. Check Johnny Osbourne’s “Lend Me The Sixteen” and Doreen Schaffer’s “I Don’t Know Why” for starters. You can still hear echos of these classics in the dancehall coming out of Jamaica today. Limited edition triple vinyl pressing, includes free download.

• music label: Soul Jazz Records 2014

reviewed by Señor Sueño Latino 08/2014