"Dancehall Rock" is on a killer one-away riddim that sounds tempo influenced, and no surprise then that Don popularly sung over the tune for Star Trail in the 1990s on their killer lick of tempo.

round this time Selassie was a young artist hanging with the Youth Promotion crew as well as Callo's Rythem Track crew. This rugged live-digital (played, not programmed) tune was cut at Music Mountain studios, and to us has a similar vibe as the great live-digital Leggo Sounds releases we put out a while back. "Variety" was until recently very obscure, being released only in NY, on a 12" on the Genesis Music label, operated by a former Bronx record shop.

"Come Down" was made in the same sessions as Kong's massive "He Was a Friend" (reissued by DKR a while back on 12", and still available!), and never released until now. Pure uptempo digital fire!

nother fantastic mid '80s rhythm from the Gifted Roots Band, this one infuses digital vibes with the live Channel 1 sound. Then the next cut on 'Raise Again' rhythm, Steve Knight's "Orphan Child", originally featured only on his rare LP of the same name, it's here on a single for the first time.

Courtney Melody jumped on it, a rare outing for the artist on a full live-band Channel 1-cut riddim! But "Watching You" shows how Mr. Melody can ride this kind of riddim just as well as ever.

'The Exit' by Dennis Brown is a tough song on a classic dancehall rhythm 'Screechie Across The Border', which often regarded as one of the best 80's dancehall rhythms.
Comparing to its original – 'Screechie Across The Border' by Courtney Melody, it sounds a little less dynamic but the reconstructed rhythm based on pensive minor chords perfectly matches to the singer's profound vocal and lyrics.

Robert Lee was also one of demanded singers at Jammys because of his musical characteristic - 'Out of Key' style. Here King Tubby produced 'Tempo' rhythm was rearranged by Jammys and it allowed Robert Lee to perform calmly with his aggressive lyrical expression for creating another killer song.

Without mentioning Anthony Red Rose, we are simply not able to discuss the distinguished sound of King Tubby and his Firehouse label. The artist was an essential figure who recorded a song called "Tempo", creating an original rhythm. It was produced by King Tubby and immediately became a symbol of 80's dancehall. During this period, King Tubby and his entourages have created prolific rhythms while running his Firehouse label. Luckily, Anthony Red Rose was able to come on the scene with his 'out of key' style and release several hits 'Old Pan Bangrang', 'Under Mi Fat Thing' and 'Worries Again' on their rhythms. "Me No Want No Boops" on the classic roots reggae rhythm "Here I Come" features humorous voice arrangement by Anthony himself and undoubtedly, this is another reputable number within the Firehouse catalogue.

To explain the Redman International label, without mentioning Carl Meeks is impossible. The ‘Danger’ is Carl’s masterpiece where he sings with his unique Out Of Key style with his sharp lyrics on simple and un-colorful but addictive sounding rhythm to produce another impressive killer tune.

"Try a Thing" on the stalag riddim, definitely an 80s classic.

"Them a Hustler" is on a killer one-away digital riddim, which utilises the sleng teng bassline, yet stands alone. "

Long time coming, here are the final two of the three killer tunes by the HAX, cut for Leggo Sounds back in the mid '80s. We previously issued the awesome "Duppy" (still available!) as DKR-011 a few years back, and now the other two tunes from the same session are finally available again. C

Straight from Maxfield Avenue, 1989, Castro Brown's New Name Muzik outfit produced some of the best of the first wave of digital roots. Here we present what we believe are their finest outings. "Wickedness" by now needs no introduction, killer one-away style. Andrew Bees has two of his finest tunes in "Struggle & Strive" and "Life in the Ghetto", both re-released here for the first time ever. These stand right beside his classic "Militant" on Music Lion as early classics of the emerging style.