Earl Sixteen & The Co-Operators - Concrete Rockers (Waggle Dance)
- The Slow Music Movement
- 5 days ago
- 2 min read
*** This blog post first appeared in TSMM's May 18th Newsletter, where you can get all the tips (and more) first ***
Earl Sixteen has been around. From the legendary Studio One and Lee Perry studios in Jamaica to New York and London, even working with Leftfield when they required a reggae vibe. At heart though he is a roots man through and through, so it makes a whole heap of sense that he made it over to the Waggle Dance studios in Bristol to work with keepers of the golden age reggae flame Eeyun Purkins and the vintage sounds of Jamaica attuned house band, The Co-Operators.
Not naming names but there are a few reggae vocalists working past retirement age, often with young producers and bands keen to rub shoulders with the greats, whose voices aren’t quite cutting it these days, but at sixty seven Earl Sixteen is not one of them, he’s still sounding hungry, vital and up for the fight, just when we need strength in numbers.
Purkins and The Co-Operators more than do their part, laying down deep warm roots riddim after riddim with all the right amounts of Pablo blessed melodica, countryman flute, righteous horns and choice effects. They even given the veteran a few breathers by stripping back some of the originals and sending them to the echo chamber for the dub treatment, so whether you’re a soulman or a low frequency window rattler there’s something here for everyone.
The Waggle Dance Studio is keeping it real, if you like your reggae classic then make sure you tune into this Bristol outpost, perhaps on Bandcamp?
Playlist Companion
Find Earl Sixteen & The Co-Operators in the Slow Dub Playlist:
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