2008= The Beginning Of The End Of Roots Dances.

[stepping razor]

It is getting harder and harder to find a roots dance these days that play proper roots reggae and not some weak watered down digital bargin bucket tunes.
Even Jah Shaka dances are boring these days with the non-stop UK and European digital reggae.
We want a dance with 70s and 80s roots and just about a few tunes from the 90s.But no, you would be lucky to get one tune from the 90s and a bob marley.
Most of the regae dances are false roots, false vibes.
As with most things in history, its rewritten to suit the society of today and has left out 99% of the info, same as hip hop.When you say some of the 99% missing, they dont and wont believe it or understand it.
Its not to do with different generations, because each generation has learnt form the previuos generation, unlike todays youth who mostly dont want to learn nothing about the history of roots music and roots dances.

Peace

[bullit]

Have a listen to my recording on the off topic area. I'll keep roots dances going even if no one else does.

[MightyZ]

You need to go and see Leggorocker perform and listen to his radio stream - 70's and 80's is his speciality and he plays a mean selection for the true roots fan.

MightyZ

[stepping razor]

Yer, i know about Leggo`s dance and i also am a sound selector and musician and toaster, sound producer.
I also know there are some good roots dances, but they far and few between.
It would be good if the RA would have a radio station so the roots heads could play session tapes from their sound.
But in the mainstream of roots dances its far from any roots music or vibes and what dances used to be like.
Im bored stiff with hearing Bunny Wailer-Rise & Shine, and tunes that are always played in a session.
A good DJ is all about the selection he plays,(to react to whats going on in the dance) or a pre-set playlist.
Years ago they didnt name the tune they were playing on the radio or dance.
To many pull ups selector and not enough press ups.
Let jah music play- Sugar Minott 12" would say.
There is not much good music coming out of ja (in fact hardly nothing)and the rest of the world.
I do listen to everything that comes out.
Right through the music history, it has always been best when the country, (or the world) is in a mess, in a war, economic problems for the country. Like in the 60s with the anti-war in Vietnam. The 70s in England withriots and civil unrest.
But today they seem to be happy with the state of play and have no problems with the way the country and the world is on a sinking ship.
If the music came out with real issues of today it would be banned as a terrorist faction.Have the black panthers got a record label yet.
In the 70s they were shocked with punk, but today they feel nothing can shock them.
The system we live in today is wrapped up in cooton wool to protect its sensitivities which is a weakness of the system.
It has always been the case for roots reggae that it is some sort of threat to freedom,justice, unity and peace to babylon.

Peace

[dreadrecords]

Ites

true true totaly right Steppin razor
also the vibes on the partys also bored no skaning no feelings etc...

but apart of dat i will play roots everytime in every dance i play so to keep they minds fresh and like Burning said when played here in a mad way because he played after Sean Paul wich was full and we on the bar...and half had gone when burning played
he said "Never mess with the Foundation Roots"
after 45m or 50m of playing he wanted to play more and guys on backstage just kill the sound saying the end the show because of time schedule and dat show the demand of our modern days what a pitty...dem no know...
But when the Boom has gone the roots will be always around.

respect everytime
dreadrecords

[leggo rocker]

I am setting up an area on my website where mixtapes can be uploaded. It's work in progress and a little slow. But I'll get there soon!

And Bullit won't be alone in his campaign to keep roots dances going.

I will NEVER play modern stuff. I don't care what anyone says, or even if nobody turns up to listen, it's STRICTLY ROOTS ROCK REGGAE that I play!

[A Youthman Deh]

It's perfectly all right that all of you selectors make a decision, for example, not to play modern, digital roots reggae music in your selections. Nothing wrong with that. Yet to claim that roots music is not made anymore is to utter a lie. Nuff roots music made all the time all around the world; roots & culture are getting bigger and bigger as we are writing these posts. It's whole another matter whether the sound of the modern _roots music_ pleases one's ears. In my mind, the argument "I don't like the sound of this music - therefore it is not roots music" is laughable, at best.

It is true about the lyrics, that the emphasis has changed. Not so many tunes seem to deal directly with the political issues of today anymore. But one needs to consider today's world as well; information about _wha'gwaan_ can be found all over, and from all kinds of sources. Babylon can't suppress and distort the truth the same way it was possible just a couple decades earlier; people can now check things from multiple different angles and hence truly seek to overstand things.

Roots reggae lyrics of today are in a way back to the basics; giving Yanks & Ises to the Most High. Which is one of the most vital functions of the music, and can never be worn out, as JAH is worthy to be praised every day. Singers & players of instruments: sing a new song unto JAH. RASTAFARI!!!

One theme that seems to come out more and more in today's roots music, is to forward self-consciousness; more and more tunes deal with the absolute importance of knowing oneself. It is getting easier and easier to lose oneself in this world of egotrips and illusions, so it's crucial to look inwards, to look I-wards, and feel the truth within. Nuff short time thrills out there to seduce people away from the righteous path. IMHO, these matters are of far more importance than follytricks could ever be.



Blessed Love everytime.

[stepping razor]

There have been good roots tunes with a band and real musicians right through the 90`s and the odd one or two in 2K that were not digital roots.
The golden age of digital roots (not that it was recorded or made on a digital format) was 86-89, and some in the 90s but was using analogue drum machines, but was not called digital.
Then the thing that changed that, was the recordable cd, taking an analogue signal srtaight into digital.It used to be called midi and had to have a midi transformer. The other is the use of computers in making music, and thats where i stopped having any interest in digital music.
The new music is getting worse and worse, last year was pretty bad and this year is going to be worse.
Im also bored stiff with people going on about jah and rastafari all the time with no content or belief in what their promoting. Jah in his technical universe with no plug sockets.
Cant a new (i wouldn`t call it roots) digital tune say something rather than Jah Jah Jah help us with and from this technology.
I am a musician and a lot of stuff these days are made by computer programers and not musicians.
To make the musician a dying trade, just so the computer bods can run a closed market in the music biz.
I think the music industry should cut their losses now, instead of waiting to get bought out by some corporate suits.
In the end they dont want to know about poor people and poor peoples music, just what they can get out of it.
The computers have put so many people out of work in the music biz - record shops, distributors, managers,recording studios, promoters, and most of all with the major labels RCA, Universal, EMI, you name it they are laying people off every day.
We live in a world with (more choice). More choice to plough through the even more rubbish To get the 1% of good music.
The good music is getting lost in all the choices, but that may not be a bad thing, because people are going to have to hunt down good new tunes like it used to be.
As musicians we aint going to put our records out, because we wont make hardly any money let alone break even.no one is bying records or cds anymore.
They have destroyed the music biz and the musicians trade in a closed market.
I am a vocalist and writer of music and lyrics, so i am not putting out my music for promoting my future career cos its there already.
I will just write a book then and good luck to the music biz on a sinking ship because they are going to need it.
Praise up Jah, Jah dont pay no income tax or vat on music cos its a figment of your imagination.is jah real or not? to be jah, or not to be Jah.that is the question. to be or not to be a rasta.
Its not for me to convince the tax man that i made that tune, cos they wont beleive it anyway.

Peace

[Rootsman]

Real Roots dances died with the end of the real roots pre digital era.

You can play real authentic roots records that was recorded in the heyday of the 70`s, but you cannot recreate the vibe, scene, environment and economic climate of the day.

It was all these thing coming together that made the scene what it was, the music was just part of that.

You had to be around and experience those days for yourself to really appreciate what it was all about.

I am only referring to England, and specifically London, as that is where I grew up. But I cannot imagine anywhere else being any different.

The scene today just don`t bare comparison.

Dave

[leggo rocker]

Yes Rootsman. You are right. We can play the music but the crowd isn't living in Maggie's Farm. The older ones have, mostly, gown fatter and more comfortable. The young ones, well, they've had it pretty easy and can't have the same feeling we did as youths back then. They were hard times and we were in a different mood than youths of today.

This is the UK I talk about.

But, the dances I have been to in Nottingham are probably as close as you can get nowadays. Old skool sound system equipment, old skool records and a few old skool dancers too. The vibe is cool and the people are there to dance, not to drink and fall over or just to get 'pilled' out of their little boxes -- as seems to be the raison d'etre for most 'clubbers' nowadays