Abstract Index Playlist - October 1/08

Shooting fish in a barrel, this one was.

I've rarely had such an easy time with a record review. It could have been much harder had my word count been in the Pitchfork range; I'd gladly have dissected each and every favourite riddim. But with 120 precious words to play with, it's as easy as a brief explanation of the idiosyncratic Jamaican genius and a hearty thumbs up.

What I hadn't realized was that Pablo may have had the most stable international career of any Jamaican artist. He entrusted his foreign releases to Greensleeves in the UK and Shanachie in the US, and stayed with both for nearly two decades until his death. He controlled his own publishing and actually made money from royalties, from what I understand. Not that he was a wealthy guy, but he was at least able to recoup dividends from his work from the places that appreciated his talents most - Japan, the US and Europe. He succeeded on his own terms in all those places, and this excellent set, complete with bonus DVD, reminds us all of his unique talent.

Podcast - 1 hour only this week

spoonbender – low pressure sound system (ubiquity)
slow down – dirty bottom (old sofa)
go – two banks of four (sonar kollektiv)
fidget – lina allemano (lumo)
fish bowl – ken aldcroft (trio)
gegenwart – burnt friedman/jaki liebezeit (nonplace)
kosmos (sx dub 2000) – paul weller (echo beach)
power of great – lightning head (lumo)
nuclear – etana (vp)
israel in harmony – augustus pablo (shanachie)
over africa – GG allstars (heartbeat)
you make me so very happy – alton ellis (heartbeat)