Jah Roots on Myspace
JAH ROOTS is not a band in the traditional sense of the word. Completely in the reggae tradition, the band has skilled themselves to create original RIDDIMS. A riddim is a basic construction of a reggae song. It consists of mainly of a bassline and a few themes. The rest of the instruments can vary per performance. Riddims can serve as material to sing over, or to make DUBS from it. Many reggae tracks are centred on a certain riddim, and each artist gives his own interpretation of it.
JAH ROOTS is specialized in creating riddims. New, original riddims. They have been playing together for over a decade (in this formation). The reason why Jah Roots creates riddims rather then songs written out from start to stop is because the main objective of the tracks is to make DUB tracks of them. This particular art of re-mixing reggae music, especially when done live, requires a lot of improvisation from both the musicians as well as the Dub mixer.
A typical Jah Roots session, which takes place on a weekly basis, consists of the following: After setting up the most necessary equipment, the band starts to play. Sometimes an arrangement, sometimes a bassline or even a drum roll, and a riddim comes into existence. Imro and Erik lay down a heavy foundation of drum and bass, while Sure Dread is touching his keys as if there were two players hitting the black and white buttons and Messian Dread sings and mixes everything live.
Download Link: Jah Roots – Spliff and My Lady
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