With new single Nice Up, Dub Pistols return to classic dancehall-inflected big beat (or perhaps that should be big beat-inflected dancehall) a.k.a the once and future sound of themselves, The Freestylers, The Nextmen and Lionrock. This one features legendary toaster and singer Horseman giving it large over a reliably bouncing breakbeat-powered skank. The ‘Pistols recently celebrated
…MORE
Tag Archives: Nice Up
DUB PISTOLS: Nice Up feat. HORSEMAN
ORIGIN ONE feat. GARDNA & NANCI CORREIA: Nice & Easy
Identified by the monkey as surefire single material when Origin One’s Deeply Rooted LP came out earlier this year, the band have indeed now put out Nice & Easy featuring Gardna and Nanci Correia. Basically it’s a bubbling uptempo hip-hop skank featuring the vocal tag team of Gardna and Nanci Correia. Gardna drops verses about how to optimise good vibes when clubbing
…MORE
ORIGIN ONE: Deeply Rooted
Following a pair of promising singles over the last two years comes Deeply Rooted, the debut long-player from Origin One a.k.a Nottingham-based producer Kevin Thomson. An eleven-strong affair, it delivers a varied cross-section of bashment sub-genres from roots reggae to jungle and features a wealth of vocal talent. Indeed a different guest on every track (bar the one instrumental) though
…MORE
NICE UP!: 12 Dubs Of Xmas (2016) Free download
“On the fou-rthh day of Christmas, my true love sent to me…” – wait – no – that’s not how it goes! Let me see now…ah yes – “On the fourth dub of Xmas, Nice Up! continued to release for me the next one in this year’s seasonal set of Xmas riddims!” Hmm – well – maybe it doesn’t scan so well – but who cares about that when the bass is this rude! And so it is that today’s triplet of
…MORE
BLEND MISHKIN & ROOTS EVOLUTION feat. GAPPY RANKS: Hol Dem (2015)
Blend Mishkin & Roots Evolution‘s recent Survival Of The Fittest LP was an exercise in contemporary reggae excellence featuring an array of talented vocalists. One such track was the Gappy Ranks-featuring Hol Dem – which finds all concerned on a mellow rootsy vibe as Ranks delivers a surprisingly heartfelt call for the ranks of the righteous to stand firm in the face of
…MORE
BLEND MISHKIN & ROOTS EVOLUTION: Survival Of The Fittest (2015)
Rating: 
More reggae excellence from the Nice Up! Records label here as Blend Mishkin releases his new album backed by six-piece band Roots Evolution. Survival Of The Fittest also finds the Athenian producer (and head of the Cast-A-Blast label) teaming up with a veritable army of vocalists on all but two of the eleven tracks contained therein – an army that includes Gappy
…MORE
CUT LA VIS feat. MADDY CARTY: Still Have The Love (2015) + video
Rating: Thank god for Cut La Vis and Maddy Carty who have just brightened up my weekend and provided reggae sunshine for the summer. This banger is a bubbling uptempo update of the rocksteady sound with a boom-bap beat showing that while some people’s production is quite clearly rooted in the now, they still have the love for the sound of Kingston between 1966
…MORE
MR BENN feat. NANCI CORREIA: Stand Up (2014)
Rating: Stand Up indeed as one of the standout tracks (and the monkey’s absolute favourite) from Mr Benn’s excellent album, Shake A Leg, of last summer gets a single release. Featuring Nanci Correia (of Congo Natty and Nanci & Phoebe fame) it’s less a call to stop sitting down than an invitation to engage in a midtempo skank
…MORE
MR BENN feat. EVA LAZARUS, BLACKOUT JA & CHAMPIAN: Stars (2014)
Rating: Mr Benn cannily returns with the sunshine and three sunshine-drenched covers of Cornell Campbell’s Stars which will appear as a special 7″ double pack from the Nice Up! Records crew. Eva Lazarus delivers a super sweet female vocal take on the original lyrics, Blackout JA appropriates Mr Benn’s version of the riddim in order to call out corruption (in politics, education
…MORE
TITAN SOUND: Watch That Riddim Killa (2013) Free download
If DJ Maars’ Summer Soundbowy EP staged a ‘raid on JStar territory’ last week with its marriage of hip-hop vocals and dubbier reggae beats (as opposed to ska ones), Titan Sound (a.k.a Selecta Demo and Pappa Demus) have practically invaded and occupied JStar territory. Why? Because they’ve delivered a reggae booty broadside that actually uses a JStar original riddim in the shape of
…MORE
