“We were inspired by that brilliant release “DARKER THAN BLUE – Soul From Jamdown” (on Blood & Fire Records from Manchester in co-operation with PK in London) and felt compelled to perform this beautiful gem in a dub version...“

In spring 2014, when the Senior Allstars were asked by the Hamburg-based dub label Echo Beach to record their interpretation of an existing release (the original was released in 2001), everyone involved assumed that the results would be good. What absolutely no one expected was that the album would be so incredibly “conspirational” and simply bursting with fresh ideas.

The album that Darker Than Blue / Conducted by The Senior Allstars is based on is the compilation Darker Than Blue – Soul from Jamdown, which was released in 2001 on Blood & Fire Records. Back in the day, this collection of reggaefied versions of classic soul tracks – i.e. featuring the Jamaican vernacular and pop style – was enthusiastically lauded by both the press and reggae fans. There was no question – it was a product of the zeitgeist: old soul hymns treated to a reggae makeover which instilled a new veracity in the originals. Unfortunately, the series was never continued.

More than ten years later, the mind behind the Echo Beach label, Nicolai Beverungen, had a vision of taking the next, the third step along this path.

“From the beginning it was clear to me that I wanted an instrumental band to do the job, and the venerable Senior Allstars, the leading lights in their class, were my top pick”, says Beverungen. After some conceptional fine-tuning the band moved into the studio in summer 2014 for a few days.

The results are more than breath-taking; the songs drip from the speaker membranes like honey, bringing in the sun, warmth and happiness, very much in keeping with the original songs - although the lyrics may have b.......
more

“We were inspired by that brilliant release “DARKER THAN BLUE – Soul From Jamdown” (on Blood & Fire Records from Manchester in co-operation with PK in London) and felt compelled to perform this beautiful gem in a dub version...“

In spring 2014, when the Senior Allstars were asked by the Hamburg-based dub label Echo Beach to record their interpretation of an existing release (the original was released in 2001), everyone involved assumed that the results would be good. What absolutely no one expected was that the album would be so incredibly “conspirational” and simply bursting with fresh ideas.

The album that Darker Than Blue / Conducted by The Senior Allstars is based on is the compilation Darker Than Blue – Soul from Jamdown, which was released in 2001 on Blood & Fire Records. Back in the day, this collection of reggaefied versions of classic soul tracks – i.e. featuring the Jamaican vernacular and pop style – was enthusiastically lauded by both the press and reggae fans. There was no question – it was a product of the zeitgeist: old soul hymns treated to a reggae makeover which instilled a new veracity in the originals. Unfortunately, the series was never continued.

More than ten years later, the mind behind the Echo Beach label, Nicolai Beverungen, had a vision of taking the next, the third step along this path.

“From the beginning it was clear to me that I wanted an instrumental band to do the job, and the venerable Senior Allstars, the leading lights in their class, were my top pick”, says Beverungen. After some conceptional fine-tuning the band moved into the studio in summer 2014 for a few days.

The results are more than breath-taking; the songs drip from the speaker membranes like honey, bringing in the sun, warmth and happiness, very much in keeping with the original songs - although the lyrics may have b.......
more