Happy New Year!

Leonard Dillon - One Step Forward (1992)

Reggae legend Leonard Dillon was born in Port Antonio, Jamaica on December 9, 1942. After relocating to Kingston in 1963, he was befriended by Peter Tosh, who in turn introduced him to the legendary producer Coxsone Dodd; with Tosh and his fellow Wailers singing harmony, Dodd cut four of Dillon's songs -- among them the hit "Ice Water" -- released in 1965 under the name Jack Sparrow.

Soon after he formed the Ethiopans with Stephen Taylor and Aston Morris, one of the seminal groups of the Rock Steady era and a major force in Jamaican music until Taylor's death in 1975. Reeling from the tragedy, Dillon retreated to Port Antonio for two years, finally resurfacing to reform the Ethiopans for a session with producer Niney the Observer later released as "Slave Call". He later recorded as a solo act as well, yielding the 1999 retrospective "On the Road Again".

Tracklist:

1 The Name Of The Game (Is Survival) 3:26
2 (Cool It) Amigo 3:02
3 On The Road Again 3:42
4 One Step Forward (And Two Steps Back) 3:19
5 Love You, Little Lover 3:10
6 In Day, Mi Dey 2:29
7 Feed The Fire (Fan The Flame) 3:18
8 Woman Of Babylon 3:10
9 Done I' Done 3:45
10 You Are My First Love 3:29
11 You Got The Dough 2:58
12 Train To Skaville 2:52
13 Dead Prophesy 3:29
14 No Bad Woman 2:43
15 The Whip 3:01
16 I'm Ready 3:00


Leonard Dillon - One Step Forward (1992)
(320 kbps, cover art included)

Ape, Beck & Brinkmann - Regenbogenland (1982)

Ape, Beck & Brikmann were founded in 1979 by Fred Ape, Klaus Beck and Peter Brinkmann together with the sound engineer Klaus-Werner Wollnowski. The group quickly became one of the flagships of the German alternative folk rock scene. Their political lyrics were mainly written by Fred Ape.

With over 100,000 sold copies, their song "Rauchzeichen" (1979), based on the "Prophecy of the Cree", became a secret hit in the growing alternative scene. Nowadays, it is one of the best knows songs focusing on ecological problems, and is published in germen school books. 

All the activities of the 1980s West German left wing and alternative scene were accompanied by the music of  bands like Ton Steine Scherben, Cochise and - of course - Ape, Beck & Brinkmann: The demonstrations against nuclear power plants, against the "Startbahn West" in Frankfurt, against the "Volkszählung" ("census") in 1983 and for women´s emancipation.

 
Now, nearly 40 years later, these songs may sound utopian and naive. But why should we not hope that war and hunger will be abolished at some point? And not so much has changed since these days and there is still a lot to do to show solidarity and enjoy life. We are not alone.

The Album "Regenbogenland" was released in 1982 on the Folk Freak Label.

Tracklist:

1. Regenbogenland 4:12
2. Indianersee 3:21
3. Das Haus 3:43
4. Der Schlag 2:07
5. Das letzte Paradies 2:09
6. Endlich ein Liebeslied 4:06
7. Wir sind noch wahre Pioniere 3:33
8. Global 2001 3:25
9. Auf der Flucht erschossen 3:07
10. Wounded Knee 4:10
11. Startbahn 4:26


Ape, Beck & Brinkmann - Regenbogenland (1982)
(192 kbps, cover art included)

The Mamas And The Papas - If You Can Believe Your Eyes And Ears (1966)

In the spring of 1966, "If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears" represented a genuinely new sound, as fresh to listeners as the songs on "Meet the Beatles" had seemed two years earlier. Released just as "California Dreaming" was ascending the charts by leaps and bounds, it was the product of months of rehearsal in the Virgin Islands and John Phillips' discovery of what one could do to build a polished recorded sound in the studio - it embraced folk-rock, pop/rock, pop, and soul, and also reflected the kind of care that acts like the Beatles were putting into their records at the time. "Monday, Monday" and "California Dreamin'" are familiar enough to anyone who's ever listened to the radio, and "Go Where You Wanna Go" isn't far behind, in this version or the very similar rendition by the Fifth Dimension. But the rest is mighty compelling even to casual listeners, including the ethereal "Got a Feelin'," the rocking "Straight Shooter" and "Somebody Groovy," the jaunty, torch song-style version of "I Call Your Name," and the prettiest versions of "Do You Wanna Dance" and "Spanish Harlem" that anyone ever recorded.

If the material here has a certain glow that the Mamas & the Papas' subsequent LPs lacked, that may be due in part to the extensive rehearsal and the exhilaration of their first experience in the studio, but also a result of the fact that it was recorded before the members' personal conflicts began interfering with their ability to work together. The work was all spontaneous and unforced here, as opposed to the emotional complications that had to be overcome before their next sessions.

Tracklist:

"Monday, Monday" (John Phillips) – 3:28
"Straight Shooter" (J. Phillips) – 2:58
"Got a Feelin'" (J. Phillips, Denny Doherty) – 2:53
"I Call Your Name" (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) – 2:38
"Do You Wanna Dance" (Bobby Freeman) – 3:00
"Go Where You Wanna Go" (J. Phillips) – 2:29 Side two
"California Dreamin'" (J. Phillips, Michelle Phillips) – 2:42
"Spanish Harlem" (Jerry Leiber, Phil Spector) – 3:22
"Somebody Groovy" (J. Phillips) - 3:16
"Hey Girl" (J. Phillips, M. Phillips) – 2:30
"You Baby" (Steve Barri, P. F. Sloan) – 2:22
"The 'In' Crowd" (Billy Page) – 3:12

The Mamas And The Papas - If You Can Believe Your Eyes And Ears (1966)
(320 kbps, cover art included)

Asian Dub Foundation - Naxalite - Culture Move EP (1998)

Asian Dub Foundation formed in 1993 as an outgrowth of the documentary Identical Beat, a film shot at London's Farringdon Community Music House, the site of a series of summer workshops designed to teach Asian children the essentials of music technology. In charge of the workshops were tutor Aniruddha Das and youth worker John Pandit, also a noted DJ; with one of their students, a 15-year-old Bengali rapper named Deedar Zaman, they soon formed a sound system that they called the Asian Dub Foundation. After each adopted an alias -- bassist/tabla player Das became Dr. Das, Pandit became Pandit G, and Zaman became Master D -- they gradually evolved into a working band with the 1994 addition of former Higher Intelligence Agency guitarist Steve Chandra Savale, an innovative performer known for tuning his strings to one note like a sitar, turning up the distortion unit, and playing his instrument with a knife, earning him the nickname "Chandrasonic." Emerging in the midst of considerable anti-Asian violence throughout Britain, the Foundation's early demos landed them a contract with Nation Records, and they recorded their debut EP, Conscious, in 1994.

Channeling influences ranging from punk to ambient music to Bengali folk songs, Asian Dub Foundation quickly gained a strong fan base not only among clubgoers but also among the anti-fascist movement, who applauded the group's vocal stand against racism.

Here´s their EP "Naxalaite - Culture Move" from 1998.

Tracklist:
01. Naxalite (Main Mix)
02. Culture Move (Pusher Sound Mix)
03. Free Satpal Ram (Russell Simmins Remix)
04. Culture Move (Urban Decay Remix)
05. Culture Move (Silver Haze Mix)



Asian Dub Foundation - Naxalite - Culture Move EP (1998)
(320 kbps, cover art included)

Peggy Seeger - Early In Spring (1962)

The half-sister of Pete Seeger and the widow of Ewan MacColl, singer/songwriter Peggy Seeger continued her family's long history of championing and preserving traditional music, most notably emerging as a seminal figure in the British folk song revival of the 1960s. Peggy Seeger is considered by many to be the female folksinger, responsible for the continuous upswing of folk music popularity. It is a fitting title, considering Peggy was living and breathing folk music since before she was born.

She plays banjo and sings on this 1962 Topic Label EP. The four songs are 'courting songs'.

Tracklist:

A1. Madam I Have Come To Court You
A2. When I Was In My Prime
B1. So Early, Early In The Spring
B2. The Chickens They Are Crowing

Peggy Seeger - Early In Spring (1962)
(ca. 170 kbps, cover art included)