Blood & Fire - 20th Anniversary Tribute

I remember 1994 well... 1994 was the year jungle blew up in the UK, and one consequence of that was that it brought Jamaican music right to the front of the mix to a generation of ravers. There were always reggae elements in the UK hardcore/breakbeat rave scene, from direct samples to lifted basslines, and even the importance of soundsystems had an influence on us, but it was the way in which a lot of jungle producers ditched the pianos, ditched the squeaky vocals, and went straight to the JA source that meant there was no longer any hiding from Jamaican influences. It was the rave scene that really exposed me to Jamaican music, and whats more it was all those spaced out Sundays and Mondays which made dub records make a whole lot of sense!

Apart from one other Tubby (Meets Lee Perry at the Grassroots) CD i picked up in 1994 the first real JA recordings I ever bought were the first two Blood and Fire  releases: If Deejay Was your Trade, and the Tubby comp Dub Gone Crazy. I was in no position to place what I heard in any wider context of Jamaican music because it was all still just a beautiful mystery to me, but there was something about the packaging and care in selection that went into these two releases that made me know that this was Classic Material. And with Striker and Tubby in charge of course that was true, but even beyond that it was the love the B&F crew put in that got that message across loud and clear.

The way they put it is this: "Philosophy - To bring the standard of reggae reissues up to the level of the best in jazz, blues, R&B etc., and to ensure that both artists and producers are paid for their work.", and over the next two decades Blood & Fire put out over 50 essential releases, helping return what might otherwise have been lost obscurities back to their rightful place as foundational moments in the history of All music.

And so the 20th anniversary of Blood & Fire is also the 20th anniversary of my own journey into the bottomless treasure chest that is Jamaican music. Blood & Fire played a huge part in turning me on to it, and I'm far from the only one for whom it played that role. Without a doubt Blood & Fire deserve every credit for helping fuel a revival of interest in Jamaican music, the turbo injection of which is still felt all across the bass-ends of the music scene today.

In this year 2014 it was announced that Blood & Fire will be starting up again...its not yet clear if that will come to pass, but even if that proves too much to hope for, they've achieved so much in those 20 years. So with that all said, have to give a big respect and an even bigger thank you to those who made it happen: Steve Barrow, Andy Dodd, Bob Harding, Mick Hucknall, Elliot Rashman, et al, and also a big shout to all the Blood & Fire forum crew for sharing your knowledge. In tribute here's a mix that barely scratches the surface of the music they've reissued...go out and buy the lot, every last release is essential. www.bloodandfire.co.uk/discography.php

  

Blood & Fire - 20th Anniversary Tribute

Tribal War Dub - Yabby You

Train to Zion - Linval Thompson & U Brown

Know Where You're Going - Junior Byles

Pure Ranking [edit] - Horace Andy  

John Bull - Morwell Unlimited meets King Tubby

I Man Version - Willie Williams

Ites of Zion - Tommy McCook

Ghettoman Corner - Welton Irie

No Tarry Yah Version - Yabby You

See a Dub Face - Scientist

Hard Times [edit] - U Brown

Bandulu  [edit] - Cornell Campbell & Ranking Dread

Oh Jah Dub - Impact All Stars

Honey Dub - King Tubby

Jah Vengeance - Vivian Jackson

Vengeance In Dub - Yabby You

Jah Speak In Dub - Tappa Zukie

Chant Jah Victory - Errol Alphonso

Kings Pharoah's Plague - The Prophets

Plague of Horn - Tommy McCook

Fishermans Anthem - Dean Fraser

Let Your Love [edit] - Mykal Rose

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Blood & Fire - 20th Anniversary Tribute by Mikus on Mixcloud