We dig Dubian’s weekly radio show Dubearth, and sure enough our new Quebec City homie was down to compile some of the sounds from Jahman Eselem and Eden Roots Liberation‘s albums. Enjoy his tasteful set of roots reggae, perfect for today’s occasion… below are links to listen and download both albums. The right column of this blog has other links to iTunes and Amazon, and you can listen to more of Dubian’s mixes here.

In Dubian’s own words:

“I’ve been into dub and reggae for a number of years now but it wasn’t until about 4 years ago that I started to really make it my main style. It had always had its place in my music collection which is varied but I’d say that I developed a real passion for rootsy sounds about 7-8 years ago when I started getting my hands on everything that I could.

Musical styles which have really inspired me include delta blues, bebop, krautrock, jungle, dubstep and funk carioca to name some of the ones that keep popping back up in my sets. More than anyone else I think King Tubby and Scientist have the biggest influence in my current sound.

This mix came together very fast, I felt very inspired making it. I spent a whole day just going trough my collection trying to find the right tracks. When you have the right tracks everything just comes together and selection is often the most neglected part of the job. Basically within a few days of organizing the project through twitter and skype with Benjamin from Akwaaba we had a finished product.

I love the fact Jahman Eselem decided to cut versions for each track on his album. Big ups to keeping tradition alive! And what massive dubs they are. As for Eden Roots Liberation they have a great sense of groove and hook and write some damn catchy riddims. Great Players too a very tight band. Both were a lot of fun for me to include in this mix and I just hope I managed to bring out the best in their irie sounds.”

We think he did manage… do you think do?!?!

It’s exciting and inspiring for us to see Sierra Leonean sounds featured in a prominent paper such as the LA Times. We read a piece today talking about music and its political role in Sierra Leone, a country where the divide between the educated elite and the masses leaves little room for effective criticism. Singers sometimes play a significant role in tilting the opinion through their engaged lyrics. Rather than simplify and paraphrase, read Scott Kraft‘s great piece here.

New track from Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars available via Cumbancha, download it here for free.

So who are the Refugee All Stars? From refugeeallstars.org:

The film ‘Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars’ tells the remarkable and uplifting story of a group of six Sierra Leonean musicians who came together to form a band while living as refugees in the Republic of Guinea. A brutal civil war (1991-2002) forced them from their homes in Sierra Leone. Many of their family and friends were murdered in the violence, leaving them with physical and emotional scars that may never heal. Despite the unimaginable horrors of civil war, they were saved through their music. Through music they find a place of refuge, a sense of purpose and a source of power. The film follows the band over the course of three years as they make the difficult decision to return to their war-torn country and realize their dream of recording an album of their original music.

At last! Eden Roots Liberation’s album Genesis comes out this month. The Sierra Leonian duo recorded at Manjul’s Humble Ark studio in Bamako, and the album has only been released in Mali and Sierra Leone. Classic Wailers style African reggae, enjoy! The album is available for download in the iTunes store.

“From the very begining, I loved music, in particular reggae music. I was also living with musicians. When I was looking at them playing, I wanted to be able to do the same. In the same time I was learning to play bass, I began creating my own songs and singing them. It was something obvious for me. I was here to be a musician, a composer and a singer.”

Growing up in Sierra Leone, Lloyd was subject to many new world influences, in particular Caribbean music:

“My most important inspiration comes from Joseph Hill from the Jamaican group Culture, who died recently. They came to Sierra Leone and I saw their concert in Freetown, it was a big moment. I was also inspired by Don Carlos, who was a member of the 12 tribes and who taught me to play music.”

Eden Roots Liberation now has an album under their belt, they’ve been playing consistently throughout West Africa and are eager to spread their message of awareness – as in the song “Open your eyes”, peace and love, especially for the younger generations. Lloyd hopes to play and push his message as far as the US, especially “because the reggae doesn’t seem to be very popular [there]“.