Revelators Sound System is the collaborative musical project of MC Taylor (Hiss Golden Messenger) and Cameron Ralston. Recorded throughout 2020 and 2021, largely at Taylor's home in Durham, NC and Richmond, Virginia's Spacebomb studio, where Ralston serves as the house bassist, the album is a deep meditation on community that caroms from root-down avant-funk and spiritual groove to solitary cosmic minimalism and twinkling dubby ambience. Importantly—most importantly—Revelators is a deeply emotional record, the running soundtrack to a world in confusion.
The Clash's Sound System is the band’s re-mastered recorded works collected together for the first time. Contained within classic boombox packaging designed by Paul Simonon, this boxset contains the band’s five seminal studio albums in their original eight-disc format, newly re-mastered by The Clash; a further three discs featuring demos, non-album singles, rarities and B-sides; a DVD with previously unseen footage by both Don Letts and Julien Temple, original promo videos and live footage; an owner’s manual booklet; reprints of the band’s original Armagideon Times fanzine as well as a brand new edition curated and designed by Paul Simonon; and merchandise including dog tags, badges, stickers and an exclusive Clash poster.
In the grand tradition of sequels, Sound-System picks up from where Future Shock left off – if anything, even louder and more bleakly industrial than before (indeed, "Hardrock" is "Rockit" with a heavier rock edge). Yet Hancock's experiments with techno-pop were leading him in the general direction of Africa, explicitly so with the addition of the Gambian multi-instrumentalist Foday Musa Suso on half of the tracks. "Junku," written for the 1984 Olympic Games with Suso's electrified kora in the lead, is the transition track that stands halfway between "Rockit" and Hancock's mid-'80s Afro-jazz fusions. Also, "Karabali" features an old cohort, the squealing Wayne Shorter on soprano sax. Despite succumbing a bit to the overwhelming demand for more "Rockits," Hancock's electric music still retained its adventurous edge.