Aswad is arguably Britain's most successful reggae band, in terms of both popularity and longevity. Critical opinion of their body of work is often divided. Some hail their early material as the greatest roots reggae Britain ever produced, beginning with their 1975 self-titled debut, which highlighted the plight of the immigrant Jamaican in the unfamiliar and often hostile environment of '70s London. Others find their later pop-crossover phase more distinctive and unique, when they shifted to funk and soul, resulting in the U.K. chart-topper "Don't Turn Around." Regardless, Aswad's ability to adapt themselves to the changing times – new musical trends, shifting personnel – was ultimately the driving force behind their decades-long career.
Bessie Jones, John Davis, and the Georgia Sea Island Singers gained wide renown during the 1960s and ‘70s for their powerful performances of traditional songs from the African American Gullah Geechee community on St. Simons Island, Georgia. Most in the group were born and raised on St. Simons, and could trace their ancestry to the enslaved West and Central Africans who worked on the island’s cotton plantations. Throughout the ‘60s, the Georgia Sea Island Singers were prominent voices in the civil rights movement, bringing hundreds of years of Black musical tradition to bear on a pivotal time in American history. This previously unheard recording captures their complete Friends of Old Time Music concert of April 1965, at which they were joined by legendary bluesman Mississippi Fred McDowell, cane fife player Ed Young, and folklorist Alan Lomax, who acted as emcee.
BRIAN ISLAND (real name Brian Cowieson) is a Canadian bass player and vocalist. The man has played with many local acts, written songs for other artists and scores for movies & TV shows. He was part of the cult cancon AOR band Prototype which released a very good album back in '83.
Novelty Island follow up their stunning debut ‘How Are You Coping With This Century?’ with ‘Wallsend Weekend Television’ via Nine x Nine Records and Think Like A Key Music. Novelty Island is the bizarre-pop project of Liverpool-based songwriter / producer, Tom McConnell.
‘Wallsend Weekend Television’ is an album that has been a long time coming. His body of work started taking shape through various incarnations and projects over the years. In 2018 he made the ultimate pilgrimage from his native north to Abbey Road Institute with all of these songs in hand. This is where Novelty Island was born, inspired by classic pop, woozy electronica and northern wordplay…