reggae

David Rodigan has announced a forthcoming autobiography titled My Life In Reggae, detailing his four decades working in the scene.

Nothing short of a legend in both reggae and the dance music world as a whole, Rodigan, now 65, is renowned for his championing of the genre, huge stockpile of dubplates and activity on the mic.

Currently still regularly playing festivals, while also presenting his BBC Radio 1Xtra show each week, Rodigan remains an integral part of the reggae scene today.

A new compilation is arriving that celebrates Jamaica’s love affair with the English shoemakers.

Compiled by DJ Al Fingers, ‘Clarks in Jamaica’ goes along with his book of the same name that champions the shoes status on the Caribbean island. Featuring tracks from artists such as Little John, Dillinger, Trinity, Ranking Joe and Supercat, the release showcases classics from the golden age of dancehall music.

“When it comes to music, it’s a small world,” says dub maestro Mad Professor, fresh from a month-long tour of Australia.

“Just take that tune ‘The Liquidator’— which I still play out — it was originally a reggae instrumental recorded by Jamaicans Harry J Allstars in 1969 but it’s been sampled again and again.”

Every year, 16,000 or so bass music fans make the pilgrimage from all over the world to a small coastal town in Pula, Croatia for a week of unadulterated partying in what is surely the best setting for a festival in the world. Once again, DJ Mag made the trip over to Croatia for a week's worth of damn hard work (!), and more than a little hedonism. With a line-up that was as excellent as it was prolific, there was no way that we were ever going to be able to see everyone that we wanted to. However, we gave it our damned best try!

Ashley Beedle is a don. In a time when the dance world is riddled with superstar DJs, touting supersized egos, and bitching like babies at the slightest provocation, Beedle still rocks every party like it’s his first. Having been in the game for 30+ years, his heart still syncs to a house beat — he’s as passionate flinging down the disco classics from his youth as he is roughing up kicks and creating future bass t’umpers for Toddla T’s Girls’ Music. As we said: A don.

“I think with electronic music and modern day ideas about mastering and all these processes, people want to get rid of the background noise and the life, the depth of stuff, they want to clean it all up, and just have air,” believes Mauritian-English producer Mo Kolours. “But there's no such thing for me. It feels richer when there's more in there.