This longstanding Bristol-based band are by now something of an institution albeit one that will never be soiled by corporate branding.
They formed in 1979 and released their first EP two years later. The band went quiet for a decade in the mid-1990s but thankfully their distinctive brand of UK Reggae has been going as strong as ever.
This new set of 18 songs co-produced with Colin McNeish and is released on the band’s own label.
It’s sad that the call for Black people to recognise and discover their roots does not seem dated or irrelevant in the 21st century. The need for peace and balance is no less urgent now as it when the band started out. Voices of resistance are as vital as ever.
As with all their albums, inspiration for these songs comes from the injustices that exploit the poor and weak in all parts of the world.
With their strong sense of black history, the core roots and values of the band has remained consistent. Titles like Free Africa and No Suffering speak for themselves and the album closes with Windrush, a tribute to the British citizens wrongly classified as illegal immigrants under the Tory party’s ‘Hostile Environment’ policies.
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The cover photo is of ‘The Scotch Bonnet’, a hot chilli pepper that is common to the Caribbean and West Africa which symbolizes humanity. With its green, gold, and red colourings, this plant varies around the globe so, as the band point out, “It is a pepper in every nation, and we all feed from the same tree.”
Black Roots’ website
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