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On April 24, VP Records will release Augustus Pablo’s Ancient Harmonies on streaming and digital platforms for the first time, a collection of four late 80s LPs by the heavily influential reggae dub producer and instrumentalist. CDs and vinyl will follow this Summer.
Ancient Harmonies includes all the music from the four LPs, Rising Sun, Rockers Comes East, One Step Dub, and Blowing With The Wind. The individual LPs will be issued with their original covers and all the tracks will be on a 2CD digipack collection with a 12-page booklet.
Augustus Pablo was a prolific survivor from the classic reggae era, known for his productions of Jacob Miller, Hugh Mundell and others, and his standout instrumentals and dubs, such as “King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown and “Java”.
Pablo’s 1972 instrumental “Java” has been a cornerstone of the soundsystem world for more than four decades originally released through VP’s original Randy’s Records outlet at 17 North Parade. Pablo’s work with the late Jacob Miller and Hugh Mundell helped make his Rockers International brand one of the most revered in the history of the reggae and dub genres.
Music production technology in the 1980s opened doors to new sounds and experiments from producers around the world. By the mid-80s, Jamaican producers who had built their name on the live studio sound with a drum and bass foundation, either adopted synthesised drums, full digital drum machines or dropped out of the game. Augustus Pablo released four new studio albums through Greensleeves between 1986 and 1990, demonstrating a new take on a classic sound, as the new ‘digital’ era of reggae was taking hold.
Recorded at Channel One, Tuff Gong, Dynamic, HC&F & Creative Sound with engineers including Scientist, Soldgie, Phillip Smart & Steven Stanley, the hardcore steppers and nyabinghi meditations were keenly embraced by the new age sound system culture in Europe in the late 80s and early 1990s, and Pablo backed the releases with hugely successful tours of Europe and Japan showcasing many of these songs, plus a selection of his original rockers, as surviving footage of concert performances (including Japan Splash in Tokyo and performances at London’s Astoria Theater) demonstrate.
Words by Carter Van Pelt