BLACK ROOTS

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Review written by Sébastien Jobart on Monday, October 13th 2014 - 7 699 views This time it's certain: Black Roots is back in business. The emblematic Bristol band returned in 2012 after a hiatus of nearly twenty years with the album "On The Ground", followed by its dub version the next year. And now here is "Ghetto Feel" on the French label Soulbeats. Formed in 1979, Black Roots caught England off guard with their first two albums, among the best ever crafted on that side of the Channel. Firmly rooted in their working-class neighbourhood of St Paul, these eight young Jamaicans, who had arrived in England with their parents, play a music of resistance. Black Roots: "roots" for the music, "black" for the identity (the two brothers Jabulani and Kondwani Ngozi changed their names to reclaim their African identity). Behind the pot-bellied basslines and airy melodies lurks a reggae of protest, carrying a fierce critique of Thatcherism and its sweeping reforms. 30 years after their debut, the picture they paint of England has hardly changed; if the Iron Lady is no longer there to take their onslaughts, it is now David Cameron who serves as a punching ball. Black Roots remains a voice denouncing the injustices and servitudes of modern man, a voice that urges us to awaken consciences, open our eyes, and take our future in hand. Less stubborn, more mature, but still conscious, as in the title track, Ghetto Feel, or the "feeling of the ghetto" ("The place where the forgotten live, forgotten by the whole world"). Even the light Albert Villa, with its calypso accents, is a survival manual: "When you live on the front line, you have to compromise". The danceable Carnival, which tells how the people of St Paul were dispossessed of their carnival, created in 1968 and at the time "funded by the people of the ghetto". Black Roots' strength lies in its more offensive songs, which are our preference. Powerful horns, suspended bass, tight drumming: Cloudy Night could have been recorded years ago. Drummer Trevor Seivwright is particularly in tune, instilling the urgency of A Wah So ?, while the rockers tune Reclaim lets the menace seep through: "What will you do when we come to reclaim what is ours?" Still independent, still deep and still rebellious: good news, Black Roots is back. Pull Up : Cloudy Night Reclaim Ah Wa so ? The Earth

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