RIP Natasja Saad 1974-2007

Natasja aka Natasha's vocal of the (funky) house anthem Calabria 2007 is without doubt one of my favourite tracks of this year. The second tune of hers I heard, Long Time on Sly & Robbie's relick of the classic Darker Shade of Black reggae riddim highlighted that here was an excellent and versatile reggae artist who I'd never come across before.

When checking out her Myspace page last month to see what her other music was like, I was shocked and saddened to see that she had died in June this year, apparently in a car accident in Jamaica. Having since heard a bunch of her old tunes and seen videos of her live performances, it's clear to me that major success could and should have been just around the corner. Her distinctive, nasal voice, lyrics that range from positive and thoughtful to fun and sexy, and an engaging stage presence make her stand out, especially in a dancehall reggae world that is so male-dominated.

Although only now making waves in Jamaica and internationally, Natasja was certainly no newcomer to reggae music and had been a star in her native Denmark for years. Only in her early thirties when she died, Natasja had been performing for 20 years since her stage debut in Copenhagen aged 13 and helped to pioneer dancehall music in Denmark as part of the group No Name Requested alongside Miss Mukupa and McEmzee.

In 2006, Natasja entered Jamaican radio station Irie FM’s influential Big Break talent contest, beating off competition from 700 other entrants to become the first non-Jamaican ever to win the contest. Recently she'd performed at Jamaica's legendary reggae festivals Sting and Reggae Sumfest as well - you can see footage of some of these events in the Behind The Scenes In Jamaica video.

Recording in both Danish and English, and clearly equally at home on uptempo dance music or riding foundation reggae rhythms, Natasja's releases include the Latino pop styles of My Dogg, uplifting reggae tune Op Med Ho'det, sunny bashment hit Summercute, Cigar with hip hop/reggae group Bikstok Røgsystem and Time 2 Fly on Germaican Records' Rodeo dancehall riddim, plus her 2005 debut solo album, Release.

Visit her Myspace page to hear her riding the Wipe Out bashment riddim in Danish, an ode to the herb called 1 Spliff A Day, Calabria 2007 and Long Time (labelled 'Release' on the music player). Many of the videos linked to above are also collected together here, though the accompanying text is written in Danish.

Posted by Gabriel Heatwave | Saturday 03 November 2007 | 8 comments

The Heatwave Chart - November 2007

We're still shamelessly loving our own refix more than anything right now, but not far behind is Sean Paul with a great cut on Christopher Birch's brilliant, fast-paced bashment riddim Madness. QQ's hit Tek It To Dem finally saw a vinyl release this month courtesy of Greensleeves, so now all the DJs still playing vinyl only (us included, though the transition is imminent) can now enjoy the youngster's excitable dance tune. Other big tunes this month come from Canadian beat-maker Ghislain Poirier, UK rapper/singer Estelle with a cover version of Half Pint's classic Substitute Lover and Jamaica-based, Italian-born singer Alborosie who's currently enjoying a slew of international reggae hits.

1. Rubi Dan, Beenie Man, Collie Buddz & Lexxus - Tambouriddim (The Heatwave Refix)
2. Sean Paul - Pick It Up and Drop It
3. QQ - Tek It To Dem (Rum Ram)
4. Collie Buddz - Blind To You
5. Ghislain Poirier & Face-T - Blazin'
6. Alborosie & Sizzla - Meditation
7. Ashanti & Nelly - Switch
8. Cham - Conscience
9. Estelle - Substitute Lover
10. Mims feat Sean Kingston, Mr Vegas & Vybz Kartel - Like This (reggae remix)

Posted by Gabriel Heatwave | Thursday 08 November 2007 | Add a comment

Heatwave Homeless

Unfortunately, this month we heard that The Pool is about to be sold and will close for refurbishment, leaving our monthly bashment event homeless for the time being. So there'll be no Heatwave Affair next Friday (16th November), though we'll be playing alongside Vex'd in Oxford that night instead. We're currently speaking to a few new venues and the monthly nights look set to start up again in January 2008 - plus we'll be doing a one-off Christmas party in December at a venue to be announced - watch this space!

Posted by Gabriel Heatwave | Friday 09 November 2007 | Add a comment

From Baby to Lady

Suncycle's Baby Chann, one of the UK's finest dancehall MCs, has recently changed her name to Lady Chann, with a brand new MySpace page and a bunch of wicked new tunes. On Amaze Me, Chann takes on the Inner Heart Band's heavy roots riddim that underpinned YT's 2005 hit song Wicked Act. Chukki Starr's production, the Party Time riddim, sees Chann laying down the 'Ease Off, Breeze Off' bars that she showcased at Heatwave vs Mas Fuego's Ladies Night a couple of years back - check out the live recording from that night. Check the video for another brand new tune, Glamity, below - you can hear all these tunes on her MySpace page, which also features old Suncycle videos for Somebody and Dancehall School and a preview of their upcoming 2008 mix CD.

Posted by Gabriel Heatwave | Friday 16 November 2007 | Add a comment

Riko Dan - Hard Life

Just got back from the studio where we've been mixing the track that Riko Dan voiced on our Piano riddim last Saturday. He's done an anti-violence reality tune but impressively retained his characteristic badman style, telling the story of a wayward youth while warning him against the dangers of badmanism. This weekend we're voicing Warrior Queen and Quality Diamond, with YT and Rubi Dan to follow in the next few weeks - the singles should be out on our Scandal Bag label early 2008.

In the meantime, check out Hard Life, another excellent positive reality tune from Riko:

This track features on his long awaited, finally upcoming mix CD, The Truth Vol 1, which should be in stores soon, with Riko taking on grime, bashment, reggae and jungle rhythms to devastating effect.

Posted by Gabriel Heatwave | Tuesday 20 November 2007 | 2 comments

Jimmy & Tarrus Riley - Pull Up Selector

Wicked new tune from father and son team Jimmy and Tarrus Riley, an ode to the reggae dancehall:

Jimmy & Tarrus Riley - Pull Up Selector

2007 has been singer Tarrus's breakthrough year, with hits like She's Royal and the brilliant Beware on the Full Up/Pass The Kutchie riddim. Now he's joined forces with his illustrious dad, legendary reggae star Jimmy Riley of The Uniques, voicing over a heavy Sly & Robbie rhythm track. Big tune!

Posted by Gabriel Heatwave | Wednesday 21 November 2007 | 1 comment

Pitchfork Media - The Month In Reggae/Dancehall

Dave Stelfox's monthly column for the music magazine Pitchfork is now online, rounding up 2007. Features contributions and end-of-year charts from Dave, Woofah's John Eden and ourselves, picking Natasja's vocal take on Calabria (video below) as our biggest club tune of the past 12 months.

Posted by Gabriel Heatwave | Wednesday 21 November 2007 | Add a comment

Alicia Keys Goes Reggae

Alicia Keys doing some nice work to cement the global status of reggae/dancehall by inviting Jamaican legends Junior Reid, Chaka Demus & Pliers and Beenie Man onstage with her at the American Music Awards:

Posted by Gabriel Heatwave | Friday 23 November 2007 | Add a comment

Alborosie Takes Over The Charts

The Italian-born, Jamaica-based reggae singer Alborosie has completely taken over the German reggae charts this week, occupying the top four spots with releases on his own label, Forward Recordings. It reminded me of when U Roy sparked the deejay craze in Jamaica in the early 70s and at one point was sitting pretty with the top three tunes, which is apt as the man himself features on Alborosie's Precious.

Obviously this is just one chart, and the artist is surely bigger in his native Europe than elsewhere in the world. Especially as a white rasta understandably both resonates with and stands out more for the largely white reggae/dancehall audiences of Italy, Germany, France et al more than in Jamaica. But still, Alborosie's come on big this year with a slew of self-produced releases - his excellent production is another factor in his success, and he was on the boards for Sizzla's incredible ska tune Live and Do Right a few years back.

To be honest I haven't been madly taken with him as a singer so far - the only tune of his I've bought is Nuh Betta Than Me, where he lays down some cool foundation dancehall pattern and flow with a clever rhyming scheme and the added bonus of a Sizzla collaboration (Meditation) on the flip. Anyway, here's a short mix and blend of the four releases (five tunes) featured in the German charts this week - Nuh Betta Than Me/Meditation, Precious, Police-Polizia and Sound Killa:

Alborosie - Megamix

Sorry for the low quality mp3s, just put this together quickly with some clips from online record shops to give a flavour of the guy's style - you should be able to buy these records from any reggae shop that hasn't already sold out, or listen to them on the artist's MySpace page. You might also want to check out the video for Kingston Town, Alborosie's breakthrough hit from earlier this year.

Posted by Gabriel Heatwave | Tuesday 27 November 2007 | Add a comment

New(ish) Things

A bunch of links to new or recently begun projects worth checking out. First up is Flexitime Records, a brand new label showcasing the original productions of Flex from Clash Hi-Fi. The man behind numerous excellent dancehall/hip hop refixes has relicked the classic reggae riddim Mr Brown featuring vocals from Brother Culture - sounds sweet! Watch the MySpace for a bunch of other tracks I know he's got up his sleeve...

These three blogs are in our links sidebar but worth a special mention nonetheless:

Benjamin Dubstar
From the young writer/DJ Ben Dubstar - infectious enthusiasm for the music he uploads and loves plus excellent and engaging writing and even drawings on whatever takes his fancy.

Ghost Signs
Documenting the hidden histories behind the ancient, fading adverts painted on brick walls that dot London (and global) streetscapes. Loads of great photos - this one is a recent favourite, from Shacklewell Lane right next to where my brother once bought an Akai MPC from Dougie at the old Conscious Sounds studio. I guess the studio had to move as part of the same redevelopment that's unearthed this old sign from behind a billboard.

Critical Football
Making football writing and discussion a whole lot more interesting with literary comparisons and applications of critical theory. After the excellent Shakespearean examination of loyalty to the England manager and the author's praise for Jose Mourinho it'll be interesting to see what he's got to say about the latest developments in the England/FA camp.

Posted by Gabriel Heatwave | Wednesday 28 November 2007 | Add a comment

Timberlee & Tifa - Tinky Winky

Brand new song from Timberlee, an upcoming dancehall MC who's showing a lot of promise at the moment. Her cut on the Rae riddim, Bubble Like Soup, is a lively, saucy bashment smash which can't fail to excite. This tune also features Tifa and it seems like together they comprise "the ladies from the Badda Badda gang" according to Ward 21's creative powerhouse Suku (one of Ward 21's first hit riddims was called Badda Badda). The talented, ahead-of-their-time artist/producer foursome who produced and featured on Bubble Like Soup and are both behind the mixing board and in front of the camera here:

Posted by Gabriel Heatwave | Thursday 29 November 2007 | Add a comment