Simply put, Basque Roberto Sanchez is currently one of the best producers that reggae, or Dub has to offer. If you doubt that's the case, just listen to his output. The current showcase albums by the man from the north coast of Spain show that the musician, singer and producer has been working at the highest technical level for over 25 years. But not only the newest works from the A-Lone Ark Muzik Studio are fantastic, also the one from Dubblog criminally ignored "Benjamin: Sons & Daughters Showcase(A-Lone Productions) definitely fits into that category. The debut album by the enigmatic reggae artist Benjammin aka Benedict Stobart, which was released five years ago, particularly fascinates me. Born in England, Bejammin has lived in sunny Spain for over twenty years and has been around Roberto Sanchez for many years. On the 2018 released "Sons & Daughters Showcase" vinyl album, there are six vocal tracks on side A and six Dubs on side B. The vocals are reminiscent of the legendary Burning Spear and/or partly of Daweh Congo. When I heard the first track on the album, "Be Yourself," which begins with a beautiful trombone, I thought I had hearing loss. Winston Rodney aka Burning Spear kept coming to mind. Bejammin has mastered Burning Spears intonation. Nevertheless, the album doesn't sound like a cheap plagiarism. The musical support of the Lone Ark Riddim Force complements Benjammin perfectly. What gets me the most about “Sons & Daughters” are the superbly crafted riddims and the inspired sounding ones Dubs that make the album a real highlight.
The Dubs are wonderfully interspersed with Benjamin vocal snippets. But the most astonishing track on the album, my primus inter pares, is delivered by Roberto Sanchez with the Perryesque “Everywhere Festival Dub“. The track actually sounds as if its declared role model, Lee Scratch Perry, was looking over its shoulder. An incredibly inspired one Dub. In my opinion the most impressive track on "Sons & Daughters Showcase" ever. Overall, this album is a real treat and not just for Dub-ears.
Conclusion: These are modern roots at its finest. Simply brilliant!
3 Responses to “Benjammin: Sons & Daughters Showcase”
I don't listen to Steppers at all, but this album shows again that Roberto Sanchez has been making very good music for many years. The album is a must for anyone who loves classic reggae and Dub like. It is almost unbelievable that this masterpiece has been dated all these years Dubblog was overlooked. All the better for us that we now have the opportunity to discover and enjoy this extraordinary album. If you are looking for a high quality showcase album, then "Benjammin: Sons & Daughters" is definitely the right choice.
And the timing of RasVorbei is once again on point.
My MusikDealer has the disc on both CD and vinyl
"Back In Stock". In any case, I'm full of hope that the disc will soon be available in haptic form at my home. Everything else “doesn’t apply” to me ……….
And Roberto Sanchez probably always liked the good, the only true Reggae !!! Even his participation in Basque Dub Foundation might have been part of the reason they were so good.
I like his rootsDubShowcase productions too. Especially here I think of his Dubs nothing to complain about. Occasionally he would annoy me with too much “beep beep beep I love you” or he has his good ones Dubversions contaminated with too much melodica.
I'll write that here again, so that something like this doesn't happen again ;-)
Otherwise a very good tip!
And what's it always called?!
"Better late than never" ……………….. so long ……………. lemmi
Really like this album. It's been running regularly for me for a while and I like it even better with every lap...
Can once again come out as a Roberto Sanchez fan... it's blatantly good and classy what he delivers... not always an absolute highlight, but always well above average.