Born in Barcelona in 1978, Gerard Casajús Guaita is better known to us by his stage name Chalart58. In the Catalan band La Kinky Beat, founded in 2003, which is a wild mixture of rock, reggae, punk, ska, rocksteady, raggamuffin, Dub, Drum & Bass, Jungle and Hip-Hop, he was employed as a drummer. Chalart58 then burst into the limelight as the founder of record label La Panchita Records. That was around 2014/2015 and since then I've liked the panchita Dub School is always very positive. Last year, Manu Chao, who is not the first to work with Chalart58, released the album with him: Inna Reggae Style (La Panchita Dub School), which is unfortunately already out of print. All in all, it is positive to note that all previous releases of the label do not necessarily point in the direction of the mainstream music industry and are nevertheless ideally suited to bringing our small, fine genre closer to a wider audience.
After many convincing albums from the label, a new edition of the The Panchita Dub School: Soul Rock Reggae (La Panchita Records). On page one of the album, each of the five young, partly jazzy-sounding soul singers gathered here: Désirée Diouf, Brigitte Emaga, Reina Blava, Emma Yuzz, Eipriil shows their vocal qualities to catchy reggae rhythms. Five very crisp ones follow on page two Dub-Versions produced and mixed by the "students of the academy": Bone Lema, ZRP Beats, Pau Senserrich under the supervision and attentive ears of their "teacher" Chalart58.
Thanks to Roberto Sánchez and Chalart58, classic showcase albums are booming again and that's why I prefer listening to "Soul Rock Reggae" as a showcase. Which approach is more in line with your own listening habits, you should decide for yourself, depending on your taste.
3 replies to “La Panchita Dub School: Soul Rock Reggae"
Well, the LP by Manu Chao & Chalart58 actually exists (!) and you can buy it on discogs.com (for tactile experiences and even at "normal" prices).
Otherwise I couldn't find anything but a Spotify playlist and on Bandcamp you can find and buy the individual songs as singles (released on La Panchita between 2017 and 2021)... I really missed this Manu Chao story because I decided to leave Spotify largely keep away and have not focused on single song releases (what a nasty habit of the digital age to only release singles... I scream for albums... a "dinosaur" just...)
Ah yes, it's actually about the La Panchita Dub School: successful and good riddims and Dubs, I can't get much out of the vocal versions so far, even if the singers all sing well and have talent. Singing is really not my thing (of course there are exceptions when it comes to singing and the lyrics are also extremely important...there is little that really stays and wants to be heard by me).
Hi Philipp,
Thank you for your competent research regarding the limited "Manu Chao & Chalart58: Inna Reggae Style" LP.
I just wanted to briefly touch on the Manu Chao topic in the review. When I then read "Sold Out" of the 500 vinyl copies, I didn't look any further. I already know the "Free Download" singles of the two, which have now been released as said LP.
Always nice to see that too Dubblog commentators are passionate about it! Thanks for that!
Well folks, loosely based on former Federal Chancellor Konrad Adenauer: "What do I care about my chatter from yesterday?"
The 12″ Vinyl LP – Manu Chao & Chalart58 – Inna Reggae Style is also available again at Bandcamp.
https://lapanchitarecords.bandcamp.com/merch/lp-vinyl-12-manu-chao-chalart58-inna-reggae-style-la-panchita-records-radio-bemba-2022