#dave barker

This is a very nice little documentary, especially if you’re a ska-rocksteady-reggae nerd like me.

There are interviews with lots of old reggae gods, several of whom are no longer with us five years later (Toots, Lee Perry, Bunny Lee).

Dandy Livingstone, aged 74, features throughout because he's so good to listen to. He has a beautiful speaking voice, is very composed and happy to share memories. At one point, he sits down at his keyboard and sings a bit of 'A Message to You, Rudy', and it's just wonderful.

There are dramatizations of Jamaicans in London in the 60s and 70s that are low key and not jarring or cringey like you might expect.

Network Records digital re-issues

Network Records had re-issued a portion of their back-catalogue on digital services, including Apple Music/iTunes and Bandcamp. A few of these releases are exclusive, previously unreleased material dating back as far as 1989.

Launched as a UK techno-focused spin-off, founded by the owners of its parent UK house music label, Kool Kat (Neil Rushton and Dave Barker). Network Records are responsible for releasing the majority of Stafford's own Nexus 21/Altern 8 catalogue and the licensing and trans-Atlantic releases of Detroit artists such as Kevin Saunderson and Derrick May.

Altern 8 in New York, December 1991

The UK had just picked up on Chicago house and Detroit techno, following the second Summer of Love in '89. Network Records had a similar mission to R&S Records in Belgium, for American imports to be brought over shore, directly onto the label for local and international distribution.

The 2020/2021 re-issue package contains the quintessential releases from the notable artists mentioned above. Additionally, to that is the 1989 debut full-length The Rhythm Of Life by Nexus 21, where it all began (re-issued and remastered in 2019).

Listed below are direct links to some of these re-issues via Apple Music. Physical copies of these re-issues are available via Bandcamp.

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The turtles are back in the newest series by IDW. TMNT: Black, White, and Green is an anthology book featuring four stories of the Sewer Brothers done exclusively using a black, white, and green color palette. Four stories by four teams of creators come together to form this fantastic book and give a nice dose of creativity and innovation to our favorite crime-fighting, pizza-eating…