Mad Professor in Venezuela OCTOBER 2008
Venezuela is an interesting and intriguing country. It has the usual racial polarisation that you find in most countries in the world, with most businesses owned by Europeans, whilst most manual workers are from the Afro sector.  but suffers from some kind of isolation. I think on the whole, most countries in South America suffers a kind of isolation that makes you feel that you are on an island as oppose sharing with your neighbor. For years I assume Guyana was isolated by being the only English speaking country on the mainland, but after talking to Venezuelans, you realise that there is a similar isolation existing here, not just regarding Guyana and Brazil, but also Spanish speaking Columbia, with whom they share the Western border. On the streets, folks don't seems to see Hugo Chavez through the same hero worshipping eyes as many of us in Europe do, instead he seems to be viewed as an extremist, similar to Robert Mugabe. Frankly, on the surface Venezuelans have less to worry about than westerners. Where else in the world can you fill your tank for less than 2 pounds (4 dollars), where else can you get fresh fruit and vegetables that can feed a family of 6 for a weekly budget of 5 pounds. The people are quite proud, and like Brazilians and Mexicans, tend to see themselves racially as mixed, many with a multicultural background, with a wide diverse heritage. Sadly though, most well off folks tend to be nearer the "white" line, whist the darker folks are on the poorer side of town.
ARIWA NEWS APRIL 2008
Sitting on the Virgin flight from Chicago to London, looking at Richard Branson promoting his Virgin Atlantic baby, that's no longer a baby, but a real adult competitor in the airline industry, a flash thought came into my head. How extreme it may have seemed for Virgin to make the move from what was "The secure profitable record business" in 1979, to The Dodgy airline industry. An industry that saw many airline investors losing millions of pounds, including the famous Freddie Laker, who created the model that Virgin copied. Having just finished touring the USA for the past 4 weeks, Probably one of the best tours I have done in the USA. Ably assisted by Kar Melody, part time Mc, technician, adviser, we travelled from a hot enthusiastic LA crowd, to a cold Breakenbridge mob, whom with the exception of 5 or so could have been at a David Bowie's concert! I reflected that anyone who knew me in 1979 would also find it very funny, and almost impossible to believe that I am on stage performing in front of an audience! Me! The shyest guy on the planet! How? Why? When did this happen? Impossible, because 29 years ago starting a studio was a joke! More so, if you didn't have £50,000, didn't play an instrument, and only knew 1 musician, Dave Morgan! Who also worked in electronics. Why should I leave my day job, paying a guaranteed £200.00 per week? ( A very good wage in 1979). Sure I knew how to build and design amplifiers and mixing desks. Lined up tape machines. I even re-wired my house! But what did I know about the strange creatures who woke up in the afternoon, smoked and drank excessively, and never had any money! Most singers and musicians in 1979 lived for the dream. The dream that one day they will hit the Jackpot! Their songs will be heard by millions, and they will never be poor again. Now nearly 30 years later, it is incredible how things have changed, well some things. The point I was trying to make, why is it that an outsider can enter an industry totally alien to them, and make it work, the way Branson entered the record business, milked it, and knew when to leave! Time for another career change? Why not? Well! I'll try writing! Or gardening! So, when you have a dream, and that dream is miles from your predictable expectations. Pursue it!! You probably stand a good chance in changing the dreams into reality.
ARIWA NEWS FEBRUARY 2008
February 2008 On the last day of January this year, I got a message that Jayzik, one of our more poetic artists, was in hospital. I called her and had our last conversation together. She had difficulties in speaking, and was on oxygen. Apparently she had a collapse lung, and a partial working lung, from the cancer that incubated in her body in the past few years. I was shocked! After all, a week or so earlier, The Simple Poet was in an extremely good mood. She had just opened her own restaurant Jazra, and was dressed to the nines while she entertained guests. A week later, she died on January the 31st. Jayzik was not just a poet. She was a mum of 4. A business woman A cook A seamstress A singer A philosopher A friend A Pan africanist. More than most, she lived her dream. Whilst thousands of others treated Rasta and Africa as a fashion accessory, She turned it into reality, by settling down in Kolloli, Sene Gambia with her 2 young kids. An article in the local Observer described her as a national hero. Her song, Everyone loves the Gambia, has been used by the Gambian Tourist Board since 2005.  Close friends and family immediately flew out as the news circulated around London. Sylia tella, Levi Roots were amongst the mourners from the Uk reggae fraternity. The funeral was a deep emotional affair. Supported by a wide crossection of people, it reflected the diverse array of humans that were touched by Jayzik. Afro Caribbeans, Lebanese, Gambians, Europeans, Ghanians, Nigerians were there. The procession left from Luigis, passing Jazra, then the "Nu Whirld Compound" where she lived, before her resting place on the beach near Banjul. The vibes was solem, compared with the previous nite when we had a party and played mostly Bob and Jayzik's music and partied in the way that she requested. As she requested, no one wore black. It finished with her being buried by the sea, around 6:00pm. Jayzik, rest in peace. It's just another journey. Mp
ARIWA NEWS JANUARY 2007
As we drift out of 2006 we all reflect on where we are going as individuals, as a people, as a nation. If international events are anything to go by, then we are not making any progress. I have spent the last 12 months travelling this globe more than most. Europe, the Far East, Africa, Caribbean and South America. I have started writing this page from Rio De Janeiro in Brazil. Rio is a very pleasant city, with the potential to become one of the favorite spots on earth, if it isn't already. One thing that is clearly evident in most places I go, is that the effects that the slave trade had on the world from over 400 years ago, has left quite a lot of ugly scars that are still yet to heal. And until these problems are dealt with, everyone will be affected, even those sheltered by their ill-gotten gains. As I talk to a variety of people in this idyllic mirage, it is clear that the economic juices don't quite flow around the races as government propaganda would want you to believe. We all know that whilst the average young European benefits from an inherited wealth that is constantly passed down, generation after generation, his darker skinned counterpart has a legacy of overcrowding housing in favelas, and undesirable ghettos, facing a career in criminal activity, instead of a university career. Unless sport or music comes to the rescue. So what are our roles in 2007 regarding the eradication of conscious and unconscious racism and associated behaviour around the world? Some bury their heads in the sand, thinking everything is all right, because they have a nice job and all the perks that come with it. It's only when something indirectly happens, that we realise that none of us are sitting on the fence. The slaughtering of thousands of Africans in Dafur cannot be swept under the carpet. The level of black on black violence in the UK is way too high to be considered trendy. Too many black people are dying prematurely from Aids, Malaria and malnutrition. What is even more disturbing is the way Africa is perceived by black youths in the Western world.v The slave masters acts of negativity are now carried out by the slaves themselves!! So where do you stand? If you are White, Asian, Black or a mixture, please check your head and check your role. Are you a slave, slave master or liberator? Roots Natty (name changed) is an associate of mine of over 20 years. Roots walk the walk and talk the talk. Like so many youths in the 80's he stopped combing his hair, stop eating pork and read the bible whilst developing his musical career. Roots Natty was a product of the post Marley era. More contagious than the dengue fever of 1984 it effects spread from Kingston to London, Gambia and Capetown. Roots Natty songs contained all the conscious messages that Marley would have endorsed. So I was very surprised at Roots behaviour when I invited him to join me in The Gambia. Africa!! He reacted as if I'd asked him to join the Ku Klux Klan. His agent is a white lady. Being a white lady is not the problem. The problem is more the assumption that blacks are not capable of representing each other in a white world. A world that is so racist, that if you want an easy path way as a black act, you need to be represented by acceptable faces. In 26 years of Ariwa business, I have met so many hypocrites, that I have now realise that slaves and their masters did not just vanished overnight. Instead they have become more complex than ever, interbreeding the next generation with multiple acts of negativity. The accepted whitening and hair processing of the African is clearly a negative act. The inability of many black music acts to work with African promoters and managers is a negative act. The lack of real brotherly love that exists amongst black youth in the UK. The accepted colonial trends that are invading our youth as fashionable icons is overwhelmingly negative. So with this message I ask everyone in 2007 : Where do you stand in the scheme of things??
ARIWA NEWS FEBRUARY 2006
Greetings Loyal Fans! No news is good news some may say. In the last few months, there have been many news and stories. So incredible that every time I wrote a piece, I decided to leave it for my book instead. Especially the stories about crazy artists! So many have asked for more insight into the Schitzo behaviour of some of our "stars" More of this later. Meanwhile, having past the New Year in the cool heat of the Gambia, the live dates kicked off with a cool Friday night show in Southampton on the south coast of England. 8 years ago, we played at the Brook with a performance of a then unknown Craig David. A week later Copenhagen was the scene for a bass throbbing dub show. The snow covered city was really rocking. We kicked of the US with a hot responsive show in "frisco. It was great seeing old friends. Brixton, Corbett. Bella, Spliff Skanking etc. Most of the supportive dub fanatics were in the sold out house. Thankfully, no where in sight was the fraudulent "Dread" who goes under the mis- leading title of "Reverend" The fake clergyman is responsible of ruining a few careers of some very fickle artists, who listened to his cock and bull sermon! Anyhow, the US west coast was long overdued with Vancouver, LA & Arcata taking the prizes for the most estatic shows. This was the debut West Coast appearances for the High Preistess, who had built up a fan base from the release of her debut album. Back to Europe, to recording and mixing a new dub Album in Studio 2, Whitehorse lane. The name of this exciting lp, will be announced in the next month. With just 4 songs finished, we had to fly to Greece to one of my favourite cities in Europe. Thessalonniki is a place that is off the beaten track of most holiday brochures. This place is fully of the most stylish Greek goddesses that you can imagine. Funny enough, you won't think so in February, but take a trip in July / August, you will see what I mean. Athens the capital, was not so crowded as it usually is. The show had many encores. We didn't want to leave either, but due to a Valentine's date in Bangkok, we had no time to lose. "Plane to catch! Bangkok is a city I have never been curious about. When my sponsor asked me to play here late last year, I passed on it. I heard the stories of ganja smokers / smugglers being sentenced for 25 years for having a spliff in their possession. Not that I'm in that category, but it doesn't seems to it being welcoming. I remembered being thoroughly searched at Bangkok airport in 1990 whilst in transit to Australia. But what a show! Total Contrast from the stony stares you get at the airport. This was really a vibration! Being Valentine's day, I decided to give a special show, playing more sweet lovers tracks than I would at a regular dubshow. The Thailanese really felt the vibes, loud screams almost drowned out the music from the PA, and one almost naked petite Aisian chic jumped on the box in front of the dj booth trying to climb over to grab the young Trixters who accompanied me on this trip. This is what inspired me to write this newsletter. A letter where I will kindly turned down my political observation. Thailand for many, is a strange place. At first glance, you can be fooled into thinking of the similarity to Japan. After all, they looked the same. As you get to know it, you realise that there are huge differences. The pace of life is somewhat slower than in Tokyo. In Japan, I met with local Reggae heroes. The Kaijo brothers is a band directly out from the Bob Marley school of thought. This dreadlocked clad band even sport a Caribbean member! Watch out for them, I had the pleasure to hear some tracks, and I am sure that they will be making some international waves soon. Leaving Bankok was a lot harder than entering. What a confusion!! No order! No indication where to queue! Total chaos! Eventually we found the right counter, only to be told, that if we don't pay 500Bapt, we won't be allowed to leave the country. Happy we were to visit, but even happier to leave! Back to Athens, I relaxed and hang out with some reggae folks. Ranking Johnny was in session at the Spirit club in the city centre. A nice watering hole, for reggae thirsty fans. It was a pleasure to hear so many songs from the seventies and eighties. Waking up to the TV playing Micky mouse, I was amazed! This is the same channel that I snored off to that was playing some heavy blue movie!! I remember drifting off to sleep after not recognising any of the actors or actresses. Still if it's Friday, it's got to be Venice! Not wanting to bore you with how difficult it is to travel between adjacent countries in Europe, I will just say, that it's no easier than travelling from Gambia to Senegal. Infact it's a lot harder. To cut a long story short, I left my hotel in Athens at 11:30 am, and reached my hotel in Venice at 12:30 am the next morning. It was worth it! Mad Elaine was dressed up as a fairy, was thrilled to be entertaining her Moma / Papa & Sister. (Granny stayed away, she heard about the bass!) Dubital had the place hot from before, with Raphael and Charley playing there favourite Ariwa discs. Now for many years I've flown to Venice, but I only just realised I have never been to Venice. Venice is one water city, where the roads are waterways. Buses are boats, running more frequently than your average London double decker! I was truly amazed! Who built this? How old are these buildings? Why the buildings don't rot? Does it flood? What a maze! I was so fascinated, I decided to stay an extra 2 days. Given the Key to the city by Carlotta (Respect to the Jovino clan) An unbelievable city! We played dub at Andreas and ate frutti de la mare at Aqua Pazza! Dub me Crazy in Venice! Anytime! Whoopie!!! Back to work: New releases on the streets next week. Aricd 200………Roots Reality 1….Various Artists Aricd 201………Roots Reality 2….Various Artists Aricd 203………Soul to Reggae….Various Artists Have fun listening!!

ARIWA NEWS JANUARY 2006
SHOULD BLACK MUSIC SHUT UP SHOP? Kwaku, BMC founder Black Music Congress debate paper: aims & outcomes Aim of debate The aim of the debate is to raise awareness regarding the need to understand and engage with the business side of the music industry in order to have sustainable careers, generate wealth and provide employment within our community. The fact is that that the industry is not effectively engaging with us. We need to develop an indigenous industry. Otherwise we will be consumers. In America, we look at the likes of Puff Daddy. He succeeded partly because Arista believed in his ability as a hit maker and entered into a multi-million joint venture with him. Producers like Dark Child, Jermaine Dupri and countless others have had joint venture relationships with the big companies. Over in Britain, the nearest to a joint venture relationship with a record company and a hit-maker was Jazzie B relationship with Motown and Sony at the height of Soul to Soul’s fame in the mid nineties, and Steve Jervier’s deal with Sony. Agreed, they were not successful but the same thing happens in America, eg. Mariah Carey’s Crave deal with Sony was not that successful, but did not stop them from continuing to enter into business relationships with talent and hit makers. · Education and knowledge of the industry are important and fortunately there are useful courses that provide this. I have been involved in such courses that range from grassroots to post-graduate level. BTWSC, Collage Arts, City University, City & Islington College, Westminster University. BPI music education directory. · No shortage of talent, but without business infrastructure and support, it will be difficult for the talent to get far. There are lots of talent, that’s evidenced by talent shows, open mics and numerous courses aimed at performers. However what outlets are there once the talent has been developed or proven? Studios are churning out recording, much of it quite good, but how can they be effectively exploited if there’s no serious infrastructure to engage with · Also, there is the issue of longevity and live artistry · In order to have an economically sustainable career and longevity we need to engage with the business side of the industry: promotion, distribution, marketing, legal, and media. · We also have to look at building alternative and accessible options: we all cannot go to Midem in France, but what is stopping us doing something similar to what the Urban Music Seminar used to do, or even supporting the Records Fair we put on as a way of networking and trying to sell. · We are particularly interested in the so-called gate-keepers, like the media, the big record companies. For example Choice FM has UK Cuts, and 1Xtra has Homegrown. Whether –half an hour devoted to British R&B-based music enough, is a different issue. The only new British black artist I see a big company trying to seriously develop is Corinne Bailey Rae, who’s signed to EMI. Perhaps there are others – we need to know. Why was there no UMS last year? Why is the Urban Music Festival cancelled this year? These are also things we need to be aware of. · How can we make linkages if we don’t know who is doing what? It is for this reason that we propose a 2006 British Black Music report, telling us what people have been doing to build the British Black Music sector, and a directory that tells us who is who and what they are doing regarding black music – For this to work we need to be proactive by e-mailing information, that is contact details and what you do in not more than 100 words. · Whilst a lot of the problems that need to be addressed are offline as highlighted above, we cannot ignore the internet. This is something that Hugh Francis is going to highlight in his key note speech. · Lastly our community will benefit if British black music is successful. If we have economically successful producers, songwriters, managers and artists, the chances are they are going to spend the bulk of that money here – which means it helps the economy, it most likely creates jobs and wealth around their immediate communities. Outcomes · Industry to spot hit makers and enter into serious financial deals with them. · Exploring grass-root ways of doing business. Eg in Windrush era there was no finance, but people were creative and used Partner method to raise finance. · Artists need to create credible products, that is wise production wise, content wise and performance wide. · Media, particularly radio to help popularise British black music by supporting it more. · It is also important for consumers to patronise their domestic products. Kwaku, BMC founder Black Music Congress debate paper: debate blog Why should the Black Music Congress be asking 'Should British black music shut shop?' This provocative debate topic has engendered some emotive responses well ahead of the Feb. 4 event at City University London. There's a lot of young black talent, we've been told. That there is great musical talent in Britain is not in dispute. But the issues are much wider than talent. There are more important business, economical and political issues to deal with. Where are the infrastructural pathways to support these musical talents and help build a sustainable domestic industry? Some have said black music runs the music. Perhaps to some extent, but we are focused on the British portion. What percentage of black music consumption is British? Put another way, what proportion of the black music income generated in Blightly helps feed a British artist, producer or songwriter, for example? The scope of British black music should not be limited to 'urban', 'underground', 'street', 'on road' - that's all cool, but few adequately feed themselves by strictly confining themselves to these scenes. Is Sean Paul or Kanye West 'urban' or 'street'? Don't be fooled, they and their ilk shift units within the 'crossover' or 'mainstream' market, and have a high level of creative and financial independence. But where are their British equivalents? The recently published The BRIT Awards 2006 nominations and the Music Week 2005 end of year analysis are just about the best barometers reflecting what's happening in the 'mainstream' market. After you've read our brief commentary on these indicators, perhaps you'd be in a better position to ponder if British black music should just shut up shop and leave our market to the American, and the odd Jamaican, artists, producers, songwriters, record and fashion label owners... Well, the BRIT Awards 2006 nominees have recently been announced. This reflection of the best of British hardly has any British black music representation. OK, there's the British Urban Act category, where you’ll find the following nominees: Craig David, Dizzee Rascal, Kano, Lemar, and Ms Dynamite. But what about the rest of the British categories? I guess you could mention Sugababes, whose chart-topping ‘Push The Button’, gets a best British single nom. Can we dare claim KT Tunstall or Katie Melua, whose music echoes of jazz and blues? Looking at the Music Week 2005 end of year analysis, it appears black music hasn’t made much impact, much worse British black music. On the nation’s biggest radio station, BBC Radio 2, Stevie Wonder came back, placing ‘So What The Fuss’ at no. 10, and thankfully the Brits placed with Craig David’s ‘Don’t Love You No More’ at 15, and Beverley Knight’s ‘Keep The Fire Burning’ at no. 27. The nation’s leading youth station, Radio 1, wasn’t so supportive. Although the likes of Snoop Dog, 2Pac, The Game, Black Eyed Peas, Usher, Kanye West, Mario and Amerie all featured in the Top 30, except for hip-hip fusionists Gorillaz and dance group Basement Jaxx, there was no British representation! The commercial Independent Local Radio network was slightly better. Lemar’s ‘If There’s Any Justice’ hit no. 6, and Sugababes’ ‘Push The Button’ at no. 8. So airplay apart, what about the sales rankings? Of the 2005 top 100 singles, Sugababes’ ‘Push The Button’ and ‘Ugly’ represented at no. 10 and 72 respectively, ex-Bluer Simon Webbe’s ‘No Worries’ and ‘Lay Your Hands’ respectively made no. 43 and 50, Craig David’s ‘Don’t Love You No More’ made no. 58, Liberty X’s ‘Song 4 Lovers’ was at no. 75. Not very encouraging for a singles tally. Album-wise, which is where careers and incomes are made, British black music has usually fared badly, 2005 was no surprise. The big hitters from James Blunt, Coldplay, Robbie Williams, Kaiser Chiefs, and Gorillaz held the top 5 positions. Elsewhere, Faithless’ compo ‘Forever Faithless – The Greatest Hits’ lodged at no. 10, Sugababes’ ‘Taller In More Ways’ made no. 22, Basement Jaxx’s compo ‘The Singles no. 24, Joss Stone’s 2004 albums ‘Mind Body & Soul’ and ‘The Soul Sessions’ hung around long enough to make no. 49 and 95, Simon Webbe’s ‘Sanctuary’ managed no. 65, Jamiroquai’s ‘Dynamite’ surprisingly implode at no. 68, Craig David’s ‘The Story Goes’ reached no. 77, and surprisingly, Lemar’s 2004 sophomore set ‘Time To Grow’ made it to no. 81. Of course, there’s a lot happening on the underground scene, with the likes of Kano and Sway causing excitement. Every singer and MC and a dog seems to have a mix CD out. That may be great for one’s cred, but a career it does not make. What should we be doing to make sure there are sustainable careers within the British black music scene? Those are some of the questions I hope we can answer at the Black Music Congress debate’s ‘Should British Black Music Shut Up Shop?’ at City University on Saturday Feb. 4, 3-6pm. For more info: www.bbm-on.net/debate_bookingform.htm. Finally, for those who have an aversion to things 'mainstream', a good indicator of Britain's 'underground' music scene is perhaps BBC 1Xtra's 2005 Hottest 50. It provides a mixed message: there were 19 British records, giving us a 38% score. It was however overwhelmingly grime-tinged. The really good news was that four British records made the top 7 rankings. Also available at http://www.bbm-on.net/WhyShutShop.htm Hugh Francis, Jet Star head of intellectual property & business affairs, and former recording artist "Good For Britain: Strategic Approaches For British Black Music In The Digital Age! Thank you for the invitation to attend your debate and to offer some reflections on the subject of British black music in the digital age. My role here today, is to be your sympathetic friend and help you improve your music industry career through the techniques I use to sustain mine. I know what it's like to face the insurmountable problems that stand in your way. Track 1. Introducing …. The Industry The music industry was born about one hundred (100) years ago when technological innovations allowed capturing, storing and replaying sound. Since then, the industry has faced and adapted to many technological advances. Sound technologies evolved from mono to hi-fi stereo, to Dolby surround sound. Storage media technologies from vinyl (physical, vibration-based) to audiocassettes (magnetic) to CDs, mini-discs and DAT (digital). Replay devices evolved from gramophones to large, in-house stereo systems to compact and portable audio devices. During these transitions, industry players either quickly adapted to the changes caused by the newer technologies or simply vanished from the scene. Today, the industry is again on the verge of major changes brought on by the rapid evolution of the Internet and the merger of audio and computing technologies. I believe this debate could well open up new possibilities as we discuss these changes and their possible impacts on the industry structure and those it seeks to serve. Track 2. British Black Music Industry - Background Black Music is a marketable commodity. The U.K., Chart is replete with the sounds created by Black Musicians, and many successful British acts could, as The Rolling Stone’s front-man Mick Jagger says; ‘pay homage (and royalties) to the Black music on which their repertoire is based.’ In the U.K., Black Culture (incorporating; Music and associated fashion products) has the capacity to transform the fortunes of numerous blacks, make a major impact on the world’s music scene and enrich the whole community in so doing. The common view is that Black music can spawn an enormous industry, leading the way in cultural enrichment and economic contribution which Black people make to the community at large. The “Power Brokers” in the sequence – the record companies, programme executives, hall managers, and retail organisations, have effectively stifled the reach of the music, whilst exploiting its influence to their commercial satisfaction. In the process as the music does not reach its potential audience, the music-making machinery is starved of its cash reward. Track 3. Mainstream Industry Media Control “Of the thousands of musicians who perform and release music, why do some of them become stars and have their music heard by millions, while others don’t?” Looking beyond the obvious questions of individual talent and ambition, let me attempt to answer it with an insider look at the business of popular music. I will draw on insights from a number of Artiste and industry professionals to explain the ways that musical and artistic expression have been severely limited by a shrinking corporate culture – a new world business order, in which four or five media/ electronic conglomerates control virtually the entire music industry. Take a look at the four main “Gate Keepers” of popular music – those who control Radio, TV, Touring and Retail – and see how each serves the interest of the other more than the interest of music or musicians. One of the primary arguments is that the five big music companies take advantage of their lock on these four varied “gates” into the music world to push the acts they deem most profitable. The effect is a musical landscape in which art had become subservient to commerce, “artists and radio stations have come to sound more and more alike, consumers have been systematically sold the illusion of choice, and new, original and truly alternative acts find it virtually impossible to gain exposure. Track 4. The UK Music Industry has failed us The UK Music Industry has failed us. The UK Media has failed us. Industry organisation such as; the BPI has failed us. AIM has failed us. Sony Music has failed us. BMG has failed us. Universal Music has failed us. Warner Music has failed us. EMI has failed us. The BBC has failed us. ITV has failed us. Channel 4 has failed us. Capital fm has failed us. Kiss fm has failed us. They can’t deny this! And when you realise that all of those to whom you turned have failed you, its time to stop turning to them and turn to ourselves. You are wasting your time appealing to the moral conscience of a bankrupt industry. If it had a conscience, it would have straightened this thing out with no more pressure being put upon it. Today, it’s not necessary to change the industry’s mind. We have to change our own mind. You can't change its mind about us. We've got to change our own minds about each other. We have to see each other with new eyes. We have to see each other as partners, in the same bag, up-the-creek-without-a-paddle and no one to turn to but ourselves. So, it's time in 2006 to wake up. We have to come together with warmth so we can develop the unity and organisation that's necessary to get this problem solved our selves. How can we do this? How can we avoid jealousy? How can we avoid the suspicion and the divisions that exist in the community? I'll tell you how. We need self-help institutions to support our output. These thousands of young blacks engaged in music are waking up. Their eyes are coming open. They're beginning to see what they used to only look at. They're becoming economically and politically mature. They are realising that there are new global trends. They are rethinking the future of British Black Music in the UK, USA, Europe, JA, South America and Africa. Track 5. Online / Offline: The Internet Is the debate about the Internet wreaking havoc on the music business outdated? Is it simply about technology running its course, just like amplification and radio before it, or other formats such as vinyl, cassette and CD? The music industry is in crisis. It’s not about “Online” or “Offline”. It’s not even about the Internet. The Internet is no longer a big deal in its own right. Within the next 2 - 4 years, Music Companies will no longer just sell music. All products will be multimedia and all will be interconnected – networked. There is a great deal of money to be made by songwriters, composers, producers and artists in licensing music for television, video games, ringtones, films, compilations, DVDs, and TV & radio advertising. In the last few years, sales of and income from recorded music including CDs have declined dramatically throughout the world. Many in the business blame unauthorised file sharing and CD burning. In the meantime, sales of computers containing CD burners, blank optical discs, MP3 players and high-speed Internet subscriptions are thriving. File sharing and unauthorised downloading may be responsible. But the same technologies that threaten to destroy the music business as we have known it, also present wonderful new opportunities to independent artists and entrepreneurs. Track 6. Black music – a brief definition What is black music? In my opinion, it is an expression of Black culture. It is considered as the output of black performers – Artiste, Musicians and Producers. It is an art-form created by black people and subsequently touched all fields of popular music? Black music represents an area of economic activity where the hopes of establishing a “success stake” in Britain is strongly felt by thousands of young Blacks engaged in music and associated products. Black music has the capacity to transform the fortunes of numerous blacks, make a major impact on the world’s music scene and enrich the U.K. in so doing. Track 7. Digital - The Change is Rapid I have never seen a space change more quickly. This business is incredible in the way that it’s shifting. It’s not necessarily on any game plan or master plan, a lot of the time it feels like its being made up as it goes along. Music will appear to become even more of a commodity for consumers. It will be available everywhere through increasingly portable and invisible technologies. Business models will evolve into extensive partnerships that will include consumer brands, and where music industry stakeholders take an increasingly smaller portion of many more income streams. With digital distribution, both the package and the places it is acquired have been changed forever. Track 8. Today, we have three different music 'industries' developing side by side: 1. The mainstream pop/rock business, which will continue to market established stars such as 50 Cent, U2, and Madonna. 2. The chaotic illegal record business, involving at one extreme pirates and bootleggers, at another experimental and political artists refusing to accept the restraints of copyright law; and in between the usual variety of pirate broadcasters, home digital distributors, and so forth. 3. The indie, genre music scenes, local players connected through web sites, community and digital radio, but commercial in their niche, making enough money to go on making music but not necessarily seeking to play 'the game.” The first is shrinking; the second is and always will be present; and the third is set for massive development. The same forces that are undoing the major music companies are empowering individuals as artists and industry professionals begin tapping into some new-found powers. Powers deriving from desktop computers and digital recording facilities, from entrepreneurial and self-development resources, a segmenting music marketplace, and most importantly, from the Internet - the first tool that puts a global communication and distribution "channel" into the musician's hands. If you build a web site, you can reach a world-wide audience. Before the advent of the Internet, only the major record labels had such power to reach the masses. With the Internet, not only can you offer samples of your work, you can also sell your music by mail-order or download. It’s not difficult to do. The Internet has given you the tools, it’s up to you to take advantage of them. Track 9. Drivers To Success – new thinking In our business, the people who make it won’t be just regular "give me my money" employees. They are a kind of everyday Hero and Shero whom most of us admire: the man or woman who possesses the ability to achieve impressive and satisfying results. After many years in the world of music, I have met and collaborated with some amazing black individuals ready to make their mark in 2006 and beyond. They are the new breed; intent upon reclaiming not only the roots of their music, but also reap some reward. These individuals are brilliant musicians, superb managers, successful entrepreneurs, accomplished professionals, top salespeople, innovative technical specialist, and simply awesome performers. I have no doubt that in 2006; we will see them surfacing more and more frequently. In observing and interacting with some of the most productive people in our community, I see that the Driving Force behind this new breed, is neither a singular talent nor even a collection of skills. I see people who aim to become the basic unit of excellence. They are not afraid. They have their shoulder to the wheel, nose to the grindstone, eye on the ball, head above water, ear to the ground and finger on the pulse – all at the same time. You must join them! For them, this constitutes a new meaning of “private enterprise.” I am talking about single powerful occasions or periods that offered us a glimpse of ourselves as being capable of “a great deal more than previously thought possible.” Track 10. Unfinished Business You may not believe it, but, I am talking about people like me and you in places like; Tottenham, Harlesden, Hackney, Brixton, Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester. People whose environment are often less than ideal, who struggle with personal shortcomings. These new heroes are out there focusing on transforming the inevitable stumbling blocks into stepping-stones. So, where do we go from here? First, we need some friends. We need some new allies. The entire British Black Music Industry needs a new interpretation, a broader interpretation. We need to look at this goldmine from another angle -- from the inside as well as from the outside. In 2006, British black music should, in its original form, be sold widely; that the people who perform, produce, handle and create that music, should benefit; and that, that benefit – being the proceeds of the black community’s main asset, should uplift the economic well being of the community and its self esteem. And remember…… what’s good for the British black music Industry is good for Britain! You are sitting on a goldmine, and you shouldn’t let anyone take it away from you! Thank you! Tony Biola, founder of Urban Voice UK and head of CoVE (Centre of Vocational excellence) in music technology "In Support Of Black Music" 1.As founder and Chief Executive of Urban Voice UK together with my dedicated and committed team we run the following programmes and music training courses to assist young people a. The Reality Check Course is a personal development programme that assists in helping young people understand the demands of the music industry and determine if they really have what it takes to sustain a career within it b. The Gateway to music course is an accredited course that is an introduction to the music business through industry guest speaker visits as well as performance training. c. We offer work experience and internship programmes d. We offer pathways into further education, employment or self-employment with the music industry e. Finally we stage the bi annual Urban Voice national talent search which results in a minimum of 15 acts/producers from across the country securing a singles deal. This event was set up to provide exposure and a platform initially for the creators and performers of black music 2.As Head of CoVE (Centre of Vocational excellence) in Music Technology a. I am strategically placed so as to understand the Government agenda for education (white paper on 14-19 education and LSC Agenda for Change) particularly within the creative sector with the aim of feeding that info back to the community eg Propeller TV new Sky Channel (Free view 289) launching Monday 6th February which is launched to showcase new cutting edge material film and music b. I aim to create a reputation for South Thames College as a real CoVE that represents its students in a real and meaningful way of which over 75% are BME’s eg Sony BMG deal to give outstanding producers a chance to remix Sony/BMG tracks as part of course work with possible deals available c. My role is to forge links between the music industry and Further Education eg Meeting with Head of Apple UK to discuss how we can tailor courses and training programmes to suite the industry d. I have introduced mentor programmes for STC students that will include both male and female industry players from the Black community eg Alex Amosu (RnB ringtones) visit, talk and support with student ringtones assignment e. As Head of CoVE this position affords me the opportunity to represent the black music creators as well as inform the Further Educational world at a strategic level of the existence and relevance of the black music sector to the UK music industry eg Jamie Middlerow Music industry Bible DVD. 3. As Tony Biola the entrepreneur a. Developing a membership scheme/service which will provide a vital national support network to its members through discounts on a variety of goods and services, such as rehearsal space, showcase platforms via sky channel and the internet, as well as providing opportunities for members to generate income from their work. 4. As Tony Biola – The Artist & Songwriter a. I am currently working on my album that will be “my offering”. A collection of original songs presented alongside guest artists I have worked with over the years (including my daughter) The album will contain songs expressing as a father, brother, partner, son and member of the black community my thoughts on where we currently are and how we as a community, people, nation and world need to move forward from here. Root Jackson, musician, Congo Music director and co-founder of the BMC forerunner the Black Music Association Question: do the black music sector want instant success? Or do they wish to develop long term careers within all aspects of the music industry? Neil Fraser a.ka.Mad Professor, record producer, remixer, Ariwa studio/label owner I think British Black music, not the organisation, but music made by black people in the UK , started to go wrong in the early '90s, when the bulk of black artistes, producers, and even the media, courted the major labels. Every artist with any potential talent sought to engage a contract with one of the biggies. For the ones who were successful, they entered a situation where they ended up working with white A&R, white producers, and white management. The problem was not that they were white, but more to do with the fact that there were virtually no black artist development structure in place within the major corporations. What has happened in music, is that we have slowly gone back to the state we were in during the '50s = the situation that drove Berry Gordy to start Motown. What is worse now, is that the main representatives of black music are white, or very near white. What is really clear, is that the slave mentality that kept us at the bottom of the economic basin, prevails. Even though slavery have been abolished for more than 100 years. We can't fault white artists for wanting to make black music - I think it’s a reflection of the power and seduction that true black music posses. Imitation is the best form of flattery. Where most white artists lose in natural talent, they gain in organisation and self discipline. On the other hand, most black artists are made up from kids who didn't take school very seriously, and music saved them from becoming misfits. Sadly, the lack of discipline result in many black artists' careers coming to a premature end. Idiots to Icons* Sadly, the business of music only reflects what’s going on generally in society. Marcus Garvey showed us from the 1920s that unless we create a sound economic foundation, we would continue to be in mental slavery. Choice FM, The Voice, New Nation and Mobo set the blueprint for the modern slave. Just check the headlines - So & So signs deal worth £5M!! Two years later So & So is bankrupt!! Even Choice, wrongly structured from the onset failed to see the light, the final nail in the coffin came, when instead of selling to a black consortium, incorporating skilled professionals, they sold out to their major competitor: Capital Radio. The continued existence of independent labels like Ariwa Sounds Ltd is a paradox, considering that we have had very minimal support from the "Black" media houses. We have survived under very difficult conditions, with a gross lack of airplay and media support. To summarise: unless we understand that the music industry is no different from the sugar industry, nor the bauxite industry, or any other industry that we have supplied bulk raw labour, but end up picking very little of the fruitful benefits that come from sound economic investment. This is the age of technology. We must study the technology relating to music and be willing to invest our own money in the development of our artists and businesses. The gains that were made in '60s, '70s and '80s, were lost in the '90s by having the wrong economic values. Addendum: You know the answers!! You know we've had the answers for 25 years now, yet we go around and go around, and be fooled by the system!! Marcus Garvey showed us, Berry Gordy proved it! We live it, yet the majority of you guys keep sweeping the truth under the carpet!! Delroy Constantine-Simms, journalist and occupational psychologist To me it's all about attitude. The talent may be here, but as you have stated, black Britain is financially poor in relation to other communities. People are worried about more important things. As for Black folks running music! Really, where? Not in this country. If they are, it is certainly the Saxons and Mad Professor. Not the R&B or MC's, not a chance. The only way UK music will be big in the UK is for a French style restriction on foreign music played on the airwaves. If that happened, I would be the first to say no way! I say to these artists, check out Floetry. They are writers ... the artists need to learn to read music or play an instrument, as well as have the ability to programme a sampler, etc. But in reality, the business sense is not really here. Jazzy B had it sussed. The scene should not shut up shop it should be as bland as it is. To me the Craig Davids. Lemars, Bev Knights, Terri Walkers, Mica Paris' produce a very European sound. Fair enough it's the UK. It's a sound that doesn't sell well. But the group who are kicking for me are called Fundmental. They can match the Yanks. I love their sound. As I have said, attitude is where it is at. To me, the Mitchell Brothers stand out because they do not ape the Yanks in terms of dress sense. They have an obvious formula that works for me. I am not keen on their music, but their image works. Less of this unorganised ramble. I look forward to the debate Janice Spence, editor of writeonpoint.co.uk A lot of black music coming out of the UK I'd simply describe as being dire and below standard. Plus a lot of talented black artists here, who are making good music, lack focus and refuse to put in the hard graft (I've witnessed this), so they don't get anywhere. If we want our music scene to succeed and to become well respected, then we need to start working together (just like African American artists have done). We need to start making things happen for ourselves, and stop looking to outsiders to make things happen for us. Melvin Bacon, California-based account executive at Ventura Distribution I had the opportunity to read your article, and I think you are on point for the most part. As an American who loves UK Music (especially UK soul, old school acid jazz, and the new breakbeat soul), I always scratch my head when it comes to the state of black music there (in the UK). As someone who has been in the biz for 13 years, the most astounding thing is the fact that black folks in the UK (for the most part) don't even support their own. If you go to an Omar show at the (London) Jazz Cafe, 80% of the audience is white. So how can you groom new soul sensations, when you don't support your own? Omar should be the equivalent of Stevie Wonder in your country. But instead, Omar is relegated to not even being more popular than Lemar! The UK is more pre-occupied with what the US does. All the major label execs there (BMG/WEA/UNI) take their lead and marketing ideas from the US (which is ludicrous since the marketplaces are vastly different). The main difference is that the US doesn't pay attention to other markets. Our success in the States ensures us we can generate interest in other places. Which leads us to the other issue: MONEY. This is less about black music - it is about socio- economics, opportunities for people of colour. Because of how the country (UK) is run, with the Queen, you can rest assured that people of colour will only be able to have so much of a presence in the UK. The UK will only have so many images of people of colour in the media, radio, television, etc. In fact, it isn't too much different when you go to third world countries, where the predominant images on TV are of Europeans. The other main difference in the US is that we force mainstream (white) America to pay attention to us. We are able to pool resources together and monies together to make the impression, without fear of what may happen. Although once upon a time, the days of Ice T and NWA, made the country shudder. lol Anyway, great article... great food for thought. Kyle Bruce Vereen, musician/writer/producer of the Philly-based R&B/soul group Nu-motion Klique * Although not a Shut Up... feedback, this American feedback to a previous debate has been added, because it has relevance I wanted to comment on what you reported Matthew Knowles stated about British music. I fully agree with him!!! When I was a younger writer/musician growing up in the late 70s and 80s, British music - black and pop, was some of the most beautiful stuff I'd ever heard. Some of the trend-setting hit-makers recorded their records here in Philly (i.e. Loose Ends, Five Star, etc). We in America love that sound that was brought over. It excited us, freaked us, moved us, etc., because it was pure, soulful, and different. There are certain elements of "culture" that come through in the music that make it sort of "exotic". Even though we may have the same experiences as black/soul artists and people, we may convey it differently. This is why you have some artists from the States do better in the UK than in the US, and vice versa. I love to listen, experience and share the music. I respect British musicians tremendously. I think a lot of musicians here do - I know in Philly and Atlanta, we do. Keep up the good work my brother, and God bless you. Click to check out Nu-motion Klique’s music. KMT, club DJ and Genesis FM radio presenter I totally agree with the points raised. I’ve been promoting U.K music, initially starting as a lover, consumer and dancer for 17 years, and now as a DJ, event Co-oordinator, and radio presenter specialising in U.K. music. I’ve seen so many black artists in the U.K., such Julie Dexter, Floetry, Skinny Man, David J, and Taz to name just few, not reach their potential because of so many factors, but I want to focus on the business. Hence, I’m setting up a music business college promoting black artists on the lines of Jamie Oliver’s Kitchen. Regarding communication, I have a radio show on Genesis 91.6 F.M. which has inspired Kwaku to develop a similar format on his radio show (nice thought, but since I started DJing before you probably first touched a turntable, and since I was writing about music industry issues and running music industry courses before you entered the game, I have to refute that assertion - ed). The Diversity show appears every Wednesday 16:00-19:00, and every month, the program explores UK black influenced music such as hip-hop, R&B, ragga, hence the name Diversity. It covers topics to do with the business and the art itself and listeners are encouraged to ring the show live on Wednesdays to explore these issues. Each week, a new artist makes an appearance for an interview, gets involved in discussions on topics related to the show, and to promote their products and create greater awareness for their works and shows. Divercity and KMT are passionate about supporting UK’s national talent. Celine Loader, editorial director of Aspire Magazine I think 3 key points need to be clearly defined in order to find the right answers to the right questions: 1. How you narrowly define black British music to make it a distinctly measurable category? 2. How you narrowly define the issue of the debate. Is it about black British music or about black British musicians? Obviously these are two different issues, although they do relate. For example, The Sugababes are ‘mainstream’ pop songs. Similarly, Katie Melua, Jamie Cullum, Joss Stone, etc, all make songs of black origin (soul, jazz, blues or combinations). Lil’ Kim’s recent ‘rip off’ of Damian Marley’s ‘Jamrock’ sound also throws another angle to the whole debate. Where do you place Akon? 3. When you talk of young black British talent, do you include those who make hip-life, a modern west African sound fused with American hip-hop and rap and gaining huge popularity with the growing African community in Britain. Or do you consider these to be strictly African music? Even big US stars like 50cents, recognise the huge potential of the African market and have been making forays into places like Nigeria. What I see with African-American artists that is regrettably absent in the UK, are the mega collaborations. Huge stars doing cameos on each other’s videos or coming out with collaborations. No so in the UK. The effect of these collaborations is to raise the game and strengthen the market potential of these artists, because it puts out the perception of a ‘strong black presence/a unified force’, regardless of how you define the musical genre. It is only a perception, but that is where strength starts to build. Why can’t we see Ms Dynamite and Craig David coming out with something big? Or Beverley Knight popping up in a Jamelia video? Or a Simon Webbe-Lemar collaboration? In terms of the effect it can have on the market perception of these artists, the potential is huge. But I suppose the fact that their US counterparts also own the record labels helps. Perhaps this is the direction the Brits should be taking. We can complain all we like, but if we don’t have even a finger on the business reigns of the industry, we have no chance of establishing a voice that is listened to. First published on BBM in Feb. 2006

ARIWA NEWS DECEMBER 2005
The next time you look at a map of South America, remember it does not reflect the true size and diversity of this continent. Brazil is much bigger than the USA, and certainly very rich in minerals and raw materials, beyond your wildest imagination. This trip begun in Santiago, Chile. After visiting Argentina 3 years ago, and getting a culture shock, I really didn't know what to expect from Chile. From the cold faced miserable paled faced travelling companions on the Iberia jet, I was preparing myself for a hostile reception. I was totally wrong. After being warmly greeted by Chris, my co-respondent for this tour, we were introduced to some of the friendliest folks you can imagine. The most notable difference between these and the folks on the flight is the age. The folks on the flight were mainly over 55, I guess the weren't used to black people making this journey, but another shivering thought came into my head: Could these be the direct descendants of the Nazis who escaped to South America after the 2nd World War? Never-the-less, the young Chileans were cool! I sited 3 black people in the city over the 3 days. Not many Indians either. Upon enquiring about the lack of black folks ( deja vous) I remember doing the same in 2003 in Buenos Aires. I was told that the previous dictator got rid of them! Welcome to South America!! Don't stay too long! What a gig! The Santigo crowd behaved like starving birds caged up, and unfed for months. They danced, screamed, jumped!! Dub was the message! Pretty Latinas rocking with executive types alongside Rasta wanabees wearing red, gold & green. Reluctantly the gig had to finish for the 1:00 am curfew. Mar de Plata was marred by a 5 hour drive after a 3 hour flight. It's a shame, as the venue was a nicely designed purpose built disco. By show time, tiredness took over. Buenos Aires was really a different city form two and a half years ago when I first visited there. Amazingly, most people were smiling, and there seems to be a real upturn in the economy. My favourite venue was heaving under the drum and bass that was dished out like foo foo & dumpling! They were amazed by the sound of the steel pan, played with a latin flavour by Panafricanist. The audience of mainly women were dancing all night. Manu from Nueve Raices join us on stage for a flute solo...nice!! In Capital Federal, the party continued. We were joined on stage by the ultra talented Alika and the trombone from the small but powerful Mariela!! Welcome to Curitiba in southern Brazil!! A beautiful city with strong German and Swiss overtones. Even the style of the buildings. I was welcomed by one of the city's main music exponents Djemba, who give me a good tour of the city (not the keys!), and took me to a nicely designed studio ( a very clever control room! ) I'm going to borrow some ideas from them for my next room. Regretfully, I had to leave but I was quite happy to be landing in Rio. One of my favourite cities in the world! Everyone seems to smile, at least the people I look at. A city of extreme contrasts, rich and poor, black and white and all the possible mixtures that you can imagine. On previous occasions I stayed in Copacabana and Ipenema, this time I stayed downtown, where I played and hung out with Digital Dubs. Digital are one of these new age collectives that are like a sound system but play live. Spearheaded by Nelson, MPC and Dubmaster, organisation by the hard working Maira. Digital Dubs have an album that should be released in early 2006 featuring Sylvia Tella, who joined me onstage at the Teatro Rival to give the Brazilians a taste of lover's rock. Regretfully, I had to leave almost immediately!! Who booked this tour!! No rest! In Rio. Not for the mad or the wicked!! The flight to Mexico City was a lot longer than I imagined. When the pilot said 12 hours, I thought I heard wrong. True to the minute we touched down at The Benito Juarez International airport. Mexico City seems a lot cleaner than when I first visited in 2002. The air seems a lot cleaner too. This is a city where your mind is filled with the same tension as if you're watching a spy movie! Loads of dodgy characters watching you from every corner. I was watching them too! The predominant dreadlocked crowd were extremely enthusiastic. They sung and danced and vibrated to the drum and bass. As 2005 come to a close, I reflect on the incredible impact reggae music and it's various hybrids and branches has on the rest of the world. Taking with it the various forms of Rasta sub-cultures with all it's various strands. In every country I have visited, I have met individuals who would seriously tell you that they are Rasta. Usually they are dreadlocked, white, between 16 and 30 years old. Most of them are smokers, all vegetarians, all introduced to Rasta through reggae. Rasta has certainly come a long way from the politically charged, pre- Marley, back to Africa Garvey-ite message. I remembered as clear as yesterday, my first introduction to rasta. I was a school boy reading the History of the West Indies. The very informative book taught us about Henri Christophe, Tousaint Louverture and Marcus Garvey. Garvey was not only the most famous; he was also the most flambouyant. A well travelled man; he understood the problems of the post slavery black man. His teachings and writings were in direct conflict to that of most community leaders, who believed that blacks can only progress in the western world by reducing their natural African heritage. Already an industry of skin lightening creams, hair straighteners, lips thinners were taking a large proportion of the incomes of young upwardly mobile blacks. Garvey started the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League in 1914. He also started a shipping company called the Black Starliner that was committed to taking blacks in the Caribbean and America, back to Africa. He received a lot of support from various West African governments and many had welcome home policies for "The lost tribes" One of his most famous speeches is "Look to Africa, see your king, praise him!" "The White man has his kings and queens, so the black man must find his own." At the time of this speech, Ethopia had a new king : Haille Selassie I. He descended from King Solomon of Israel and the queen of Sheba. His real name was Ras Tafari Makonnen. Garveys' works were largely ignored in his lifetime, but soon after he died in the forties, fresh interest developed in Jamaica, with the development of the maroon based Rastafarians. In the wake of the Black Liberation sixties, this was the Caribbean equivalent to the Black Power movement in the USA. More politics than religion, the main theme was to reverse the negative imagery of the African at home and abroad. The main method, was by promoting black pride, and encouraging diligence and economic freedom. The result in 2006 is that Rasta has been a victim of its own popularity. Propelled by it's most famous ambassador Bob Marley, most modern day "Rastas" became interested through in the movement, through music. Most are unaware of the significance it meant to the black youth of the seventies. So when I'm told by a white dreadlocked twenty year old "I'm taking my religion serious", I innocently reply, "what religion?" Contemporary black youth has certainly not followed their fathers or elder brothers avoidance of the barber. Largely disillusioned by Rasta's inability to provide any solution to the continued problems facing the black community. High unemployment, racism and the glass ceiling remains, today's youth needs to see something working. Something with a real solution. Unlike the white dreadlocks, who can cut his hair and get a job when it all gets too boring or too difficult, the problems of the black man that caused Garvey to start the UNCLA, eighty years ago, remains. DECLARATION OF RIGHTS OF THE NEGRO PEOPLES OF THE WORLD Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL)(1887-1940) Drafted and adopted at Convention held in New York, 1920, over which Marcus Garvey presided as Chairman, and at which he was elected Provisional President of Africa. Preamble Be it Resolved, That the Negro people of the world, through their chosen representatives in convention assembled in Liberty Hall, in the City of New York and United States of America, from August 1 to August 31, in the year of our Lord, one thousand nine hundred and twenty, protest against the wrongs and injustices they are suffering at the hands of their white brethren, and state what they deem their fair and just rights, as well as the treatment they propose to demand of all men in the future. We complain: I. That nowhere in the world, with few exceptions, are black men accorded equal treatment with white men, although in the same situation and circumstances, but, on the contrary, are discriminated against and denied the common rights due to human beings for no other reason than their race and color. We are not willingly accepted as guests in the public hotels and inns of the world for no other reason than our race and color. II. In certain parts of the United States of America our race is denied the right of public trial accorded to other races when accused of crime, but are lynched and burned by mobs, and such brutal and inhuman treatment is even practised upon our women. III. That European nations have parcelled out among themselves and taken possession of nearly all of the continent of Africa, and the natives are compelled to surrender their lands to aliens and are treated in most instances like slaves. IV. In the southern portion of the United States of America, although citizens under the Federal Constitution, and in some states almost equal to the whites in population and are qualified land owners and taxpayers, we are, nevertheless, denied all voice in the making and administration of the laws and are taxed without representation by the state governments, and at the same time compelled to do military service in defense of the country. V. On the public conveyances and common carriers in the Southern portion of the United States we are jim-crowed and compelled to accept separate and inferior accommodations and made to pay the same fare charged for first-class accommodations, and our families are often humiliated and insulted by drunken white men who habitually pass through the jim-crow cars going to the smoking car. VI. The physicians of our race are denied the right to attend their patients while in the public hospitals of the cities and states where they reside in certain parts of the United States. Our children are forced to attend inferior separate schools for shorter terms than white children, and the public school funds are unequally divided between the white and colored schools. VII. We are discriminated against and denied an equal chance to earn wages for the support of our families, and in many instances are refused admission into labor unions, and nearly everywhere are paid smaller wages than white men. VIII. In Civil Service and departmental offices we are everywhere discriminated against and made to feel that to be a black man in Europe, America and the West Indies is equivalent to being an outcast and a leper among the races of men, no matter what the character and attainments of the black man may be. IX. In the British and other West Indian Islands and colonies, Negroes are secretly and cunningly discriminated against, and denied those fuller rights in government to which white citizens are appointed, nominated and elected. X. That our people in those parts are forced to work for lower wages than the average standard of white men and are kept in conditions repugnant to good civilized tastes and customs. XI. That the many acts of injustice against members of our race before the courts of law in the respective islands and colonies are of such nature as to create disgust and disrespect for the white man's sense of justice. XII. Against all such inhuman, unchristian and uncivilized treatment we here and now emphatically protest, and invoke the condemnation of all mankind. In order to encourage our race all over the world and to stimulate it to a higher and grander destiny, we demand and insist on the following Declaration of Rights: 1. Be it known to all men that whereas, all men are created equal and entitled to the rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and because of this we, the duly elected representatives of the Negro peoples of the world, invoking the aid of the just and Almighty God do declare all men, women and children of our blood throughout the world free citizens, and do claim them as free citizens of Africa, the Motherland of all Negroes. 2. That we believe in the supreme authority and given to man as a common possession; that there should be an equitable distribution and apportionment of all such things, and in consideration of the fact that as a race we are now deprived of those things that are morally and legally ours, we believe it right that all such things should be acquired and held by whatsoever means possible. 3. That we believe the Negro, like any other race, should be governed by the ethics of civilization, and therefore, should not be deprived of any of those rights or privileges common to other human beings. 4. We declare that Negroes wheresoever they form a community among themselves, should be given the right to elect their own representatives to represent them in legislatures, courts of law, or such institutions as may exercise control over that particular community. 5. We assert that the Negro is entitled to even- handed justice before all courts of law and equity in whatever country he may be found, and when this is denied him on account of his race or color such denial is an insult to the race as a whole and should be resented by the entire body of Negroes. 6. We declare it unfair and prejudicial to the rights of Negroes in communities where they exist in considerable numbers to be tried by a judge and jury composed entirely of an alien race, but in all such cases members of our race are entitled to representation on the jury. 7. We believe that any law or practice that tends to deprive any African of his land or the privileges of free citizenship within his country is unjust and immoral, and no native should respect any such law or practice. 8. We declare taxation without representation unjust and tyrannous, and there should be no obligation on the part of the Negro to obey the levy of a tax by any law-making body from which he is excluded and denied representation on account of his race and color. 9. We believe that any law especially directed against the Negro to his detriment and singling him out because of his race or color is unfair and immoral, and should not be respected. 10. We believe all men entitled to common human respect, and that our race should in no way tolerate any insults that may be interpreted to mean disrespect to our color. 11. We deprecate the use of the term 'nigger' as applied to Negroes, and demand that the word 'Negro' be written with a capital 'N.' 12. We believe that the Negro should adopt every means to protect himself against barbarous practices inflicted upon him because of color. 13. We believe in the freedom of Africa for the Negro people of the world, and by the principle of Europe for the Europeans and Asia for the Asiatics; we also demand Africa for the Africans at home and abroad. 14. We believe in the inherent right of the Negro to possess himself of Africa, and that his possession of same shall not be regarded as an infringement on any claim or purchase made by any race or nation. 15. We strongly condemn the cupidity of those nations of the world who, by open aggression or secret schemes, have seized the territories and inexhaustible natural wealth of Africa, and we place on record our most solemn determination to reclaim the treasures and possession of the vast continent of our forefathers. 16. We believe all men should live in peace one with the other, but when races and nations provoke the ire of other races and nations by attempting to infringe upon their rights, war becomes inevitable, and the attempt in any way to free one's self or protect one's rights or heritage becomes justifiable. 17. Whereas, the lynching, by burning, hanging or any other disgrace to civilization, we therefore declare any country guilty of such atrocities outside the pale of civilization. 18. We protest against the atrocious crime of whipping, flogging and overworking of the native tribes of Africa and Negroes everywhere. These are methods that should be abolished, and all means should be taken to prevent a continuance of such brutal practices. 19. We protest against the atrocious practice of shaving the heads of Africans, especially of African women or individuals of Negro blood, when placed in prison as a punishment for crime by an alien race. 20. We protest against segregated districts, separate public conveyances, industrial discrimination, lynchings and limitations of political privileges of any Negro citizen in any part of the world on account of race, color or creed, and will exert our full influence and power against all such. 21. We protest against any punishment inflicted upon a Negro with severity, as against lighter punishment inflicted upon another of an alien race for like offense, as an act of prejudice and injustice, and should be resented by the entire race. 22. We protest against the system of education in any country where Negroes are denied the same privileges and advantages as other races. 23. We declare it inhuman and unfair to boycott Negroes from industries and labor in any part of the world. 24. We believe in the doctrine of the freedom of the press, and we therefore emphatically protest against the suppression of Negro newspapers and periodicals in various parts of the world, and call upon Negroes everywhere to employ all available means to prevent such suppression. 25. We further demand free speech universally for all men. 26. We hereby protest against the publication of scandalous and inflammatory articles by an alien press tending to create racial strife and the exhibition of picture films showing the Negro as a cannibal. 27. We believe in the self-determination of all peoples. 28. We declare for the freedom of religious worship. 29. With the help of Almighty God, we declare ourselves the sworn protectors of the honor and virtue of our women and children, and pledge our lives for their protection and defense everywhere, and under all circumstances from wrongs and outrages. 30. We demand the right of unlimited and unprejudiced education for ourselves and our posterity forever. 31. We declare that the teaching in any school by alien teachers to our boys and girls, that the alien race is superior to the Negro race, is an insult to the Negro people of the world. 32. Where Negroes form a part of the citizenry of any country, and pass the civil service examination of such country, we declare them entitled to the same consideration as other citizens as to appointments in such civil service. 33. We vigorously protest against the increasingly unfair and unjust treatment accorded Negro travelers on land and sea by the agents and employees of railroad and steamship companies and insist that for equal fare we receive equal privileges with travelers of other races. 34. We declare it unjust for any country, State or nation to enact laws tending to hinder and obstruct the free immigration of Negroes on account of their race and color. 35. That the right of the Negro to travel unmolested throughout the world be not abridged by any person or persons, and all Negroes are called upon to give aid to a fellow Negro when thus molested. 36. We declare that all Negroes are entitled to the same right to travel over the world as other men. 37. We hereby demand that the governments of the world recognize our leader and his representatives chosen by the race to look after the welfare of our people under such governments. 38. We demand complete control of our social institutions without interference by any alien race or races. 39. That the colors, Red, Black and Green, be the colors of the Negro race. 40. Resolved, That the anthem 'Ethiopia, Thou Land of Our Fathers', etc., shall be the anthem of the Negro race. The Universal Ethiopian Anthem (Poem by Burrel and Ford.) I Ethiopia, thou land of our fathers, Thou land where the gods loved to be, As storm cloud at night suddenly gathers Our armies come rushing to thee. We must in the fight be victorious When swords are thrust outward to gleam; For us will the vict'ry be glorious When led by the Red, Black and Green. Chorus Advance, advance to victory, Let Africa be free; Advance to meet the foe With the might Of the Red, the Black and the Green. II Ethiopia, the tyrant's falling, Who smote thee upon thy knees, And thy children are lustily calling From over the distant seas. Jehovah, the Great One has heard us, Has noted our sighs and our tears, With His spirit of Love he has stirred us To be One through the coming years. CHORUS -- Advance, advance, etc. III O Jehovah, thou God of the ages Grant unto our sons that lead The wisdom Thou gave to Thy sages When Israel was sore in need. Thy voice thro' the dim past has spoken, Ethiopia shall stretch forth her hand, By Thee shall all fetters be broken, And Heav'n bless our dear fatherland. CHORUS -- Advance, advance, etc. 41. We believe that any limited liberty which deprives one of the complete rights and prerogatives of full citizenship is but a modified form of slavery. 42. We declare it an injustice to our people and a serious impediment to the health of the race to deny to competent licensed Negro physicians the right to practise in the public hospitals of the communities in which they reside, for no other reason than their race and color. 43. We call upon the various governments of the world to accept and acknowledge Negro representatives who shall be sent to the said governments to represent the general welfare of the Negro peoples of the world. 44. We deplore and protest against the practice of confining juvenile prisoners in prisons with adults, and we recommend that such youthful prisoners be taught gainful trades under humane supervision. 45. Be it further resolved, that we as a race of people declare the League of Nations null and void as far as the Negro is concerned, in that it seeks to deprive Negroes of their liberty. 46. We demand of all men to do unto us as we would do unto them, in the name of justice; and we cheerfully accord to all men all the rights we claim herein for ourselves. 47. We declare that no Negro shall engage himself in battle for an alien race without first obtaining the consent of the leader of the Negro people of the world, except in a matter of national self-defense. 48. We protest against the practice of drafting Negroes and sending them to war with alien forces without proper training, and demand in all cases that Negro soldiers be given the same training as the aliens. 49. We demand that instructions given Negro children in schools include the subject of 'Negro History', to their benefit. 50. We demand a free and unfettered commercial intercourse with all the Negro people of the world. 51. We declare for the absolute freedom of the seas for all peoples. 52. We demand that our duly accredited representatives be given proper recognition in all leagues, conferences, conventions or courts of international arbitration wherever human rights are discussed. 53. We proclaim the 31st day of August of each year to be an international holiday to be observed by all Negroes. 54. We want all men to know we shall maintain and contend for the freedom and equality of every man, woman and child of our race, with our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor. These rights we believe to be justly ours and proper for the protection of the Negro race at large, and because of this belief we, on behalf of the four hundred million Negroes of the world, do pledge herein the sacred blood of the race in defense, and we hereby subscribe our names as a guarantee of the truthfulness and faithfulness hereof in the presence of Almighty God, on the 13th day of August, in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and twenty. Marcus Garvey, James D. Brooks, James W. H. Eason, Henrietta Vinton Davis, Lionel Winston Greenidge, Adrion Fitzroy Johnson, Rudolph Ethelbert Brissaac Smith, Charles Augustus Petioni, Thomas H. N. Simon, Richard Hilton Tobitt, George Alexander McGuire, Peter Edward Baston, Reynold R. Felix, Harry Walters Kirby, Sarah Branch, Marie Barrier Houston, George L. O'Brien, F. O. Ogilvie, Arden A. Bryan, Benjamin Dyett, Marie Duchaterlier, John Phillip Hodge, Theophilus H. Saunders, Wilford H. Smith, Gabriel E. Stewart, Arnold Josiah Ford, Lee Crawford, William McCartney, Adina Clem. James, William Musgrave La Motte, John Sydney de Bourg, Arnold S. Cunning, Vernal J. Williams, Frances Wilcome Ellegor, J. Frederick Selkridge, Innis Abel Horsford, Cyril A. Crichlow, Samuel McIntyre, John Thomas Wilkins, Mary Thurston, John G. Befue, William Ware, J. A. Lewis, O. C. Thurston, Venture R. Hamilton, R. H. Hodge, Edward Alfred Taylor, Ellen Wilson, G. W. Wilson, Richard Edward Riley, Nellie Grant Whiting, G. W. Washington, Maldena Miller, Gertrude Davis, James D. Williams, Emily Christmas Kinch, D. D. Lewis, Nettie Clayton, Partheria Hills, Janie Jenkins, John C. Simons, Alphonso A. Jones, Allen Hobbs, Reynold Fitzgerald Austin, James Benjamin Yearwood, Frank O. Raines, Shedrick Williams, John Edward Ivey, Frederick August Toote, Philip Hemmings, F. F. Smith, E. J. Jones, Joseph Josiah Cranston, Frederick Samuel Ricketts, Dugald Augustus Wade, E. E. Nelom, Florida Jenkins, Napoleon J. Francis, Joseph D. Gibson, J. P. Jasper, J. W. Montgomery, David Benjamin, J. Gordon, Harry E. Ford, Carrie M. Ashford, Andrew N. Willis, Lucy Sands, Louise Woodson, George D. Creese, W. A. Wallace, Thomas E. Bagley, James Young, Prince Alfred McConney, John E. Hudson, William Ines, Harry R. Watkins, C. L. Halton, J. T. Bailey, Ira Joseph Touissant Wright, T. H. Golden, Abraham Benjamin Thomas, Richard C. Noble, Walter Green, C. S. Bourne, G. F. Bennett, B. D. Levy, Mary E. Johnson, Lionel Antonio Francis, Carl Roper, E. R. Donawa, Philip Van Putten, I. Brathwaite, Jesse W. Luck, Oliver Kaye, J. W. Hudspeth, C. B. Lovell, William C. Matthews, A. Williams, Ratford E. M. Jack, H. Vinton Plummer, Randolph Phillips, A. I. Bailey, duly elected representatives of the Negro people of the world. Sworn before me this 15th day of August, 1920. JOHN G. BAYNE Notary Public, New York County. New York County Clerk's No. 378; New York County Registers No. 12102. Commission expires March 30, 1922. Copyright (c) UNIA-ACL. All Rights Reserved.

ARIWA NEWS NOVEMBER 2005
October 31st 2005 location South London. Old habits die hard! A leopard never changes its spots Once a thief, always a thief! There have been many proverbs written by our ancestors, to guide us, to remind us, to help us exist, to help us recognise who we are, who our friends are, and who our enemies are. The chapter “proverbs” in the bible is a shortcut to experience. Aesop fables are not fiction, but are stories based on human inter – reaction with each other, but using animals as the main characters. Hence before I met some artists and ex – artists, I should have re - read my Aesop fables that I bought my kids 12 years ago. Having been around artists over the past 25 years, I’ve seen enough stories to write my own fables. I’ve seen the melodious, cooperative, hardworking, diligent, harmonic, messengers, beautiful, happy personalities. I’ve also had the displeasure of being amongst the hypocrites, the liars, the thieves, the schitzos, the drug taking, false Rasta, the jealous and frustrated. I guess it’s normal to have, an off stage personality, and an on stage persona. Some artists are always on stage, the more the audience, the louder the performance! Then there are the forgetful artists. Usually short in memory about receiving money. I guess it takes all sorts. One artist, we should leave nameless (until the book is out) at breakfast looks rougher than the cleaning woman, a far cry from the Oprah Winfrey elegance as she grace the stage. So is the voice! Whilst on stage you’re treated to some of the sweetest melodies, at the breakfast table, this voice was, shouting, swearing, telling the most obnoxious stories, in between coughing like an engine of an old beaten up 1969 Ford Capri! Is it possible? Not as ridiculous as the righteous Rasta who frown upon any one eating bacon. Africa the motherland! Respect! One love! Could this be the same artist dealing hard drugs whilst his non – suspecting companions are sleeping? Africa won’t be on the holiday schedule for many who make an earning from flashing their locks on stage. Excuses from a lack of money, to too many mosquitoes are some of the typical reasons given. The saddest reason I have heard is “Dem no like we, if dem want me fe go, dem hafe pay me nuff money upfront!” Meanwhile the Reggae academics in Europe, and the West Coast hippies try their best to re-write black history to legitimise their existence. “ Rasta is a vegetarian” “ Rasta smokes marijuana” “ Rasta don’t drink alcohol” “ It doesn’t matter who you are, as long as your heart is pure and clean, you are a Rasta” Very rarely is Marcus Garvey mentioned. My tolerance of hypocrisy was reached when “Beyonce” met the Dreadlocked Rasta on stage for a duet of extremity. Every form of contradiction was on display for 5 minutes. At that point many proverbs came to my mind. Looks are deceiving Birds of a feather It takes two to tango Let sleeping dogs lie

ARIWA NEWS SEPTEMBER 2005
Twilight People. The Katrina disaster is a wake up call to Black America, and a reminder to earthlings of this world that the effects of racism and the slave trades of half a century ago, still exists. When a natural disaster occurs in a city occupied by both white and black, but 98% of the people suffering are black, we start to think. Do we blame the government or ourselves? “we knew it was coming, but had no money to leave” “Where is Mr Bush”? Does poverty start with the mind? How much money does it take to leave a city like New Orleans? The problem with slavery is that it conditioned a lot of black people in thinking, that someone else should pay for their every need. The white man or the government. The blacks who have escaped poverty, are the ones who woke up and smelled the coffee. They are the ones who are not waiting for freebies and handouts. Charity begins at home.     Mad Prof In Gambia, Africa. The Twilight people must wake up and help themselves. Called Twilight, because if you travel between 5 & 6 am or 6 & 8 pm the road & bustops are filled with black people going to work. Working in the roughest conditions. Domestic workers, security guards, doing all the manual jobs that no one else wants to do. So it’s not that we are not capable of working, but alas working without an escape plan. The people suffering in the disaster are still under the same pressure as they were 500 years ago. As long as the mentality remains, the same problem will exist for another 500 years. Don’t wait on Bush, don’t wait on the government. Free your mind! Ras Kunda and Mad Prof. Continuing our wake up call, we are happy to coordinate with our friends in the US the NAACP Katrina relief fund. Please send any contributions to one of the addresses below. BlackAmericaWeb.com Relief Fund PO Box 803209 Dallas, TX 75240 OR you can make an online donation by going to www.blackamericaweb.com/relief This fund has been set up by nationally syndicated radio personality TOM JOYNER NAACP Disaster Relief Efforts The NAACP is setting up command centers in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama as part of its disaster relief efforts. NAACP units across the nation have begun collecting resources that will be placed on trucks and sent directly into the disaster areas. Also, the NAACP has established a disaster relief fund to accept monetary donations to aid in the relief effort. Checks can be sent to the NAACP payable to NAACP Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund 4805 Mt. Hope Drive Baltimore, MD 21215 Donations can also be made online at: www.naacp.org/disaster/contribute.php FYI, the NAACP, founded in 1909, is America's oldest civil rights organization www.teamrescueone.com Set up by native New Orleans rapper Master P and his wife Sonya Miller You can mail or ship non-perishable items to these following locations, which we have confirmed are REALLY delivering services to folks in need.... Center for LIFE Outreach Center 121 Saint Landry Street Lafayette, LA 70506 atten.: Minister Pamela Robinson 337-504-5374 Mohammad Mosque 65 2600 Plank Road Baton Rouge, LA 70805 atten.: Minister Andrew Muhammad 225-923-1400 225-357-3079 Lewis Temple CME Church 272 Medgar Evers Street Grambling, LA 71245 atten.: Rev. Dr. Ricky Helton 318-247-3793 St. Luke Community United Methodist Church c/o Hurricane Katrina Victims 5710 East R.L. Thornton Freeway Dallas, TX 75223 atten.: Pastor Tom Waitschies 214-821-2970 S.H.A.P.E. Community Center 3815 Live Oak Houston, Texas 77004 atten.: Deloyd Parker 713-521-0641

ARIWA NEWS JULY 2005
July 1st 2005 location Shinjuku, Tokyo. This seems to be my favourite place for writing the Ariwa news. Thanks for all of the support and encouragement regarding June 2005 newsletter. After 15 hours in the studios mixing our local heroes, now at 4:00 am local time, 8:00pm UK time, the major word on my mind is Batty Boy. Whilst I will not admit to be homophobic, I will not say some of my best friends are queer. And for 25 years we have made music for the consumption of all human beings. Male, female, hemale, shemale, I couldn’t care less who buy, listen, and enjoy Ariwa music. So why am I seemingly risking permanent condemnation by touching on the riskiest subject to plague reggae since the death of Bob. Well, I was told by the powers to be at the BBC that I should not use the word Batty Boy on the radio. And that this word is very offensive. I disagree! 100 %!! I am not advocating the killing of any segment of society, all I am saying is that if you are a male homosexual, and you indulge in the sexual act, then accurately the Jamaican word for this is batty man. In the other side of the Caribbean the word is slightly less offensive, but equally descriptive “Auntie Man or Anti Man”. From we were kids, we know Anti man exist. Why must we say “gay”? Why is society so hypocritical that we have to paint a different picture on the box, to fool each other? Caribbean society is much more honest in describing it’s members. Mr Sandal is called Mr Sandal because he makes Sandals. Mr Carpenter makes houses. Neither Mr Carpenter nor Mr Sandal gets angry when you call them by their name. For years anyone who is half African and Indian is called a Dougla. No one takes it as an offence. In the UK, if you say half-caste, you upset the hypocrites. If you are a homosexual, don’t hide behind being gay, because we know you as “anti man’ or “batty man” Just be proud of what you are, if you’re not, then don’t do it! Message in our music Whilst I’m in a ranting mood, I will continue to talk of our roots music experts that seems to occupy the full time occupation of wanking literature spunk on various message boards. Such a typical character is white, male between 25 and 60 and very much the same man who 30 years ago was telling black youths that reggae all sounds the same. This is the same man that did not understand that Ska music originated in Jamaica. This man was dressing up as a skinhead, went “Paki bashing” to the sound of Double barrel and Monkey Spanner! This man is still the same man, and if you give him the chance he will have you right where he had you 200 years ago. We make music not to satisfy racist bigots, not to make as much money as the bank of England; we make music to celebrate our freedom, to teach our children, and to communicate with intelligent decent people of all colour, race and creed to enjoy.

ARIWA NEWS JUNE 2005
Well, it's almost a scandalous 6 months since the last Ariwa news. In that 6 months we've had several tours, 3 holidays, dug up many old tapes, and made many new recordings. For the third time this year I'm in Tokyo, with 2 days off before I'm back in the studios for a 3 day heavy mixing session. Great to have some time off. I can write the news page, and bring you into a part (just a small part) of the adventures of a dubbist!! Since writing the last time, I went to The Gambia almost immediately after returning from Tokyo. Unlike my first visit in the nineties, I found the Gambia one of the most relaxation places still inexistence in the world!! It's occupied by a very peaceful variety of people mainly from the Wolof tribe. There are also a selection of EX pats from the UK, both black and white. One of these is Jayzik - Recording artist, Dub poetess, Landlady, Restaurateur, Tour guide, promoter, seamstress, mother!! And many more. Her twang changes from a sharp London bark, to a West African, Wolof, Yoruba cocktail in the same sentence. Jayzik! Jahzik! Rasta! Shouts every other youth as she drives down the main street of Senegambia in her open top Suzuki. Some dream the dream, talk the talk. Jayzik walks the walk! Going to Africa for her is no automatic Rasta chant. Going to Africa was a real life move that this mother of four done three years ago. She clearly has no regrets. "I get sunshine everyday Prof!" My kids get private education - they are happy! Do you want to go back to London? I asked the 5-year-old. NO!!! Was the stereo retort from the twins. . How come you actually done what many just talked about? "They don't know how easy it is Prof!" England is too tough and rough. Funnily enough, she is not much different from the thousands of UK citizens who every weekend flock to Stanstead, Luton, Gatwick every weekend, heading for Spain, France and other cheap European sunny destinations. The Gambia is attracting many whites too. Some for different reasons. We met an elegant white granny at Banjul Airport, who said that she is having the time of her life in The Gambia. What brings you here? Where else can a 70 year old like me get a young boyfriend to give me the time of my life! I am now retired with a regular pension, lots of time and no husband. I have 2 boyfriends. I bring them little gifts from London, the give me a good time. 1 pound in The Gambia is equivalent to 55 dalasi, and the regular wage is 1000 dalasi per month. While on the subject of The Gambia, this leads me on to the catch phrase of 2005 AFRICA. Africa's Calling! The recent verbal Africa expeditions by Tony Blair and various White Pop stars, is no different from the messages delivered by reggae artists for the past 35 years or so. Sadly though, that even in the call for their own liberation black people's voices are not heard. If Bob Geldolf is genuinely innocent of selecting the major artists of the world, then the UK music industry is guilty of a more serious crime. The failure to develop a fair system where any talent can rise to rise to the top, regardless of colour. The radio and TV stations of the UK will have to take a fair share of the blame. If you are white, with a bank account full of money from songs that you didn't write and you shout " Free Africa " you are a hero. If you are black, shouting the same messages, you will find yourself alone, even outside Brixton Town Hall on a Saturday afternoon. And if you stay long enough with your shouting, the local bobby will ask you to move, Ignore him and the next episode will be done from cell. This is the state of equality among the races in 2005. Have we progressed from the sixties or regressed? If you listen to the major UK radio stations in 2005, you can easily get the impression that black people from the UK don't make music. The only national reggae program on the BBC presented by Chris Goldfinger, plays Jamaican dancehall, ironically, if you are looking for positive, African messages you won't hear it on this program. You are more likely to learn the latest gay slang's. This program is produced and controlled by Tim Westwood. A former pirate radio dj who has come a long way from scaling fences in Crystal Palace to escape the DTI authorities. Most of his black counterparts, if not in jail, have merged into regular daytime jobs. The black youth in 2005 is probably worse off than his counterpart in 1965. The glass ceiling of racism has now become a wall, a wall that he cannot leap over. At least in the sixties the soundtrack of the exploited was predominately black, and it was heard!! NEW RELEASES... Aricd /lp 179……Ariwa Sounds 82 sessions……Various including Africa, English Girl, Johnny Clarke. Out September 2005 Aricd……Ariwa Sounds 81 sessions……Various including Love on a mountain top, Stylers, and many early classics. Out June 2005 Aricd 177……Rewired for Dub………..Horace Andy / Mad Professor / Joe Ariwa (Dub of From the Roots). Out June 2005 Aricd / lp 176……Pocomania Songs…………Max Romeo. Ariwa debut from veteran reggae artist. Out Sept 2005 Aricd / lp 175……Dub Revolutionarys Pt2 ….Sly/ Robbie/ Mad Professor/ Joe Ariwa. 2nd dub Album from the legendary sessions. Out Sep 2005 Aricd / lp 174……A new Galaxy of Dub….Mafia & Fluxy & Mad Professor. Sci Fi Dub pt 2. Out July 2005 Aricd / lp 172……Lyrics, tricks & Politics...Papa Levi. 3rd Ariwa album from the UK's No 1 Mic man Saxon's Papa Levi. July 2005 release Aricd /lp 171…….There is more to life……Aisha. Roots meet Gospel meets Lovers Rock, from the High Priestess. July 2005 release Aricd /lp 170…….Wake up……Earl 16. Earl's 2nd Ariwa album. Featuring Sly & Robbie. September 2005 Release Also.... Method in the Madness...Mad Professor Productions / & many more. Out on Sanctuary July 2005

ARIWA NEWS FEBRUARY 2005
Mushi Mushi!! Big congratulations are in order to Toots, who scooped the Grammy’s for the best reggae album. I was quite tickled to be in the nominations, but really didn’t expect to win! I do remember as clear as yesterday, that The Maytals were amongst the first groups doing reggae in the late sixties. I was tuning in to an Eastern Caribbean medium wave station with a very big transmitter. Radio Antilles would play rocksteady, reggae, soul, and calypso. It would not be strange to hear The Mighty Sparrow, Maytals, Marvin Gaye & Max Romeo on the same frequency within the hour! Toots is really an inspiration! Even more an inspiration when you meet him. A real down to earth character that don’t look a day older than 40! Amazing! As most Ariwa fans would know by now, we have the first batch of singles out in the shops. Kunte Kinte & Zion Bound are on 10 inch, while Black man and Works to do, are on 12 inch. By the last week in February, Release the Pressure by Kari (From Byron Bay) & Vex with the system by Bongo Kanny should be with you in the shops on glorious 12 inch, closely followed by Juks we a Juks (Max Romeo) and Glorify his name (Aisha), both on 10 inch. The Max Romeo track is taken from a long awaited album. Max and me spoke about working together since the early eighties, but many obstacles cause this not to happen until now. The Album is called Pocomania Songs. When you hear it you will understand why! Other albums coming soon are: There is more to life, by Aisha. Her third album for this label, and it contains the usual abundance of roots as on the High Priestess (Arilp029), which we should re-release quite soon. Return of the Dread Eye is the title of the Third album by Papa Levi on Ariwa. This is a very exciting album with Levi’s fast and fluid vocals causing you the rewind every 2 mins, to be sure nothing is missed! So with 81 Sessions & Horace Andy Rewired to Dub completed and ready to go you will get the impression that it’s all work & no play! Absolutely right!! I’m sending this from Tokyo, Japan, where I’ve been implanted all this week working on a very exciting group on the invitation by one of our larger cooperations. Koneshi Wa!!

ARIWA NEWS JANUARY 2005
As 2004 comes to an end it’s unbelievable that it is 6 months since the last Ariwa news. In the last 6 months we have had releases from Sly & Robbie, The Crazy Caribs, Horace Andy. As I write this page, news is creeping in that “Dub Revolutionary’s” the album with Sly & Robbie has been nominated for the Grammys, in the Best Reggae album category. This has made history as the first Dub / instrumental album to make this category. It caused me to reflect back to 24 years ago, when I released my first records and the reception I got from some local djs. “Don’t release a second” was the general reaction. I also thought about various budding producers, who were given the same message, and listened. What is true, is that the music business is no smooth chartered college course, and the reggae “business” is even more cowboy territory than the main business. Only made worse by the Crooked Highwaymen & women you will meet along the way, posing as promoters, radio djs, distributors, and artists!! As a black youth starting a label with a studio facility at the end of the seventies was definitely an act of revolution. Especially if you were attempting to do this with no previous experience, no contact and no friends. But who God bless no one curse, and if you spit in the sky it will fall in your eye! From record one I was not seeking a Grammy or a knighthood. I just wanted my records to be heard, that remain the same 200 albums down the line. In the past month or two I’ve done several interviews, one of the most frequently asked questions is: What is your secret of staying in business for two and a half decades? Of course the real question is how come you have survived the lack of airplay, the dirty distribution tricks, the negative propaganda that was continually dished out to you from day one? First of all, is to understand that as a black man running an honest business, you are automatically making a political statement. You are saying, that you are seeking your fair chance in the economy game that the Europeans and Asians dominated for centuries. You are fighting a stereo type view that says: As a black man, you should be happy with being the supplier of cheap disposable labour or grateful to be a security guard. As a symbol of my revolutionary stance and intention, I called my company Ariwa. A word whose origin is from Yoruba in West Africa, meaning communication. Even in the militant 70s full of Rasta ideologies, my choice of name stumped a few folks. What is sad is the public image and respect for the artist. When I was a kid, artists were icons who by the popularity of their songs became leaders, made political statements to a ready-made audience, were fashion models by automation. Based largely on the artist development policy of labels like Motown, artists learnt how to speak, how to behave in public, how to be interviewed. Generally artists were folks you loved to meet. Many modern artists are not the kind of folks you would take home to meet your mum or your Granny. They are rude, obnoxious, aggressive characters whose behaviour is more akin to delinquents in a detention centre! Even worse when they have a few shillings to display. They wear it on their necks, on their fingers, burn it on drinks & drugs that they consume with their eagerly loud entourage. Even worse still are the hypocrites that use religion to impress. Jah rastafari!! They cry! Africa the first! With more than enough money to fly their posse to Accra, Banjul or Senegal, they choose instead to live the lie, in Babylon. Rasta do this, Rasta don’t do that! Sadly the messages that gaved hope to a young generation in 1975, wears very thin in 2005, as the fake Rasta outnumbers the genuine. Nothing was wrong with Garveys’ messages of the last century that inspired the Rasta movement. It’s just that it has been modified and distorted until it ended up creating the same characters that inspired the movement!! What irony!! So, in 2005 I urge all progressive folks to get back to the diligent plan and leave hippyism alone! We in the entertainment business have a very important part to play. Lets inspire the desire to aspire! Not to show off, aggravate and irritate. We at Ariwa intend to stick to our original plan. Afro Carib and proud, we are happy to work with all races of this world to create a better place for all through our music. With a multicultural history rooted from Africa to South America and the Caribbean, London, England is our base. We are very grateful to all our friends around the world who tuned in and identified with us. From far away places like Australia, Japan, Korea, Brazil, Argentina, France, Venezuela, Mexico, Boston, San Francisco and nearer to home like Brixton, Balham, Hackney, Harlesden. The response from fans and colleagues have been so encouraging, that countered every time I was told by the negative forces, not to make any more music with joyful feedback and appreciation. We sincerely thank all Ariwa fans globally, for the great response and appreciation. Without which we would still be on Ariwa 001!!! JANUARY 2005 RELEASES Aricd/lp 177 : Horace Andy / Mad Professor - Rewired For Dub Ari 194A : Black Man…………The Dub Revolutionaries featuring Earl 16 Ari 194B : Nyabinghi………The Dub Revolutionaries featuring Earl 16 Taken from the album Wake up Format: 12 inch 45 rpm Ari 197A : Works To Do………the Dub Revolutionaries featuring Queen Omega Ari 197B : Sound Boy Jam………Crazy Caribs Format: 12 inch rpm Ari 198A : Release the Pressure………Crazy Caribs feat. Kari Ari 198B : Message from a Meteorite………(Taken from Scifi Dub 2) Format: 12 inch rpm Ari 199A : Vex with the system…Crazy Caribs feat. Bongo Kanny Ari 199B : FFwd To Dubwize……Mad Professor / Dub Revolutionarys Format: 12 inch rpm Ari 200A : Glorify his name……Aisha / Dub Revolutionarys (taken from the Album "There's More To Life") Ari 200B : The Coolest Dude……Dub Revolutionarys (taken from the album "Rewired For Dub") Format: 10 inch rpm Ari 10196A : Zion Bound…………African Pearl (taken from the lp 83 Sessions) Ari 10196B : Masquerade Dance………The Sane Inmates (taken from the lp 81 Sessions) Format: 10 inch 45 rpm Ari 10195A : Kunte Kinte…………Aquizm / Mad Professor (taken from the lp 81 Sessions) Ari 10195B : Kunte Version………Aquizm / Mad Professor Format 10inch rpm

ARIWA NEWS DECEMBER 2004
The following article was printed in the national press as a response to the New Years shooting and killing of two teenage girls in Birmingham. This article received national attention in January 2003 January 5th 2003 Dear Sir / Madam, As someone who has spent the last 22 years working in the Black Music industry in the UK as a record producer and a record company owner, I cannot help but draw a strong parallel between the popularity of certain types of music and gun crime. Let's be honest. The problem starts within the black community. We have to look at the causes and stem it from the causes. I think that the influences of a music culture that glorifies the gun, homophobic aggression, male chauvinism, drug culture and generally worship superficial wealth is making it's mark. eg.: One of the most popular songs over the holiday is a song called "Sorrow to the World." This song contains lyrics encouraging the youths to raise their guns. If we go back some 12 - 15 years ago, the main music diet of the black community was Lovers Rock, R & B, dancehall with "Girl lyrics." Also, the DJs on the radio at that time did not play certain records. The producers of BBC Radio One "Ragga and Hiphop" shows should share some of the guilt every time a black youth die by the gun in the UK. After axing the Ranking Miss P Reggae show in the early nineties, they replaced it with Goldfinger, who plays 100% Ragga. BBC 1 Extra has several programs that plays music that encourage gun violence, and a general ignorant aggro within the Black community. Whilst there is no program of positive black awareness, there is no music programs reflecting the large influence Roots, Lovers Rock, Jazz, dub had on the UK. I wrote to the BBC two years ago (see below/MP), and explained to the producers Lorna Clark and Ian Parkinson that they were encouraging violence amongst the black youth, I also pointed out that "staple diets" like Lovers Rock and Roots were completely ignored. Their reaction was that they were playing what the youths wanted, and that no one wanted to hear Lovers Rock, Roots or Dub. The government is totally missing the point. What's the point in looking at immigration when most of the youths with guns born and grow in the UK? They hear there heroes brag about guns. It's macho! I really think we need a radical change in the moral awareness of the music being played. This leads on to an intelligent test of those occupying DJ jobs, and a Limited Term for such DJs on the radio, and a facility where the public can object on the term being extended. Only a month ago a Government Minister in Jamaica, drew parallels between Dancehall, Hiphop and crime. They too have a problem of senseless gun crime. Black youths today lack the positive awareness that existed in the 70s and 80s. Not surprising. A look at MTV and similar programs continue to show videos glorifying expensive cars and a quick and easy attitude to gaining wealth, without showing the real work required to achieve. We in the black community have the problem. David Blunkett cannot solve it. Responsible people in the community has got to take up their positions to guide and influence the youths the right way. Radio, TV and Record Labels cannot be allowed to get a way with encouraging crime. Then we will be on the way to solve the problem. Neil Fraser / Mad Professor AN OPEN LETTER TO RADIO 1 19 12 2000 Hallo Ian, It's nice to hear from you. Firstly, I did not see the Sunday's paper article. I was only responding to the e-mail sent to me. However, thank you for your support, and I do know and appreciate that over the past 20 years or so, we have had John Peel, Andy Kershaw and Mike Hawkes, yourself and a few more giving us some worthy attention. But however, my gripes with the media is not particularly directed at any individual at Radio One, but in general across the board in particularly the 2 new stations that I have mentioned in my letter. Anyone looking at the success of UK artists over the past 10 years, would have to acknowledge the fact that the music industry in the UK has failed to produce any real successful black artists from the genres of Reggae and R & B, whilst in the eighties, the British Reggae scene was such an active cottage industry, that we were not even bothered if we got Radio one plays. That is because we had no one imposing their bias views on the public, and if you made a good record, that record will rise above the rest by the mere fact that people would have heard it when they go into the shops and asked " What's New" Also, we the UK labels had pressured the only 2 London reggae programs Capital Roots Rockers, and Radio London's Rockers FM, into playing every new record at least once, and if it was any good, due to public demand, it will be played again the following week. The most serious problem we have right now is that if you make R & B, you'll get some token play amongst the US releases. If you make Garage, you'll get played by the Dream Team on on some dance shows. Pop is well covered, so is Rock, Dancehall you've got Goldfinger, Hiphop & Rap you've got Westwood. What happens if you make Roots Reggae, Dub, Lovers Rock or Ska? Where will these be played? Despite these musical forms being so influential in the past 30 years or so, there are no specialist programmes dedicated to these styles. I travel abroad extensively doing my live dub show, and it is amazing how much reggae and it's musical relations are loved and respected. In almost every country, there are local reggae acts..... France...Pier Poljak, Germany ...Gentleman, Italy...Africa Unite, Brazil...Ciadade Negra...all acts are selling hundreds of thousands in their own country and are household names..without compromising their styles, and encouraging younger acts to be a part of the local industry. I think that Radio One DJs are more professional than some of the other stations, but there is a large gap in your repertoire. I really don't think that dancehall is broad enough and intelligent enough to have a programme by itself. I am also of the opinion that the negative contents of Dancehall and certain Rap records, and the fact that a lot of DJs choose to play it, is a direct contributing factor to the present wave of black on black crime that we are now witnessing as this is all that a lot of youths listen to. Many of the new DJs on the new stations need not only proper training, but also an intelligence test. Because they are doing a public service job, it is important that the example that they show is glowingly positive, especially in the current state of high black crime figures. The reason why I can be so sure of the connection of black crime and crap DJs, is that I have seen the development from the seventies when I started as a record producer, when we would not dream of making a record with the words "bitch" or "nigger", and definitely with the message to kill nor maim any one. I would be happy to come in and discuss further with you and your staff the points that I have raised in this letter, as I feel if action is taken now, we can positively encourage the creativity of the next generation. Communication is the key!!! Neil Fraser.

ARIWA NEWS JUNE 2003
Coming home to the UK from Argentina was a relief. It was not a bad place, but a country that made no sense. I heard reports of a heavy recession, yet Buenos Aires is more affluent than Sao Paolo. The most puzzling thing about Argentina is the lack of Blacks and Indians. Later someone explained to me that the Blacks and Indians were sent to the frontline to fight, and they were all killed! All killed! Very sinister. I thought this requires some deep research in the near future. May was my charity month of 2003. After being in business for a few years, I realised that by the forces of nature, one must recognise charities, even when they come disguised as money making promoters. So even when I came out of Barcelona Airport, I was aware of my charity commitment, and as I tried to find 3 lost musicians between Prague and Hamburg, Back in the Uk at Ariwa, Studio 2 really took final shape with the installation of Warblers, echoes & phasers. Earl 16 voiced the first track "Hail Him", whilst preparation was being made for the Meltdown. What is the Meltdown? The Meltdown is a mini festival that is held at the Royal Festival Hall in London. The festival is meant to be hosted by a celebrity, who will invite several artists of various styles and backgrounds, to perform over the month of June. This year the curate is Lee Scratch Perry. Whilst Lee didn't exactly choose all the artists that are taking part, he certainly approved them all. Certain people he totally refused to have, especially those from his productions. Also, certain folks he wanted just didn't  respond. So we have a compromise. Ideally, there should be more from the reggae community, but as the man says " I don't play reggae, I play eggae" and eggae artists are hard to find at the moment.

ARIWA NEWS MAY 2003
Heathrow Airport was home for the last few days of April and the first days of May. Connecting from Nice to Yugoslavia and on to Buenos Aires is not an easy feat. As you try to fly across Europe, you quickly realise why London is still considered the capital of the World! April was a wind down from hectic March. After the last 3 Perry shows in the UK a chill out was necessary. Exeter and Glasgow were hot shows. The great thing about playing the UK is that the audiences are right there with you. No misunderstandings , excellent vibes, and a totally responsive crowd. The Arches in Glasgow is a great example of how Scottish folk love to party. Back to Ariwa Studios where I cleared up some backlog of remixes and productions, before I can complete the projects, it was time to wing out to Pau & Albi. The show in Pau was at a huge barn-like stadium, where the Dub Show shared the stage with Massilla Sound system & Spook & the Guay. Two French bands that I have had the pleasure of working with in the studios before. Robin, the biggest Ariwa fan in Belgium was at both shows. Having travelled some 1000 miles to see the shows, you know he is serious! According to Robin, Albi was the best dub show he has ever seen! Big talk! It was a fat show for sure, but I am not sure if it's the best. At this point, I would like to send a message out to the French band from Paris who took Kingpin's bag by accident, to please return it! He left it in reception when he came down to breakfast, only to find the bag vanished 15 mins later with the band. The bag contains his mobile, diary, routing, and address books, and various personal possessions which you can imagine exists in a bag when the owner has no fixed abode!! For some strange reason, Kingpin still is waiting on his bag. April 24th myself & Joe Ariwa headed to Madrid for a show with Boc Guru Special from Girona. The more I go to Madrid, is the more I like this city. It's a real cosmopolitan melting pot. With an assortment of Africans, South Americans and Europeans. How do you answer your teenage son when he asks"Dad, are those women standing on the corner prostitutes?" Well you just tell him the truth! Sales girls!! Reggae has a small profile, nothing like the buzz in France; however dub is a little more hip. Adopted by the techno / dance crowd, unhindered by a lack of vocals, dub as a musical form is making steady inroads on a scene that's hungry for fresh ideas. This was a pleasantly satisfying show. The next day, found us winging to Bognor in North Wales via Luton. Bognor is more north than you imagine Wales can be, and quite continental. The gig was held in a community centre, and the "hotel" was the next door neighbour's spare rooms in the farmhouse. A great time was had by all, especially the posse who camped out in the freezing farm land! The last day of the month we went back to France. Nice to be exact. Sharing the bill with Capleton was strange! Having met a few of the crew in the hotel, I realised that I met a few of them in Jamaica a few years ago. Bongo Herman for instance, was the father figure, and elderly statesman of the group. The band is from Negril, the engineer is Michael Stewart (Tinga's son) whom I worked with at Black Scorpio around 1990. Most of the artists performing were from David's house. (Capleton's Label). A big production with a crew of 16. I am not convincing if this is the best way to present dancehall music. I would like to see a more sound system type of show. Belgrade Yugoslavia! Or Serbia or Strange sad land! I saw the signs. Having no ticket the day before travelling was the major sign that an amateur was at work. I ignore the signs, somehow got to Belgrade where officials demanded €60 to enter the country. We then drove 3 hours to a place called Subotica, where the festival was on Lake Palic. Great location, great potential, but bad organisation. The host, a youth man named correctly Fatty, didn't think I needed to see where the stage was until we were ready to play. Had he done so, the stage would have been laid out different. Certainly not one of the better gigs this season. So, the 12 hour flight to Argentina seemed like a great chance to rest and gets some sleep. It was, only to be interrupted by the smell of the stinkest feet since Mark Downey! The guilty hulk was not even next to me! I was by the window, he was on the aisle and a Brazilian Chinese girl was between us! There should be a law against stink feet! I was warned gently by journalists doing some interviews, that Argentina was a lot different from Brazil. Weather wise, Argentina was more like Spain or Italy in the spring. No coconut trees! No well endowed females like in Rio! Where Brazil is a real rainbow country, for some strange reason, most Argentineans were white. Some with a tan, very few Indians, and no blacks. This wasn't a problem for me. I was invited to play and to work with Nuevo Raices, on of Argentina's' reggae band. The leader of the band a little tanned lady called Mariella, was quite convincing that Buenos Aires was ready for the Dub Show. She was right! The show was hot! Maybe it was the tequila I was drinking, or it was the fire dancers that heated up the place, but it was a joy to see Rafaela, Manu, the MCs and all the crew and crowd rocking to dub & reggae rhythms till 5 o'clock in the morning! No sign of any recession in Argentina. No more than in the UK! Still no sign of Kingpin's bag

ARIWA NEWS APRIL 2003
The month of March was one of the most busiest and complex periods in a long while. The tour with Lee Perry kicked off in France and finished in France, but what complicated this tour is that in between the beginning and the end, we flew back to the UK 4 times. Playing Brighton, Birmingham, London, Ireland, Exeter and Scotland. The first date was near Brest in Western France, kicked off with a moody Mr Perry threatening to leave the show until the level of the monitors were lower, and the band played Eggae. He reaffirmed the fact that he no longer played reggae despite having just won a Grammy for the best reggae album. After various adjustments, the Eggae rocker kicked in, demanding that every song is played different, and confessing to the perplexed audience that he no longer smoked cigarettes, or ganja, or any other substance! After all, how can he heal is fans if he is not pure. This was a big show in Landerneau. It also had The Taxi Gang, with Sly & Robbie with Michael Rose. This show was very impressive! I first saw Sly with Lloyd Parks and Skin Flesh & Bones around 1976 at the Lyceum in the Strand, and he was amazing then. Prior to this drummers didn't star shows, but "knew their place" and waited for their cues!! More on Sly later. As the tour went on Lee settled down and was quite cool and amicable. The highlight gigs to me were. Brighton, Dublin, Paris (1st show) Lille, Marseilles infact the tour was quite brilliant with no bummers. 2nd night at the Jazz Café was very strong, as usual with London shows, full with celebrities and media types. The great thing about the Jazz Café is its intimacy. You can touch the artists, talk to them, smell them!! Jazz Café also score points for having the most cosmopolitan staff in London. Canadian, Bosnians, French. All very polite and efficient folks. Infact, the gigs in the UK were very much up the continental standards, the Dome in Brighton was spot on, very well managed and first class technical equipment and staff. After the last date in Paris, I zipped back to Ariwa Sounds to record with S & R. It was my first time working with Robbie, despite working with Sly in Jamaica in the late eighties & early nineties. After briefing them about the direction of this project, we settled down in laying around 12 heavy duty tracks in the first day. By day 3 we had about 27 tracks down. I was quite impressed with their love & knowledge of soul music, in particular, Sly in-depth appreciation and love for the Philly sound. We spent hours analysing the Philly / Motown / Stax influence on reggae, and the role of drummers Al Jackson and Earl Young in developing black music into current styles. The tracks came out quite solid, with a strong emphasis on the late seventies styles, and the channel 1 / Jo Gibbs sound, strictly real drums all the way. There must be 2 or 3 dub albums from those sessions, only time will tell. To help re-create the sound of the seventies, we have fitted a 16 track head stack, and an MCI JH 24 feeding the SSL board. Why? When cds are fastly becoming a white elephant and sales are plummeting like a leaded parachute. Because we love music and sounds!!!

ARIWA NEWS MARCH 2003
We were greeted with the news that Lee Scratch Perry won the Grammy awards for the best Album in the reggae category, leaving fans of favourites Bounty Killer, Capleton and Alfa Blondy stunned as to how, who and why? This news was most surprising in Jamaica, where many dancehall fans had to ask…A who dis? It's clear that many have never heard of the Black Ark hero. Whilst most reggae followers around the world are quite pleased for the recognition given to Scratch, many are shocked that he was given an award for what is possibly his weirdest product ever. But the music business is clearly not a logical predictable business. Meanwhile in Europe the news of Grammy was received with screams of delight from Mrs Perry with hoots and grunts from the Ark master, who instantly requested that the band rehearsed the Grammy song for the up and coming European tour. (Good Lucky Scratchy) recorded some 20 years ago at Ariwa Sounds in Peckham. A song that strangely enough, predicted that Mr Perry would get a Grammy. Why? Because he played a very good part in the Ark. I spent the first weekend going to the Swiss mountains with the head of the Royal festival hall, who upon the advice of Upsetter expert David Katz, decided to make him Curate of this years' royal festival hall summer programme. The Curate is responsible for selecting all artists performing for a 2-week period in late June, and will also do various performances as a soloist and with some or all of the artists chosen. We wait to see if Michael Jackson and Lauren Hill will be part of the Upsetting station. I took the opportunity whilst on the Swiss trip to record a Perry song for Sunday Best (Dan) amidst 2 feet of snow in the mountains. Geel was the host of the next weekend festival. The hospitality was very good, with a cook from yard in place to whip up some jerk chicken and rice before we hit the stage with Chukki Starr, Earl 16, and Denis Alcapone. As a bonus Mad Professor dub show rounded off the night with Pan Africanist and Jayzik. Other than the PA system being under powered, it was a great night. On Thursday the 20th myself, Kingpin, Chukki & Pan Africanist flew off to Bergen in Norway, where we did a hot marathon show. Having being inspired by keep fit experts Helene & Elisabetta (Spiked.com) whom we met on the plane, we decided that nothing less than a 4 hour show would do. The next day we went to an even smaller town in Norway Trondhiem. Located just outside the Artic Circle, Trondhiem is a clean quiet town, with the feel of a city. Despite being a small club, the vibe was great and the food was excellent. Highly Recommended.

ARIWA NEWS FEBRUARY 2003
War!! The mood of the first month of 2003 was largely dictated by the possibility of war, as the USA prepares to attack Iraq, despite a contrary public opinion. The silence of the people on matters that concerns them is very disturbing. In the black community we have seen how silence and complacency has led to a large erosion of standards. The stifled silence of the black press on black on black gun crime is strange. Equally that some “community leaders” insist on blaming the police for activities that start before the police enters the picture is also strange. If there is so much crack and cocaine in the black community, then who are the takers? Why do they have to sneak and hide? We are of the opinion that there is no smoke without a fire. If we have crack / cocaine addiction in the community, we must start at that end to solve this and all associated problems. Rasta For the past year or so, I have been asked many times by various European friends, how they can be a good Rasta. Before I can answer, I have to ask some questions. 1. When did you first hear about Rasta? If like myself, you heard about Rasta before 1974, whilst in school or college, then very likely you see Rasta as a political movement that was inspired by Markus Garvey in the early part of the 20th century. If you’ve learnt about Rasta after the mid-seventies, then very likely you have heard about Rasta through Reggae music. The fact is Rasta and Reggae were two very different subjects. This usually leads on to the next question. 2. Who is the most famous Rasta? The answer is usually Bob Marley. The fact is that prior to 1974 when Bob released Natty Dread, Rasta and it’s imagery was as popular as Gypsy folk in Europe! The fact that Rasta grew out of Marcus Garvey’s preachings & teachings, and was an important part of his back to Africa plan. Garvey formed an organisation called the UNLA. The Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League is a social, friendly, humanitarian, charitable, educational, institutional, constructive and expansive society, and is founded by persons desiring to the utmost to work for the general uplift of the people of African ancestry of the world. And the members pledge themselves to do all in their power to conserve the rights of their noble race and to respect the rights of all mankind, believing always in the Brotherhood of Man and the Fatherhood of God. The motto of the organization is "One God! One Aim! One Destiny!" Therefore, let justice be done to all mankind, realizing that if the strong oppresses the weak, confusion and discontent will ever mark the path of man but with love, faith and charity towards all the reign of peace and plenty will be heralded into the world and the generations of men shall be called Blessed. Among the objectives of the association, which became known as the UNIA, were: - to promote the spirit of race, pride and love -to administer to and assist the needy -to reclaim the fallen of the race -to establish universities, colleges and secondary schools for the further education and culture of the boys and girls of the race -to conduct a worldwide commercial and industrial intercourse. Garvey also started a shipping company called The Black Starliner, this was to deal with the physical movement of the descendants of slaves who wanted to go back to Africa. To prepare for this movement, a new imagery of the black man was necessary. Out was the self hate that was nurtured during slavery. Out was the skin lightening cream, out was the hair straightening process, out was the fair breeding process. Garvey also said “ Look to Africa, find your own king, praise him! “ Some how in 50 years, what was started as a positive reawakening plan, became pseudo religious cult with no political content. I have met many “Rastas” who talk about going to Africa, sadly despite earning enough to buy cars, houses etc have failed to do so. Many have ignored the basic Garvey’s teachings, and sadly lack any form of political awareness. Speaking of Rasta, I had the pleasure of playing at the Bobby Babylon club in Constantinople a few days ago. The packed club was rocking to the live dub mixes going down. After kicking off with Black Liberation Dub, we delivered Only Jah Works from Aisha, and kept it hard hitting all night. I stayed on for the rest of the week to mix the new album from Babbazul, one of Turkish hottest delights! Prior to that, I spent the week in Cannes for the 34th anniversary of Midem. Full of the usual bullshitters with the new added bonus of the artist! I have never seen so many unknown and desperate artists at Midem before. This used to be an industry trade fair, but as more companies amalgamate, the new artist is clearly visable. They walk around with a cd player and a pair of headphones looking for the next victim, trying to persuade them to listen to their new masterpiece!! If you’re a label or a production house with a catalogue, very likely Midem was great for you. As an unsigned artist, it has never the ideal launch pad, but more and more are trying. Vienna was covered in 2 feet of snow when the train pulled into Sud Banhof after myself and Earl 16 took the 9 hour journey from Firenze. Walter Mitty met us as promised with his humorous nature. Vienna, along with Berlin and Parisare some of the most dub ifected cities in Europe. Great reception! It was really nice meeting with Sabina, Karen and Jadi from Vienna again after 6 or 7 years not seeing them. Ariwa Studio 2 or Studio 10 ( it's the 10th Studio I have built) is almost finished. Centred around a 48 channel SSL 4000 it's built with analogue in mind. There is also a Studer A800 2 inch machine and a lexicon 480l reverb as standard. There is also a live area with a 7 piece drum kit. This is ideal for those who are into an analogue sounnd. If you are into digital sound it is also a great way to finish your preprogramed material, as there is a protools / mac system on the front end. First session is Japanese songstress Kaya. song called ...Family.

ARIWA NEWS JANUARY 2003
I spent the last day of 2002 in La Spezia in Italy mixing live dub to a crowd of 800 young Italians who insisted of dancing until the early hours of 2003. On reflection, I thought 2002, whilst not disastrous, was not brilliant either. It was the kind of year when you review and reconfirm your direction. In recent months I've learnt about the web sites where you can download any song. Yes, any song. This is of course very disturbing, especially when you make your living from selling records. I have had the displeasure of seeing sales drop every year for the past 5 years. This doesn't means that the songs are less popular, but the normal channel of sales are just not working anymore. It is certainly becoming more and more challenging to survive in an industry that cannot control the sales of it's products. So, with this state of play in mind, Ariwa enters it's 23rd year in the music industry. New Year resolutions!! Well, I promise myself to eat my meals slowly and try to enjoy them better. As I drove to South London, from Stanstead, I learnt that 4 young teenage girls were shot, and 2 of them died. The news had all the hallmarks of an Operation Trident job. OT was set up around 3 years ago, to deal with the growing problem of gun crime in the UK. The use of firearms has been increasingly employed by gangs of drug barons to defend their patch. Most of us in the music biz know that films and music are the 2 most influential mediums of the youths, yet the Radio Authorities in the UK refuse to acknowledge the fact that there is a connection between songs about guns, and the use of guns by the youths. Whilst this is a problem for society, It is first and foremost a black community problem, as all of the victims and the killers are black. We as a nation must seriously look at all the factors that make a certain sector of society take up weapons to kill their own. I've heard talk of blaming the police, unemployment, gun manufacturers and white society in general. We have seen the lack of responsibility when it comes to the type of music being pumped to the youths and ignored the possible effects. With this in mind, Ariwa Sounds confirm it's commitment to positiveness in lyrics and music. We look forward to joining all who feel the same way about music and crime in reversing this trend of sickness.

ARIWA NEWS NOVEMBER 2002
Well!! after a long break of some months here is the new news: I did start to write a news update in July, but due to problems with my comuter, I lost it all. So here goes! After Glastonbury the next show was in Montpelier on July 10th. The city centre was the venue for the city's first electronic festival which Mad Professor was chosen to headline. Because of budget limitations there was no MC or singer could be afforded. Anyhow the show was very energetic, with loads of enthusiasic fans. Thanks to Patrick, Natalie & Djedoua who kept rocking at the front of the stage. The next day took us to Barcelona, where we partied on the beach with Boguru and Ragna and Daara J. The next Day we drove to Girona in the north of Spain. Saturday 13th found us winging to Slovenia, where we played at the Reggaesplash in Tomlin on a beautiful site on the edge of the river. Mr Perry was in a very dancing mood, and he thrilled the audience with his hopping and skipping and nutty prancing, eating exotically Ooshas and Illoncas! On Sunday we left early to fly to Brussels to play at the Dour festival. Dour festival is an annual event that draws between 10 and 20 thousand people. We first played Dour around 7 years ago at that time it was a 2 day 2 stage event. 2002 it transformed into a multistage 7 day event drawing alot of acts from the reggae scene. The same day we played, Buju Banton was on a different stage, so was Max Romeo, so were several other small reggae acts. July 26th, Yellow Beach, Jaffa, Telavi This was the scene of another Mad Prof dub show. After battling with El Al security chiefs, who were convinced that a case of tape machines and sound effects were part of the enemies plan to blow their aircraft out of the sky, I finally made it into Israel. Funnily enough, there was less security pressure in Telavi than at Heathrow. The next month found the Ariwa posse at far flung locations. Koln, Germany at the Popkom, Glasgow, Oporto in Portugal and Brazil. What started as 1 free gig in Manaus, developed in a 2 week holiday in Brazil withmost of that time spent in and around Sao Paulo. Manaus is beautiful. None of the wild jungle terrain one would expect. The jungle has been cleared out, leaving a row of multi-storied hotels along the banks of the Amazon and the Rio Negro. the people friendly and warm with food prices very affordable! ?1 per day will get you a hefty plate of food and a drink. Sao Paulo was slightly more expensive, but not much if you have ??? to spend. What about the gigs??? Well the Brazillians were well into dub. The Manaus gigs were well catered for by the Greenpeace crew, who made sure we were looked after. Thanks to Danielle, Carlos, Paula, Albert,Yello P, Ana and Alex!! whose organising efforts made it all happened!! So many guys and girls made us feel welcome, that I am convinced that Brazil is the place for me to retire. I can't wait to get to Bahia. I was told that Bahia is paradise. Apparently this was the port where the slave trade entered Brazil in the 16th century, and the area contains around 50 million people of African descendants and various hybrids. As you travel around Brazil, the most amazing thing is the people themselves. Coming from Europe where most people are Black, White, Asian or "Mixed Race" Brazil has the most amazing mixtures of races and colours. When asked the question " What is your background?" Most Brazillians simply reply " Brazillian" a sign of the future??//

ARIWA NEWS JULY 2002
The month of June was started and finished with festivals. Kicking off in Lammezan, France with LSP to a full tent.We then flew off to Mexico City, where we played in an old Museum where the sound bounced so much around the place that we didn't need to use the echo. After a few days holiday, we went to San Francisco then on to Fairfax. The major differences between the US shows and Mexico is the crowds. Whether Mexico was rammed because people multiply like sand, or because they are in less of a recession, I'm not sure. But none of the show in the USA were corked like the show in Mexico City. The month of touring finished off in Glastonbury. Glastonbury, in case you don't know is the biggest festival in Europe. With several stages across Pilton Farm in Somerset, it was started a couple of decades ago by eccentric hippy Michael Eavis. My first Glastonbury was in 1984, with the Ariwa Possee featuring Ranking Ann, Sister Audrey, Allan Kingpin and Aquizm. This year we played on 2 stages, first the Glade in the late afternoon, then the Avalon, where we closed the show. I spent the week cleaning up old master tapes, and delivered a dub show mixing and remixing tracks from 20 years ago. It was easily one of the best sessions I have ever experienced since doing dub shows. The crowd were estatic! fuelled by the youthful teenage MCs, Vex, Stiltz and Pluto with mixing by Splinter with performances by Jayzik, Panafricanist and Bullet.

ARIWA NEWS JUNE 2002
St Lucia Jazz Festival was the kick off for activities in the month of May. All the signs of the type of audience were evident on the plane. The 21st century English Black. Aged somewhere between 25 and 45, loud, drunk, beer crazy, a deep fear of mosquitos, flies and other insects and folks in uniforms. The crew was having a busy time keeping them quiet. Twice the captain warned about the hazards of smoking in the toilets. Even though the flight was 8 hours, the bar was closed after 3 hours into the flight. The Branson crew were taking no chances. Why St Lucia is the new Mecca for the Black English Carib is not clear. Could it be that the heavy promotion by this island tourist board has finally broken through and has conquered the interest of the Diamonds / Choice crowd? Perhaps this is the reaction of a generation who clearly was not comfortable in going to Ibiza and Majorca, and fed up in going back to Kingston or Bridgetown because their folks originally came from there. Once on the island they are easily noticed. Not very happy without their fish and chips, and not convinced that local dishes are not poisonous. You hear them arguing with bar staff about filling the glass with drink. This generation expects it's full measure of every thing. This generation don't tip! During the day the girls lie in the hot sun (tannin), just like their white counterparts, while the men sleep of the previous night's activities which normally kick off around 9:00 - 10:00 at a junction of 2 pubs called The Lime where the music is played at full throttle by UK based DJ's and soundsystems. With mixed feelings, I had to depart one holiday resort, and head to another 'exotic' destination: - Greece! Having read the stories of the Greek 'gods' and the Greek myths and legends, I was very curious to see how much of the ancient mythology has remained in this 21st century. The first impression I got was ' These people can't be used to black folks' Staring eyes followed us as we walked about Athens. Policemen looked very uneasy as we passed them by. Yet physically the Greeks are built very much with an African physique coated with easy-to-tan-skin. Strange! Were they no black folks in Athens? Maybe it's the part of Athens we were staying. I'll ask George. George our local oasis in this cultural desert. George runs the local dub / reggae club. George was threatening to bring us to Athens 4 years now, but somehow could not pull it off. He's now pissed off as a local promoter more renowned for dance and pop has pulled off the impossible. I also asked George why we found it hard to get a taxi to pick us up on the street. He explained it was the time of the night, but somehow he pulled it off, stopping the first taxi that he tried. When myself and Chukki tried the same trick, it failed to work! Flashes of Steel Pulse experience with New York taxi drivers came into my mind. Is Greece one of the last uncivilised places on earth? Where taxis are not used to picking up blacks I pondered but ffwd!!! Never the less the venue was on the beach in Athens. And bearing in mind that the promoter only had 2 weeks to promote the new date, we somehow managed to get 2500 fans partying to the sounds of Chukki Starr, Lee Scratch Perry, The Robotiks and a Mad Professor Dub Show. Upon arrival in Belgrade the next day, it was clear from the reception at the airport, that the Greeks were not used to dark skinned folks. The Serbians were warm and hospitable, considering they were not so long ago been part of a war zone. The venue was in an old arena, and the friendly faces greeting us made us felt welcome considering we had no sleep the night before. Over 6000 fans turned out. No Chukki this night, we treated them to a Mr Perry special then to a Live Dub Show that finished a little too early for most folks. The final weekend of May say us in Detroit Michigan at the DEMF Techno / Electronic festival right in the city centre. "Downtown" No sounds of Motown at this festival, but beats, dancing beats that helped Detroit in stayed in the music arena for the past 15 years, as Motown became a collector's item. Some connections do remain though, like the young dread "Jah Berry" a nephew of Diana Ross who is a real dub fan with ideas for his own dub mission. All in a month's work that felt under worked most of the time!!

ARIWA NEWS MAY 2002	Jayzik Mikey Dread
Spring, Easter, Sunshine!! This time of the year is full of positive vibes as the days get longer and the nights get shorter there are more smiles on strangers faces, everyone seems more happy and women looking more pretty as they reveal more bodies!! So it is with this positive vibe I spent April 2002, enjoying the English spring vibes with a fair smattering of studio work. The longest remix I ever undertaken was a track called Reggae Party with Third World, Bounty Killer & Shaggy. Why it took 4 days? I can go into it now, but it will be technically boring. The Debut album from Jayzik "Problem Child" is completed, so is the CD version of Si Fi dub part 1. Also making the finishing line is "The truth as it happens" Lee Scratch Perry live. An album which draws from shows in France, The UK and Holland. This Album includes the Upsetter Stripdown in Brighton, where he showed the audience "Jesus Christ." Whilst on the subject of Lee Perry, we had three fun shows in April. The first at Chateau L'acour in the middle of nowhere between Lyon and Italy was a rocking show with the Robotiks..the audience was very enthusiastic and thrilled..nice vibes. We went on to Biella in Italy, where we played at the Babylonia club (A strange name for a reggae club!) Probably the best gig by Perry in Italy. The final gig on the weekend was in Annercy, where the triple bill was Mikey Dread, Max Romeo and the man himself. A massive aerodrome type building was the venue and it was rammed to the hilt. thousands of reggae fans rocked to the beat. It was great to hook up with Black Steel, Max, Sister Audrey,Di Bass, Horseman and the rest of the gang from the Uk roots sector who we know and work with from morning. With Macka B playing the same weekend in St Ettienne, this is the perfect proof that reggae is hot in France.

ARIWA NEWS APRIL 2002
Funny how time flies. It seems like yesterday that Ariwa Sounds was started in my front room in Croydon. It's incredible how fast 23 years have gone. Whilst reflecting on the history of UK reggae, myself and a couple of friendly label rivals were trading stories of irony last week, I was reminded of story I thought I should share with you. Just fresh out of my teens, I decided to build my mixing desk, and start my studios in my front room. Quite normal in 2002, but in 1979 this was something of a revolution. After I made my first record "Come back again" by Sgt Pepper. I overdrawn my bank account took the tape to be mastered, then onto the pressing plant where I ordered 1000 of my proud masterpiece. After the records were delivered I took them around to the various independent distributors and radio stations whilst friends and artists around egged me on with words of encouragement on how wonderful the song was, and how well it will be received. After receiving no airplay from the pop or the ethnic programs, I made a phone call to the stations seeking some feed back. One dj was quit blunt. " I won't play that"! Where was it recorded? Front room! It sounds like it. Whatever you do, don't leave your daytime job?. but I've left already! I retorted. "That's the worst recorded I've ever heard" the dj hammered in my ears.. I licked my wounds and continued. The 2nd release got played and by the third release "Young girl" we started to enter the charts, and became accepted as a UK independent black music label. I did not speak with our dj friend until four years later when "Country Living" moved swiftly to the top of the charts, sweeping every "yard" rhythm out of the way and wedged itself at the top for 10 weeks. Ariwa had truly arrived! The phone rang constantly. Our dj was quite embarrassed and apologetic. "I take back everything that I said, I'm glad you stuck to it". The sad thing is, how many youths may have given up or changed their career because of the wrong reception. How many may have decided that it's easier to mug or steal, or deal rather than putting up with the harsh rejection from so called experts. No, I won't name the dj, he did apologised, and as a label, we have certainly stood the test of time and of critics. One good lesson learnt, is that when you make a song with genuine care and originality and an "expert" don't like it, it's a good thing!! For every "expert" that don't like it you will find a few folks that actually love and understand it. Ariwa Sounds give thanks to all our fans & friends for the understanding and encouragement despite being in different parts of the globe, different colours, speaking different languages. We also give thanks for all the folks who don't like or appreciate our records?we don't expect every one to like everything, and because we are committed to making socially aware music, we expect to piss of some folks. Great!! That's the idea!! When I have to copy a studio one bass line, and paste nursery rhymes to an automated backing track to sell a few copies, then I will rather retire!! So my message this month to all the youths who have a concept and a sound in their head. Don't follow the bullshit. Make the music that you believe in, someone somewhere will love it. If the experts really know what the masses want, they will be making hits 24 - 7 all year round. March was a very busy month in the studios. Works completed include "Problem Child" the debut album from Jayzik?the simple Poet. From Mars ?.with Dub?a dub extravaganza with Mafia & Fluxy New singles from Earl 16, Michael Profit, The Congos & Chukki Starr?. Whilst a bunch of remixes including one from Takako in Japan, Tanya in Toronto & Salmonella Dub in New Zealand!!

ARIWA NEWS MARCH 2002
Due to quite a heavy schedule in studio activities, we are a little slow in bringing the news page this month. I can tell you though, that we have postponed most live activities for a few months in favour of being in the studios. We have completed 8 albums in the past 6 weeks as well as recording 12 singles from various UK & JA artists. We will have further details in the coming weeks. So, I must return to the dubtable and leave you to imagine what sounds are being cooked up... until the next news bulletin.

ARIWA NEWS FEBRUARY 2002
The first month of the year was a Spaghetti Affair!! Kicking off in the Italian city of Milano with a rammed party. A direct result form the collaborations with our friends Raphael & Dubital in Pistolia. A friendship that goes back 10 years or so. Some nice vibes with the Slovenian Sinigoj posse kept the gig lively and moving. Sister Audrey performed her hits to the gawking senors at the front. Nice vibes, especially in Pescara. We returned a week later with Zakeya & Chukki, to Modena, Bari, and a few other cities dubbing them crazy with the ever evolving dub show. In between all that, I managed to get to Switzerland with Mr lee Perry, playing 2 sold out dub shows in Lucerne and Neuchatel. With wife Mirrel, one son & one daughter on stage, along with a baby-sitter, it was truly a family affair. This did not make the show any tamer than normal, as our black ark hero threatened on a few occasions to show the crowd "Jesus". Only the Lord knows why he held back, as the predominantly teenage crowd was ready for anything!! Those gigs were so hot, that we've since been requested by the Swiss to return in the summer to deliver some more!! Studio wise, I've had my most active and rewarding sessions for years. Completing albums by Panafricanist, Joe Ariwa, Roots Daughters. Mixing & remixing singles from John Mclean, Jayzik...Laying trax with Leroy Mafia & Flux whilst preparing a new lp with the Heywood brothers & mixing a rootsy Luciano track from them. As usual, we try to squeeze 36 hours out of a day without quality being compromised. Studio work is so enjoyable that it's tempting to cancel all tours, and stay studio bound!!

ARIWA NEWS JANUARY 2002
Firstly I would like to wish all our fans and supporters a happy 2002 and I hope this year brings you closer to fullfilling your dreams!! Since our first releases in 1981, 2001 is the year with the barerst of releases. With very few recordings taking place. Maybe it's the calm before the storm, as right now in the pipeline ready to go, are new albums from Macka B, Lee Scratch Perry, Pan Africanst, Jayzik the Simple poet, Joe Ariwa & many more. Global piracy As we begin the first month of 2002 it is clear that the recording industry is going through the worst period since its existence. A combination of global piracy, due to the easy facility to copy cds, and a lack of variation on the legal media houses, and a lack of real genuine music reaching the ear of the consumer masses. In the last months of 2001, many independent labels and major houses have started trimming rosters, and getting rid of high salaried executives, in a bid to keep shareholders and accountants happy with their balance books. We in the reggae world have seen a lack in sensible reorderquantities, as a higher proportion of initial shipments end up being duplicated by cowboys and friends. It is clear, that unless a new medium that can ensure copyright material is not illegally copied is established , the industry is in real trouble. This coupled with the fact that many people now feel that music should be free in any case, just like fresh air, and copyright owners and songwriters should not be paid! With such attitudes in mind, we at Ariwa would like to remind all fans that the making of music from this label, is first driven by the desire to make thought provoking, stimulating, message music that reaches your brain, your heart, your pelvic & your feet, in this order. Whilst we are not driven by a desire to top any charts, we find it necessary to make enough profit to pay for the facilities and professional musicians & technicians that keep the wheels turning. So we call on all fans to buy genuine product, and leave the shit copies in the toilets where they belong. Don't waste it. Whilst on the subject of quality product, I would also like to remind all artists and musicians, whether recording for Ariwa or not, that it is important that value for money is delivered at all times. The consumer is more money conscious in these times, and there is no reason why any one should buy a weakly performed version of a 1975 classic, that is poorly recorded with a lifeless drum machine on a computer with every thing played by one man. Artists should try to go back to the quality control days of the 70s and 80s when it was quality first, money after. The basic principle was: Don't enter a studio unless you have something special to say. Putting some nursery rhymes to an old rhythm is not songwriting! Take the time and get an arranger, build a fresh rhythm for a fresh song. If the song is good, don't waste it.

ARIWA NEWS DECEMBER 2001
Back in the Uk after an exciting US tour with Lee Scratch Perry was a comfortable feeling. Kicking off in a paranoid (understandably so) New York city we had tense show at SOB's..just a few blocks away from the WTC. the East Coast of America was just going through its nervous aftermath, with everyone asking 'What's Next?' Anthrax? Some ended up boarding Amtrak faster than you could screamed Anthrax...heading out of town. As we got to Texas things got a little better, though punters were clearly worried about going in public places, as various scares and false alarms filled the front pages of the press. By LA things looked quit normal...the almost capacity filled El Ray Theatre was a relief especially looking out and seeing smiling friendly familiar faces. Scientist, Errol Dunkley, April Weller, Shevy, Marylin & Emiko kept the good vibes going back stage. By the time we reached 'Frisco it was clear that the West Coast was a different vibe all together. two nights at the Justice League run by Michael was solidly sold out. With Bella & Brixton Hit Man keeping the vibes flowing it was a nice weekend, with Systemwide playing a wicked set before Mr Pipecock hitting the stage to his mesmerised crowd. The tour finished in Seattle with a dub cast show featuring yours truly & LSP, Scientist & the Fully Fullwood Band & Mikey Dread & Adrian Sherwood & Aprentice on the decks...A funny show. The mood of this show was already set by some old slavemaster trix from before slavery was abolished!!! At least our brains was cleared enough to spot the shit before it covered us!! Just a reminder that slavery with racism was primarily popular because it was easy for some unscrupulous white men to get rich quickly by employing house slaves & field slaves and causing enough confusion to set one group against the other....since that time, it has always been easy to pitch groups of blacks against each other, using glitter, gold & diamonds as the lure...or just drugs and ego...So it is important that we all tune into the same frequency and don 't be confused. When I say we all I mean, Blacks, Whites, Reds, Browns, Purples, Greens, or whatever colour you might be...once you are conscious, progressive, and aware of the fact that mental reorientation of the mind is required for us to cast off all the negative imagery suppressing the black race since slavery. So I would remind all fans, friends & foes of Ariwa that whilst we are primarily a record label / recording studio...we are not just another business. As you listen to the various tracks & artists you will be constantly reminded that there is always a message within the music. We love to show love and sing about love, but we find it necessary to sing about truth and rights, justice, and the positive spiritual awareness, that man needs to progress. hence is not by accident Macka B "s albums bear titles like "Sign of the times" "We've had enough" and other album releases had titles like "Roots Man" (Michael Prophet) "Afrocentric Dub" ( Mad Professor) "True Born African" (U-Roy). So it is important that everyone who is part of the creative process share that vibe and build on it and enhance it. If you don't like it or don't understand it that's cool too, but don't come in and try to change it as there are loads of majors, minors and independents doing other things that are different from us. As one of my favourite songs by one of my favourite artists Bunny Livingstone said: Every fig must find his own fig tree... So who every desire to come amongst the Ariwa Clan whether to sing, drive or dance, distribute, promote or even attend some shows, should first do a crash course in what we are about, listen to some albums, Macka B, Pato, U-Roy, Mad Professor, Lee Scratch Perry, Chukki Starr, Shaloma, Kofi, Tony Benjamin, Kingpin, Sandra Cross, Sister Audrey, Starkey Banton, Ranking Joe, Jayzik, Panafricanist, and a host of others. Discover the message within the music within the madness, then proceed accordingly!!

ARIWA NEWS NOVEMBER 2001
The past month or two has been so filled with movements that changing places has been very consistent. On the subject of consistency, the most amazing thing in recent months is the inconsistency of some artists who departed from this fold as far back as 8 years ago, and now in 2001 had a dream that Ariwa / Mad Professor is the current Mecca. Even though some has left the label acrimoniously, bound for greener pastures, they are usually convinced at that point, that the label is too small, slow, and poor for them. The more serious departures are usually surrounded by even dodgy accusations. So when your 'phone rings 2 years later, or 5 years later, the last person you would expect on the other end is someone who really jumped off the train thinking that the train is not only too slow, but because they are so great, the train would stop when they hop off. The year 2001 is the year when they all attempted to hop back on.......Usually sounding very friendly and keen but without a word of apology the specimen can't wait to get back in the studio again, or come on the next gig. After all the train did not stop, but gathered more speed and momentum so why not hop back on and slow it down... So, where does this schizophrenic type phenomenon comes from? This is a condition I have witness since 1982 when some early productions went berserk as the artist had 'voices in their head" telling them something totally different from the original plan.....amazingly they expect you to go along with their mental fluctuations which occurrence has got no relevance to anything logical. Meanwhile...in gig land ....October saw the Dub you crazy tour hitting one of the most Southern cities in the world, Dunedin. A sleepy, hilly, city with a young population that seems very thirsty for good music. This was the first gig that the message of dub had to be delivered without the services of an MC. Due to unforeseen circumstances, on this tour we did 5 shows this way. Necessity being the mother of invention forced a new show out of all this proving also, in the abundance of water, the fool is thirsty!! One thing for sure, half a loaf is better than one, doesn't apply to the world of MCs!! The worry / despair of the war definitely was felt in the major western cities, even as far away as Australia, resulting in some dates including the Livid festival, being grossly underpopulated. The Japanese dates were totally rammed, with Fukuoka and Tokyo being very vibed up events. Osaka was a more laid back crowd, reminding me of playing Rotterdam about 20 years ago where the audience was so stoned that you'd think they were not there!!!! This has been them season of proverbs and prophecies...applicable ones that come to mind are :- What is hidden in the dark will surely come to light!!! Show me your company and I will show you your friends!! Looks are decieving!! Don't burn your bridges, as you will certainly need to cross them again!!

ARIWA NEWS OCTOBER 2001
DECLARATION OF WAR / ARMEGEDEON WAR If like myself you were one of the last persons on earth to have heard about the events that shook the world and flatten the World Trade Centre on September 11th 2001, then you must have thought it's all a dream. I was enroute from my Eastern Caribbean holiday when all this was happening. Since returning to London, I have been asked by several journalists, dubious characters and odd persons about my views and thoughts on the events. I decided that I will not comment to any individual, but digest the news first and foremost. Realistically, the news should not have been too shocking, considering various persons and books wrote about similar events. The bible being the principle book contains similar predictions, Notrodamus wrote about certain phenomenon's that were probably difficult to interpret. Closer to home in January 2000 we at Ariwa Studios recorded a chilling piece of dub. So chilling we called it Declaration of War.( Trix in the Mix) Mad Professor ARI CD 155 Two weeks after recording this track, Lee Scratch Perry voiced it. Calling it Armageddon War. (Techno Party) AREM 001 This track spoke of "Thousands of Americans dying" and various scenarios, very close to what is now history. Coincidence or deliberate? Can certain events be predicted? And if so, do we shut up the "Predictors" like in the olden days, or continue to ignore messages and works of art that may not be tidings of joy. Of course 21st century media has a part to play. Never before throughout history has mankind been able to communicate with his own like now. We have thousands of radio stations, equally thousands of newspapers, millions of mobile phones, computers, web pages and many other methods only just short of telepathy. So there for why there is still very little voice and medium for the alternative works of art? Why is message music still ignored? Anyone listening to Radio 1, Capital and the other main stations in the UK, would hear the same crap day in day out, as Babylon praise demigods characters posing as "DJs" and "Pop Stars" I am not saying that by playing message music disasters will be avoided. Not necessary, but at least anyone will have the choice to listen or ignore certain sounds. Even the so called "black media" The Choices of Voices is caught up with the same ego tripping crap Mirroring the Suns of Radio One. At least if we were free to hear true alternative political and creative music, and if we were free to read true alternative press, we would then be able to truly understand where we stand in the scheme of things and not necessary reacting as we are programmed to. In the mean time, please check out "Trix in the Mix" by Mad Professor Ari 155 and "Techno Party" by Lee Scratch Perry...Arem 002.... Have a good listen, you may be able to "predict the plot" next plot.... Personally Speaking. I would like to say a big yow to my elder sister's husband Bert who fled from the WTC where he worked for his daily bread. Reminding me, that all types of people were affected by the crash...Black - White, Rich - Poor, Man - Woman. Front Door Close / Back door open. For many years as I travel through Europe, I've been baffled why in some countries, mainly Germany, Italy and even Holland ...if you are a black man you are subjected to unnecessary crap. You can be the 10th person passing through immigration, all with the Red Book (British Passport), which is meant to allow free unhindered passage to persons of any colour..But for the single visibly reason that the 10th person is black, that person is then stopped, questioned, his passport physically ripped apart, he is meant to feel like a fugitive, a refuge, a criminal..embarassed,hassled, while the real terrorist sail through and, if a terrorist really want to get into any of those countries...he would prefer to travel by land, where there are no border controls. So the front door is locked tightly, but the back door is wide open. I travel often enough, to observe this...so if you think this is not the case, please try visiting those countries using both methods. You will see what I mean!!! Guilty. Whilst we all mourn and grieve the loss of life that occurred in the twin towers, attention is brought to one man...one Bin Laden. The funny thing is, we the public has still yet to see some hard evidence linking this man to the bombing. Because the hijackers are now dead, there can be no confession.. We therefore will not be part of any hysterical lynching mob. Instead we reserve the right of any democratic citizen...i.e.: innocent till proven guilty.... Now, back for a word from our sponsors.....Music.....

ARIWA NEWS SEPTEMBER 2001
Witness in Dublin was the first live date in August. A large festival of 50,000 capacity located at a racing track with 5 different stages we went on stage for an hour to young screaming Irish fans. Despite the rain about to pour, Mr. Perry performed his Techno Party, Jazzy Baby, and other hits. On the weekend we took flight to Barcelona, where we met with Ragna, Monique, and Eva, who took us on a real seafood binge...We continued for the rest of the tour with seafood as the main diet. Even though we have played Spain for many years under the guidance of Louis Coya, this is the first time that we ventured down south. Alicante was a beach festival so packed that the audience was pushed in the sea...needed better organising but strong on crowd participation. All the bands played Bob Marley songs...to which the crowd sung along heartily. Girona was a nice little festival, where we met with Desmond Dekker. It's the first time we met in 20 years after recording with him in my front room 2 decades ago. Delroy the manager was full of ole time stories....so was Leroy Green ex Natural Touch ('80s lovers rock group) and Steve the guitarist who reminded me that he played on 2 tracks in '88 on Comet in the sky...and of course his name was not credited on the album.... Well, if we ever press it again, I will rectify that!!! A couple of Jah Warrior crew from Ipswich were also in the band... Nice one guys!!! The Barcelona gig was at the cosy Japan club, in the famous Ramblers district. A big yow to Emma Infrades & Pilar and all the Latina ladies. The mixing desk was bigger than the stage...incredible!!! Tarifa in the South was a gig in an old arena (almost Roman). Tarifa is the most southern part of Europe, and certainly the nearest to Africa. You can see Gibraltar from the coast. Infact Tarifa is now the place where a lot of Moroccans and Africans are losing their lives swimming the Mediterranean trying to get to Spain and the rest of Europe for "a better life" We finished in Malaga with the best show on the tour. Raquel a Spanish Chickina with English connections came on stage doing a version of the Creator. She and her brother Angel from Amala family band made us feel well at home...true oasis in the desert. This gig was in an outdoor arena in an all night fun fair, we played for over 3 hours. After the gig we went on some rides, got drunk, dizzy, and high ... totally recommended!!! Back in the UK the most funniest Lee Perry situation in years occurred.... So funny that I cannot write about it, but hopefully one day it will be documented... It will surely leave you in stitches...you have been warned!!!!

ARIWA NEWS AUGUST 2001
The past month has been well varied and exciting with more than it's fair share of humor. The first gig was in Sicily under the Volcano Etna, where we dubbed the Mafia silly till morning in the grounds of the Godfather's backyard. Sicily...an island in the Mediterranean sea not too far from the African continent. Sicily...home of the Mafia Sicily...A place where anything goes!! With this background it's most surprising that there are hardly any black people on the island. I mean you would have expected a few Africans to have settled there after being shipwrecked over the past millennium...well, other than a few Senegalese hawkers selling trinkets, and a half caste (no offence) some prefer mix race, but for years it's been haf caste ...anyhow a haf caste lesbian infront of the stage who was chatting up Sushi with the passion and aggression of a wolf!! But, even though we were the token blacks, we were not badly treated, I guess they knew we were leaving soon. we were stared at very heavily though!! Malta, another Island in the Mediterranean had even fewer black people. You do get a lot of stares and a slight uneasy feeling like they are not used to seeing blacks. The next weekend we went to Bristol festival...performing a wicked set...leaving next morning to do The Essential festival in London. Essential...started around a decade ago by a few students soon out grew the campus grounds. Normally located in Stamner Park outside Brighton...this year was relocated in Hackney due to the foot and mouth disease. This year we had two artists performing. Macka B with Royal Roots, and Mad Professor meets Scientist. Both played in the roots tent which was rammed tightly. Presented by Denis Nolan the dub show felt almost mystic, with the audience glued to their position in fascination!!. The pa system was under powered with a roll off on the bottom end, but we sailed through. Another successful show under Ish's belt, whilst under the guidance of culture promotions hardworking lady, Miss Eezer!! A weather cancellation blew out the Macka B show in Western France on July 19th, but next day we flew to Bratislava to play at the Podova festival...another wet and muddy affair caused 2 bottles of alcohol to be consumed, whilst a number of spliffs got burnt!! Back to Heathrow and straight into Brockwell Park to the Country County festival, where Levi Roots was on stage. We soon took to the stage, driving the bad weather away with some heavy dub!! Somehow despite all the traveling, we still manage to get some remix work done for Japanese pop band Da Pump...sounding well charty, it should be available in your local shops near or in Tokyo.. We would like to congratulate our own Carol Sims (Aka Kofi) on her matrimonial knots to none other than our own Leroy Mafia (from Mafia & Fluxy) Not to be out done by matrimonial knots tied by Lisa Registe (Aka Comforte) to a fella whose name escapes me right now. Both ladies were seen earlier this year sitting in the same chair in the Ariwa reception. Any one who sat in the grey chair in the reception area at Ariwa, can be assured that a successful proposal will be coming their way. Only last week Sushi was sitting in the same chair... closely followed by Jayzik!!! Watch this bulletin for further news!!

ARIWA NEWS JULY 2001	Mad Prof In Action
The month of June was a heavy scheduled tight period with lots of traveling. Germany was the first stop, closely followed by Portugal where we had a sold out date in Oporto...the next day we went to Dublin for the next five days preparing Mr Perry for his acting debut!!!! soon to be shown at a cinema near to you!!! The US tour was a hot temperature / cool vibes affair with the Sierra Nevada World Music being the climax!! What a climax...Mr Perry performed with such an energetic vigour, obvious inspired from his time in front of the camera...the audience was with him all the way.... As the house engineer, I had great pleasure mixing Linval Thompson, Gregory Issacs and son Devon (a brilliant young singer who learnt a lot from his dad), Eek a Mouse with his his little son....Don Carlos, the Abbysinians, Rocker T and a few others... Superbly organised this sold out festival was the first at this old gold rush site....the only gold in sight was the rich reggae heritage which is so well at home in the west coast of America... The young, the reckless and the beautiful, mixed well with the older more relaxed and cautious folks...Dreads and bald heads getting it on with half naked girls flashing their bodies to the sun....We finished the festival with a marathon dub show...starting before 8:00 pm to a vacant room it was nice to finish well after 12:00 am to a busy crowd who just wanted more and more!!! There was some performances from Jayzik, Sushi and Panafricanist, but due to bouncing acoustics we made it a heavy dubwize might.....dubbing dem crazy till the morning. The next day early in the morning, we said goodbye to the desert with the satisfaction of a job well done. 10 hours later we were on our way to Lisbon in Portugal, where we headlined the LX Cool festival next to the river....after arriving home for the 3rd time in June I slept for the rest of the month!!!!

ARIWA NEWS JUNE 2001
May 2001 was very busy with lots of travelling to wide and varied territories. The first weekend kicked off in Zagreb, where we dubbed dem crazy till the small hours of the morning. With Dj Vien, Jayzik, Panafricanist & Sushi..the place was buzzing whilst local TV filmed the gig. The second weekend was even more busy ...first show was at the Blue Mountain Club in Bristol where punters were in a heavy dub mood...We were whisked off early next morning to Bern in Switzerland where we were joined by Mr Lee Perry for an electronic dub night alongside the Freestylers...as the night finished we were again whisked off ...this time back to London where Mr Perry was in concert at the Hackney flagship venue "Oceans". The show was one of Scratch's best London performances in a long time. Reunited with Black Steel after a 2 and a half year gap. The vibes were very electrifying, with the capacity filled venue rocking to old and new songs. The 3rd weekend was splitbetween Germany and Israel..How? That would be telling, but whilst Macka B, Mad Professor & Royale Roots were in Hamburg and Bremen, Lee Scratch Perry, Mad Professor and the Sane Inmates were in Tel Aviv playing at a sold out venue near the beach.... The rest of May was spent in Germany dubbing the germans crazy!!!

ARIWA NEWS MAY 2001	Jayzik & Pan Africanist Scientist
The following new recordings were made in the past month. Mad Professor meets Scientist at Ariwa Studios??.?Aricd160 The Scientist flew into London in May to complete what must be the Dub clash of the new century!!! 14 stunning new tracks?.mixed using the best in analogue technology? Watch this page for release dates!!! Into the Pan??????????..Pan Africanist???..Aricd099 The long awaited album by Baby Father author Patrick Augustus is finally finished. Recorded with the full sunshine of the Carribean Basin. This album demonstrates the skill used by the Steel Pan?.which is the only new musical instrument developed in the 20th century. Made by the steel drums discarded by the oil refineries in Trinidad, it came to the world of music from the 1950's. The Simple Poet????????..Jayzik???????Aricd159 Jayzik - the simple poet has been around a couple of decades writing poetry and performing around the London area. Having published her unique book on poetry last year. She has now recorded some of her strongest poems to Ariwa rythms, creating a strong marriage of dub poetry. Strong tracks to watch out for includes : Money, Snowmen in winter, Desert Storm. Out Soon!!!!!!! The Mad Professor Dub tour was busy for the past month in the USA. Featuring Panafricanist, Jayzik, Sushi on selected dates Scientist. Strong dates on the tour were First Avenue in Minneapolis, Elbow Room in San Francisco, The Cooler in NY, and Bearsville Theatre in Woodstock. The Steel pan was a strong feature on the tour, alongside the contrasting female vocals! The Dub tour continued in Scotland with Lee Scratch Perry added to the bill, to bring the house down in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen. A great time was had by all.

ARIWA NEWS APRIL 2001
The month of April was spent with very little studio activity, with live shows taking a priority over productions. Scientist was at Ariwa Studios mixing Mad Professor meets Scientist at Ariwa Sounds....due to be released late spring. A seductive remix of Mission Control 's debut single was being cooked for release this summer. The Dub Tour in America was well received by audiences all over. The Simple Poet, Jazik charmed audiences with her unique style of poetry of social commentry. Sushi delighted the dancing girls with bedroom tales, while the Panafricanist merged pan and dub to Mad Prof electro mixing. True Dub variation!!!!

ARIWA NEWS MARCH 2001	Craig David
Tours, Remixes, Recordings...This is the menu for the past two weeks as bookings are made for the variety of Ariwa acts. With places as diverse as Prague, Portugal, Moscow, Ariwa is living up to the true meaning of it's name...Communication!!! Among the acts recording in the past month were Monsif....French 'Moroccan act, Double Standartt from Austria....and Nefertii From France. The first five 12 inch single releases are out and available right now, but only limited quantities are available....once sold off, these will not be pressed again! In the past year I've observed another development in the struggle and liberation of Black people from the effects of slavery. A lot of people think it's great to "accept and tolerate" black people once we are begging, drug dealing, struggling, high on drugs, confused deranged, emotionally berserk...largely a social problem...in the underdog position. Present these same "friends of the blacks" with some diligent black people and suddenly they have a problem...They compose stories, spread propaganda, undermine the efforts and continue to paint negative images....sadly the circle continues as many blacks get sucked in. Liberation of the mind is by no means limited to black people...A lot of people (especially "friends of the blacks") will have to truly see black people in different roles if we are to progress towards real equality. The biggest irony is that some "friends of the blacks" are also black!!!! The Brit Awards lived up to it's name by failing to give Craig David (one of the super achieving British Blacks) an award even though he was nominated in 6 different categories...No one has done what Craig has done in music in the year 2000, yet he was not recognise by the "industry." This is a continuation of the point I made to Radio 1 last month, when I said that the industry and the Media is contributing to the alienation of British Black Youth by somehow not catering for them, resulting in many kids thinking "Why try when the system is against me? Might as well go mugging!!

ARIWA NEWS FEBRUARY 2001
The first month of 2001 was a hard working month in the studios of Ariwa. Sushi the youngest diva in the stable, laid 3 new tracks that are hot enough to go on her debut album. The first gig this year was in Tel AviV in Israel...at the Dimona Divalsh Club. We done a 5 hour dub show...with the audience staying faithfully till the end!!! Live dub mixes of Ghetto Living, All Saints ...Black Coffee....and Hungarian Goulash were favourites of the night. The next day we went to Bethlehem...the old city...What an experience!!! I advice all to visit this place one day... It is like the pivot of the world!!! Remixes for the past month was very diversed. Bird...a young lady from Japan had all of us singing along in the studio to her track called "Sakura" Very haunting. Vienna Scientists are an electronic band from Austria who we kept in the dubwise arena with a rocking vibe....Very enchanting!!! Perry Farrel...of Jane's Addiction had a Mad Professor treatment of electronic dub done to a great hypnotic track from his new album... Morrocan / French act Monsif was busy at Ariwa laying tracks for the second album. Mafia & Fluxy, Baby Dread, Valerie from Akabu / African Woman contributed immensely.

ARIWA NEWS JANUARY 2001
2001 Greetings!!!! I would like to say Greetings and all the best to all Ariwa fans around the globe for the year 2001. We thank you for your support and appreciation. We did not have as many releases as we wanted to, but hopefully we will rectify this in 2001. As a record label our first and foremost task, is to communicate with you our audience...to share our knowledge, our melodies, our humor and our messages, no matter how sober or serious it may be. We hope that in the year 2001 to see an improvement in the treatment of UK produced music by the media in England. For the past decade, the situation in the UK regarding homegrown talent has gotten so bad, that there has been no new reggae acts coming through, nor has there been much work for the established ones in particular those who sings lovers rock. Ariwa Sounds continue it's commitment to UK artists and hope to be launching some new artists this year. We hope to bring you some new blends, and hybrid of some current styles. We hope to continue exciting you and surprising you with our unique form of music.. Thank you once again and remember..."Lets All Tune In To The Same Frequency, So We Don't Get Confused!!!!

ARIWA NEWS DECEMBER 2000
November was quite a busy month with a lot of remixes and in house productions. The exciting new electronic team "Electronut" has finished their debut single "The Mad, the bad and the Dub" This with new releases from Sushi, Lee Scratch Perry, Macka B, Denis Nolan is part of the Ariwa resurgence into the single market. All singles will be discomixed on 12" or cd format. A long weekend in Italy finished with a packed night in Genova in an earthy venue, which was neither indoor nor outside! Strange?but ok. Marred by electric problems, somehow the main things worked for the show?. At least worked well enough to do a wicked show. December kicks off with Lee Scratch Perry in Poitiers, Paris and Amsterdam. The youthful rocker has just returned from an inspiring trip back to his Mecca in Jamaica. Accident hero Black Steel was in Ariwa Studios this week laying some guitars and drum and bass for some new projects. His Fender guitar sounded very sweet despite a bandaged right hand. Auditioning for new 2001 new artists begin on the weekend of December 9th. Anyone with the ability to sing or shout should apply!!! You never know!!

ARIWA NEWS NOVEMBER 2000
The last 10 days of October was busy with a wide variety of gigs. Three dub shows in Japan concluded with a short but exciting set at the Liquid room in Tokyo?This gig alone made the 12 hour flight worthwhile. Back to London where the late Macka B album launch was in action at Rodigan's Reggae club at the Subterania club in West London?right in the heart of carnival country. A respectable turn out was there to witness the global messenger deliver more messages?from Macdonalds & Kentucky to the effects of slavery that is still evident in many black people in the 21st century. The crowd consisted of more dreads than we've seen in quite some time. Next day saw the Mad Professor's dub show at the ICA building in the Mall, right next door to Buckingham Palace. The audience was a lot different from the previous night?a lot of snobby types were present. Prince Charles was not there!!! But Nolan and Zakeya were there, so was Alex of the Orb?Quite a lot of poets performed?some good, some bad, some learning. The day after we zipped off to Strasbourg and Basel, where Macka B was in concert with the Royal Roots Band. Sounding quite polished, Royal Roots band played like they did not want to stop!!! The Gladiators were on the same bill promoting their new cd. Studio works at Ariwa / Are we mad? Include the mixing of Techno Dub?from Lee Scratch Perry, Lovers Rock Dub?. Mad Professor. Reissues this month are : A slice of English Toast?Ranking Ann?Aricd002 And Something Fishy Going on?.Ranking Ann?.Aricd010

ARIWA NEWS OCTOBER 2000
The month of October has been the month of soldout gigs. After the stunning reception in Lisbon...the crew went on to Toulouse to ram out the Latin Palace with dub vibrations. The next day, Lee Scratch Perry, with Mad Professor on the mix....corked out the Forum in London with no tickets spare.... The audience rocked all the way with the 60+ year old rocker putting condoms on bananas... On Monday the same show graced the shores of Brighton...with many students standing in total amazement!!!! Lisbon...With weather not to different from Miami, it's not suprising the plane was full. From the airport it was evident that this place is used to black people. This is one of the most organised gigs we've had. The food is good, so was the reception. The people really looked after us nicely. I wish I was staying longer. We played in Oporto many times last year, but it's the first time in Lisbon. When asked in the press conference if he was excited about visiting Portugal? Mr Perry replied...that he didn't even know that he was coming to Portugal !!!! no one told him... With another sold out gig under his belt...the 60 odd year old rocker collected his minidisc, blew up another dat machine....and glued a few more cd's to his hat!!! The month of September finished with a busy live schedule and very little studio action. The short West Coast tour with Lee Scratch Perry went pretty well to plan with highlights on the tour being LA and San Francisco and Portland... LA in particular was a nice vibe..we were in great company, with Scientist , April, Perry Farrel, Whitey and Jon Philips among the luminaries in the crowd. Scientist did a tight set with a local LA band...to be followed by the Perry 2000 show, which features Bullit on drums, Spider on keys and Ted on bass. The reception Lee Perry gets from the US audiences shows that he is really adopted by folks of all ages. Macka B's Global Messenger tour kicked off in Capetown on Sept 28th. The venue was a place called All Nations which is a little club in the centre of the city run by Johnny, a character who made his name and gained his experience in Nottingham in the UK. The show was held in the backyard with the audience fairly represented by both black and white South Africans....well recieved!!! The audience displayed a passion similiar to the show in Botswana two years ago. On the 30th of October, the same show went to Jo'burg, where the Tandour club played host.... The Tandour club is a rundown home made affair with a very hospitable vibe. The location could have easily been Trenchtown, or any area of urban decay in the UK...run by one UK expatriate (Simon) Nice vibes!!! that would have been nicer if anything worked!!! (none of the equipment did what they were meant to do) A very strange gig....but....South Africa is....a very funny place...Physically very beautiful and fascinating..with more than it's fair share of natural wealth. not much evidence on the surface of it aparthied history...but as you go around and meet people you realise that there are many forces at play...the issue and the role of "coloreds" is probably reminicense of the USA around 70 years ago. But I guess the truth is if you're black, have money, then you get respect from all !!!! Anyhow we wish all it's inhabitants the best of luck...I can see everyone is making a go at correcting the wrongs written in the history books.....

ARIWA NEWS SEPTEMBER 2000	Victor Cross Trix In The Mix Part 1
The after shocks of the French incident are shaking up the British reggae musicians fraternity...as certain wicked individuals are choosing this time to get their warped views and opinions via scandal!! So while the grief and shock is turning into anger, commonsense should prevail. The facts are....whilst every individual is responsible for himself....someone must be responsible for the trip...organisation etc....also there must have been an agent / coordinator /promoter in France...who should have a role to play in the safe return of those individuals injured in the crash. Many lessons are being learned from this...it's a shame that it took such an incident to bring home the seriousness involved in touring and travelling abroad. Over the years we at Ariwa have seen many incidents that you don't calculate in the arrangement of a tour...from missing flights, promoters running away, artists getting sick, musicians getting arrested..even artists/musicians dissapearing due to kidnapping or seduction....damaged equipment...and many more... Whist on the road, we pray for guidance and safe keeping....we also try to balance personalities so that the vibes are kept up by the more eccentric personnel...taking the centre stage provoking positive arguments and discussions. We who are closest to all concerned, are very familiar with the facts leading up to that fatal morning. We do not need to hear the sick theories being put forward. If you're in the rumour business....apply at the News of the world for a job....you will find it more applicable than the reggae scene. Pablo Moses played a great set in Zurich at the African festival on Sept 9th. The next day Macka B and the Royal Roots band mashed up the place with a stunning set that was well received. Nice one Louis and Sabina!! On Friday 15th the Mad Professor Dub show dubbed off the tent in Ostend...showcasing quite a lot of new tracks from Trix in the mix...this show featured Sushi, Comforte, Zakeya and of course MC Nolan Irie on the mike!! Big yow to Youri and Ann... Tuson was probably the hotest place on earth on Sept 16th, as Mr Perry took to the stage at the Grass Roots Affair...This is a festival organised to bring to the attention of the public the importance of Cannabis...mucho facts were revealed..the most enlightening to me is that Cannabis can fuel cars instead of petrol...apparently it would be cheaper and more enviromentally friendly to run cars on ganja!!! So why the objections? is it Texaco , Esso or Shell? Or maybe it's the fact that many drivers may choose to smoke out the fuel, and not go anywhere!!! Mr Perry was in a very good mood....after some communication with some ufo in the Arizona desert....he was acting like a recharged Martian!!! It's with great sadness and remorse that we at Ariwa Sounds bring you the news of the passing of multi-instrumentalist Victor Alfonso Cross. The victim of a crash in Orleans (France) in the early hours of Saturday the 9th of September. The circumstances leading up to the crash is still vague....I was waken up at around 6:45 with a call from Eddie saying that the bus crashed and the band members are injured. We did not know how badly at the time. As the day went on, it was revealed that Jerry had to have an operation to his back, other members were hospitalised. Our deepest sympathies goes out to his wife Michelle and the children, and the Cross family. A brief history Victor Cross came to Ariwa Sounds in early "81. Brought in by his younger brother Sgt Pepper, his talents shined through like a beacon. He played the drums, bass, guitars and keyboards, the after added backing vocals to a track that Pepper was about to voice. I was very impressed by his versatility, and skills and understanding of different types of music. Over the years we done many tracks together, he played on many hit recordings by Macka B, Kofi, John Mclean, his sister Sandra Cross and many other artists. He was also a very skillfull songwriter, writing many songs many of which he sung himself. His picture on the opening page of this website, standing next to Black Steel (and also on this page on the right), was taken in 1985, when they were known as part of the Robotiks....the top session unit that were making many hits during that period. A great loss to the reggae music scene in London, Victor was a very pleasant musician who loved to play....he always wecomed challenging pieces of work, was always willing to work...regardless of time and places..... The last two weeks of August was very busy for the Ariwa label. The Trix in the mix part 1 is finally completed...full of phased brass sounds using old styled sounds and 2000 tecnology...this is worth the wait!!!! Favourite remix of last month is : Jahman / Flowinimmo a German ragga / toaster with a strong yard growl to his voice. Leeds carnival was a nice short affair, with some drizzly bits...We dashed down to London to play Notting hill carnival....too late, but it's cool as an early night was on the agenda as the next day.... We were invited to the launch of Sandy and the Coconut cups release in Tokyo at the Yello club ...real Hawaii / Japanese lovers rock!!! very sensual indeed!! The largest Japanese coconuts possible !!!!!....Nice people....Small Hotel Room!!! Shin, I hope you find a bigger room in October!!! On the first of Sept we played the first Mad Prof date in Italy for 3 years. The venue was at the Leopold Station in Firienze..What a reception!! Nice vibes with Raphael and friends. Fruits de la mere!!! The next day Dub brought the sunshine out in Hove Belgium...and brought a smile to the faces of Frank / Christine and the crew. Despite losing our bag with cables and power supplies between Rome and Brussels, we managed to get every thing working. A clear defeat for the devil disciples who were trying their very best to upset our weekend. As we left Hove, the sunshine was replace by thunder storms!! Sorry we could not stay, as we had to fullfil the Irie committment. The last hurdle was in Dortmund at the not so Irie festival, which was a muddy event, dark clouds, and miserable aggressive vibes...The tightness of the promoter did not help..as many people felt that the vibes were far from irie!!!! Mafia & Fluxy with Bubblers, General levy, Starkey Banton and Brigidiar Jerry did their best to inject some uplifting vibes to the programme...which was depressed by security forces continually pushing the crowd around with the attitude and looks of a skinhead rightwing mob!!!! At a reggae festival? impossible!! you might think..well it happened... Black Uhuru with Sly & Robbie provided a nostaligic slice of reggae, with an excellent one and a half hour set finishing with a stunning guitar solo from Darrel Thompson...aka (Mr Barry Smoking Black). My long time friend from the home studios 20 years ago, keyboardist Tony Asher was adding all the dramatic melodies...a very tight affair indeed...Mr Dunbar is truly the king of his trade...having lost none of the technique I first witnessed in 1975 at the lyceum in London when he was playing with Lloyd Parks and backing U - Roy and the Diamonds!!! We finished the night with a Dub show from the front of house...featuring some exclusive Yabby You mixes....The PA was switched off on us, after 20 minutes..so Nolan and myself give an accapella dub Show!!! Impossible....well, maybe you'll see it one day... So we chased the devil out of the Irie festival....maybe by doing so, the promotor had to pay more, but never - the -less we got the job done!!!

ARIWA NEWS AUGUST 2000	Denis Nolan
The studios / production axis was spinning this week with final mixes of the long awaited Denis Nolan album....every track on this album is edited in a disco mix style..; the vocal joined siamese twin style to the dub....just like old school 12 inch mixes.... Final adjustments have been made to the Trix in the mix....and Dem get me mad. ..albums...The use of new technology is really adding a new flair to these modern productions. Macka B will Launch his new album, Global Messenger, with a short set at the Subterania Club in West London on September 13th 2000. He will be backed by the Robotiks!!!! Dubbing you crazy is the title of a Mad Professor dub compilation on Allan Mgees's new label Poptones..This is the first in a few Ariwa titles aimed more at the pop market.Check it out at www.poptones.com Fans of the Month Andy & Tanya of South Africa...Pip & Micheal of Dublin....and Brigette & Sandrine from Tolouse!!! Keep on Sharing the dubwize vibes!!!!

ARIWA NEWS JULY 2000
Macka B continues to spread his Global message throughout the summer far and wide. After exciting the wet audience at the Chimsee festival in south Germany, he went on to mash up the crowd in Brest, backed by the Ruff Cutt Band, the audience were singing along with the French songs. The following weekend he was in Lindau and Hamburg giving the Germans a good taste of the new album. On the 26th of July Mad Professor spoke to students in Dublin on Reggae and Dub techniques...the students were from all over the world with particularly strong representation from South Africa and New Zealand. The following day the dub Ambassador was in Bayonne with the Robotiks, Earl 16 & Michael Profit for the Ariwa Roots Festival. The next day the Robotiks joined Baby Dread and Macka B in Bordeaux for a rocking festival, while Mad Professor linked up with Lee Scratch Perry and the Robotronics Band in Glasgow, where they played a hot sold out show in the Barrowlands.... Remix season continues with 3 pop projects well on the way...all embodying a fresh and exciting sound soon to be heard!!!!!!! You have been warned!!!! The past 3 weeks has been the most intensed and busiest period for the year so far, with up to 4 different projects happening at 4 different locations each weekend. The most exciting is easiest the weekend of the Brighton festival, which went as smooth as clockworks. Saturday 15th Mad Prof, Nolan, Comforte & Zakeya performed at the very wet Knock Out festival in Switzerland. The next day saw the arrival of Lee Scratch Perry and Scientist for interviews and rehersals respectively. The Roots tent was corked very tightly during the dub clash of Scientist and Mad Professor, with many eyes trying to decipher what equipment was being used by the dubbists!!! The show was presented by Super MC Nolan Irie, with a warm up session from Joe Ariwa with his Dubby UK garage sounds....front of house engineer was Baby Dread. The time went so quickly that the audience screamed for more...This was a historical show for live dubbing!!!!! Other highlights in the tent was Lee Scratch Perry and the Robotronics and the Sisters of Reggae...Dressed in the white, all the girls performed extremely well. Nicky has built well on Roots Daughters...Nice one!!! The complete list of singles issued by Ariwa Sounds is now on the catalogue page. Starting from recordings in 1979 with the basic 4 track recordings from the first studio in Bruce Road SE25. There are a few missing titles that eludes the grey matter..Such as the ASL series... which was the abbreviation for Ariwa Sounds Laboratoy..a label which existed from late 83 to late 84 Why? I'm not sure ...but like most strange moves, I'm sure there is a dodgy reason.. Smooth track from Abakush "One God,One Aim", One Destiny mixed last week by Derek Litchmore at Are we Mad? ...alongside "Physcology" from Sister Audrey. Both are taken from the forthcoming Roots Daughters album. Other Roots Daughters on this album include Angela, Shaloma, Aisha, Kofi, Zakeya, Sushi, Comforte and many more!!! Nice to see veterans and green onions on the same album... Let us all tune into the same frequency, so we don't get confused!!!! Ariwa rereleases this month include Strictly Automatic Arilp 016....The Electro Robotiks.........A Breath of fresh Air.....Mother Nature.....Arilp 017 The High Priestess....Aisha......Arilp029 Positive Time.... The new album from Chukki Starr is near completion.... The roots flavoured dancehall style album should be ready in August. This is Chukki 's second album, and is a sequel to Ghetto Youths Livity...Ari lp 043 The Macka B video is out and about. Power of the mind was filmed in London at the Ariwa dance room.... This month is one of the busiest months for shows, with Performances by Macka B, Lee Scratch Perry, Mad Professor, Scientist, The Robotiks w Michael Rose & Everton Blender. Due to some unscrupulous activities from some greedy dodgy persons, we will not be printing the live dates until a few days before performances, or even after the show, in some cases. Some will eat and drink with you....and behind they try to sabotage you...!!!!!!!! You mean we have learn't nothing from our history? When you try to fuck up your brethren, what is the reward? We know it's not money... So it must be ego....or is it just the slave inside of you ...that can't be set free!!! Guess that's how the slave trade was successful. Those guilty know who they are... So!! Let us all tune into the same frequency, so we don't get confused!!!!

ARIWA NEWS JUNE 2000
The Sierra Nevada World Music Festival was the hottest place on earth on the weekend of June 17th / 18th. Though according to those in London, England was hotter than hell!! The festival was a meeting place of old friends, acquaintances and even rivals. It was a pleasure for me to work again with U- Roy, Yabby You, Yammy Bola. It was a delight to be on the mixing desk for the Gladiators, Prince Buster, Big Youth. Hearing Twinkle Brothers confirm the quality of British Based musicians. The Brixton based band delivered a vibrant energetic set that finished too soon. Mixed by Derek Feveier. The highlight of the weekend must be the Gladiators, Albert Griffiths, Clinton Fearon and Gallimore Sutherland set the stage alight with a united front of proverbial catchy songs. "Looks Are Decieving", "Hearsay" and others were sung along by the dancing crowd who kept wanting more. What a struggle for those who came after that!!! The audience contained a fair gathering of celebrities (Chris & Tina ) Tom Tom Club, Delroy Williams, Brixton Hit Man, Spliff Skanking, Carmalita and the 'Frisco Reggae Posse. Ariwa Upcoming CD rereleases include A Slice of English Toast..Aricd 002, Something Fishy...Aricd010 ...Ranking Ann and Early Sessions....Aricd 014 all very early Ariwa Releases now available on CD for the first time. Frankie Paul was in the Ariwa studios last week alongside Ranking Scroo and Eddie Brown, recording what can only be described as an African reggae masterpiece!!! The Ariwa Dub Show took to the road in Northern England on Monday June 6th. Starting in Leeds at the Cockpit Club where the show was pumping and exciting!! Lots of old friends and new fans... Dundee was the next stop...full of Scottish passion and aggression. Aberdeen was in a nice club called Glow 33.... The Scottish highlight was at Glasgow's School of Art...where it was hard to say goodbye to the rocking crowd. Paul Feagan was very hospitable so were fans Jenni Shaw and Emma Yuill. The strangest gig on the tour was in Morcambe (a sleepy seaside town). This is a place that time forgot. The hotel was right out of a world war 2 setting with warm hospitality...When asked about e-mail facilities, we were told that the postman is not coming again till Monday!!! Big yow to Dominic of Blood & Fire rocking in the crowd. Sheffield was fun...again it was nice meeting old fans and friends from the eighties..Sweet P, Austin Grant and the hardworking Mrs Grant..Silvia, Tubbs, Jenny. It was a real pleasure meeting Paulette from Royal Blood. The dub set was short and sweet, kicking off with some lovers from Comforte mixing up with some dub with some interjection dj / toasting from Nolan and Zakeya. Frankie Paul headlined the festival backed by The Robotiks...Eddie Brown, Sinclair Seales, Jerry Fulgence, Noel Salmon and Simeon. Backing vocals were supplied by Simmy and Theresa Jay. Frankie sounded quite professional despite singing through a faulty microphone!!! The constant barage of gigs in May meant that the output of studio productions slowed down during the month of May. Remixes in May, include two songs from a Japanese Chanteuse by the name of Sandi. Other remix duties include Mushtaq... Soundfiles have been added to the web page now....and we are now developing the e-commerce page, where you can buy most Ariwa products!!! Please bear with us while we sort it out.

ARIWA NEWS MAY 2000
The final edits and mastering has been completed for two very interesting albums on the scene at the moment..... Macka B's "Global Messenger" with 14 tracks full with lots of exciting topics and various styles. this album displays the Universal experience that Macka B has gained throughout 15 years as a professional entertainer. Zakeya's "Dem Get Me Mad" is the first female dj / mc to be released anywhere in the world this century. In the style first used by Ranking Ann 18 years ago, this album represents a sector of the market that has been vastly neglected for over a decade. The hard hitting female rasta topics should be fresh to the ear. Both albums are scheduled to be released at the end of May / early June. Both artists can be seen at various Ariwa shows this summer. The East Coast sector of the Mad Professor dub tour was quite exciting, with support from the New Deal, a Toronto based fusion band bringing a diversed blend to the dubby electro audience. New York"s Wetlands proved to be the most exciting date so far on the tour with surprise perfomances by Melodic...Who? well Melodic is a young Mc / Rapper based in New York that is particularly attracted to Ariwa rhythms. Melodic sounds like a Yankee youth influenced by a lot of dancehall sounds. Also gracing the stage was Toli, another New York based artist who delivered two fresh styles on brand new Mad Professor rythms. The audience reaction to these two new artists was very strong. We should hear more from these two very soon. Two Ariwa videos hitting your screens this week. Lee Scratch Perry..Techno Party filmed at his Swiss residence shows the evergreen rocker in an energetic mood. Dancing in the mountains with nature, and experimenting with various devices in his Studios.... Macka B....Power of the Mind is the opening track on his new album. This video is a mind opener with lots of technical innovating features.

ARIWA NEWS APRIL 2000
April sees a lot of studio activities at Ariwa. Some Japanese remixes - remix duties include Japanese band called Move from Tokyo - and a new and exciting band from East London with a dubby hiphop feel, soon to be issued by Universal Records. The name will be revealed after the release!!! In house productions continues with some nifty flute by Richard Doswell on 2 tracks for Trix in the Mix. William the Conqueror and Mad Prof also built 2 tracks for the same album at Are We Mad? using the original desk. Lee Scratch Perry done a wicked remix of a song by Leroy from Prodigy.... The Dub dates continues!!!! Watch the live page for updates on all live shows coming up.... Macka B 's Global Messenger is now completed...14 tracks in total this is real 21st century stuff, with a message to everyone. The album also contains some excellent sleeve notes from Roberto in LA with an interesting historical review on Macka B's career. Expected release May 2000.... Shows this month includes Mad Prof in Berne Switzerland. Macka B in Annercy in France, Macka B & Mad Prof at the Bourges festival in France. Annercy was a rammed show, Macka B was backed by the Robotiks with Sinclair on Drums, Jerry Lyon on Bass, Fish Salmon on keyboards, and Richard Doswell on Flute and Sax on this show was also a young looking Toots with the Maytals. Very impressive and inspiring!!! Some nice internal discussions from the Robotiks kept the mood hot, and far from boring !! The results as shocking as they are should be revealed one day in a book !!! Wonders never cease !!!

Mad Professor, Macka B, Robotiks & Friends in Annercy, France.

ARIWA NEWS JANUARY 2000
The New Year kicks off with Lee Scratch Perry / Mad Professor and the Robotiks playing 4 dates in Japan. Cities include Osaka,Yokohama and Tokyo. Mr Perry will be performing tracks from his new album Techno Dub Party. Macka B's new album is almost completed with singles being selected. Studio wise....loads of remixes including a band called Ram Jam World!!! from Japan with a wicked single and a smooth British girl group called Sing Sing.....

ARIWA NEWS DECEMBER 1999	Horace Andy Photo : David Corio
Live shows in Europe mainly consisted of Dub shows with Mad Professor and the Dubtronic crew i.e. Nolan, Comforte, Zakeya. Starting with Cork in Ireland the show went to mainland Europe. Playing Leiden and Nijmegen in Holland, then 10 shows across Germany, before going on to Bratislava, Vienna, Neuchatel, Jena and the beautiful Ghent. Mixes and studio work included Horace Andy, Ayumi.....

ARIWA NEWS NOVEMBER 1999
October and November saw many Ariwa shows across Europe. Mad Professor and the Robotiks with Massillia Soundsystem did Paris, Marseilles, Lille and Toulouse. Macka B played a wicked show in Paris, and Lee Scratch Perry playing extensively across France, Holland and into Scandinavia. Studio work in this period included a UB 40 remix, Lotte Ohm, Mishka and production for a new group called Mission Control....

ARIWA NEWS OCTOBER 1999	Lee Scratch Perry
Lee Scratch Perry and the Killicon Squad is back in Europe after completing a South Pacific tour. Highlights on the tour included a three night sellout in Melbourne at the Corner Hotel. Sydney fans were disapointed that the only performance was sold out, even though the date was arranged only two weeks before the show.....

ARIWA NEWS SEPTEMBER 1999	Macka B Photo : Teacher
Nerious Joseph, Peter Hunnigale and the Ruff Cutt Band (Bubblers, Crucial Tony, Broadfinger, and Fagan) are this year's featured guests at the Oviedo Reggae Splash in northern Spain on Sunday 12th of September. The show started at midnight after heavy rainfall downpours during the day. The Band was extremely tight and professional but played a short set...... Marmande France Sept 2nd was in the height of excitement when Macka B with Mad Professor and the Robotiks took the place by storm. The crowd of 4000 persons rocked till dawn to the Dub/Reggae sounds. The next day Macka B mashed up Nantes, while Mad Professor and Lee Scratch Perry thrilled the Hove festival with the Robotiks 2. Completed with a brass section that included trombone, sax and flute, the band quickly won the audience over with a punchy sound. The Ariwa Dub show, featuring Nolan Irie, Zakeya, Comforte with Mad Professor at the Controls, played a wicked set in Moscow on their Russian debut on Sunday Night at the Push Push festival. Caribace the reggae band from St Petersburg was one of the groups supporting......

ARIWA NEWS AUGUST 1999	Mad Professor
The new album from Lee Scratch Perry is called Techno Party. All the rythm tracks have been completed. Mr Perry is expected to complete his vocals in the next two weeks. This album consists of a magic blend of Dub, Roots, Drum and Bass, Techno and Hiphop. There will be a dub album to accompany the vocal album. It contains some controversial,hard hitting topics..... New tracks recorded at Ariwa this month included a hot scorcher from the roots daughter Aisha. The track is a strongpoint for the new female compilation album, it features William the Conqueror and Snipper, to be released as soon as it's finished !!..... Black Steel was at Ariwa Studios this week laying backing vocals for the new Starkey Banton's album, it was an unpressured performance !!..... As sales of reggae singles in the UK plunge to an all time low, we ask loudly....When will the guilty stupid, deaf ,assholes realise that for the past 9 years they have been playing the wrong music on the radio ? Resulting in serious fans spending their money on other things!!! The UK used to be the number one market for reggae, now lag way behind France, Germany, the USA and Japan. Not only that, on a more serious note - the low morality of the music had such a negative influence on black people in their 20's that black on black crime is a daily feature on the news in some parts of London. Maybe that's what you guys wanted from day one. When Roots and Lovers Rock were being played there was very little Black on Black crime......Do society a favour....... RETIRE !!! A group of British Reggae artists got together last month to record a tribute to Dennis Brown who sadly passed away in early July. Good idea! The profit from the disc is to go to his family. What profit? I ask? When a number one record sells less than 1500 copies, what room is there for profit !! Who 's kidding who ? The "99 Ariwa's Mad Professor Dub show featuring Nolan Irie, Comforte and Zakeya made its Portugese debut at the Villas De Mouros Festival on August 20th 1999. Other acts at the festival included Incognito, Republica, Catania, Soul Coughing, Eagle Eyed Cherry and many more!! On the same weekend Macka B and the Robotiks played at the Eindhoven Reggae festival..... Torreo near Barcelona was the Host for a spectacular festival on 6-8-99. The festival featured Lee Perry, Starkey Banton, Micheal Rose and Tipper Irie..... The new Lee Perry album is near completion. The working title of the album is Techno Party and it is a new developement in the electro dubtronic sound..... Lyrics King Macka B is back in the UK after an extensive tour with French regga fusion group "Sensimillia". Mr B is now busy writing tracks for a new album which is tipped to be very hot and controversal.....

ARIWA NEWS JULY 1999	Chukki Starr Photo : Teacher
Ariwa Sounds enters it's 20 year anniversary year with some rereleases from it's extensive back catalogue. Amongst the first batch of releases are : Man and Machine (ARICD019) by The Robotiks. This is a very rare dub album, first released in 1985 and until now available only on vinyl...... Mad Professor and the Robotiks was in France with Masillia Soundsystem promoting their new combination album, The London Connection. The three shows were well recieved with a capacity crowd of 9,000 in Blaye. The audience was treated to a full stage with Jali, Lux, Gary, Tati, and Janvier joined on stage by Fish, Eddie Brown, Sinclair and Mad Professor dubbing it live !...... Building works on the Ariwa Rehersal rooms are scheduled to be completed by the autumn. Coloured in a bright green..... Recording has begun on the new Chukki Starr album, the follow up to Ghetto Youths Livity (ARICD143) which was a number one album in 1998. The first tracks were laid by Mafia and Fluxy and Jazzwad. Other tracks are being prepared by Fish from Ruff Cutt and other Harlesden musicians...... Starkey Banton is expected back next month from Gambia. He will be putting finishing touches to his debut Ariwa release Rasta Mystic......