Browse by Artist: RAY, BRENDA

Artist:	RAY, BRENDA
Title:	Walatta
Label:	EM RECORDS (JAPAN)
Format:	CD
Price:	$20.00
Catalog #:	EM 1071CD

2011 repress. Certainly the most unusual reggae album ever made. Augustus Pablo, King Tubby, Asha Puthli with Ornette Coleman, Lonnie Liston Smith and Pharoah Sanders -- very disturbing slices of psycho-dub/doo-wop/jazz-fusion/exotica music. Her breathy Chordettes meets Susan Cadgan vocals, multi-tracked whisperings about inter-galactic Bluebeat starlights over what sounds like a modulated cut of heavy rhythm. Brenda Ray will be familiar to observers of the Liverpool scene as part of the NAFFI organization through the '80s, also famed as Brenda & The Beachballs. Over the past years, together with cohort Sir Freddie Viadukt (aka The Minister of Noise), she has been aiding and abetting the reggae producer Roy Cousins, once of The Royals, in his program of remastering and reissuing selections from his Tamoki Wambesi imprint. Cousins suggested she record an album using original roots reggae tracks from original tapes. The whole album was overdubbed, played, recorded and mixed between 1995-2005 at NAFFI Studios. Everything was done by herself except the final mix-down with Sir Freddie. The cover photo has Brenda in a pose somewhere between Pharoah Sanders' Thembi and Augustus Pablo's East of the River Nile with a melodica pointed towards the water.

Artist:	RAY, BRENDA
Title:	Walatta
Label:	EM RECORDS (JAPAN)
Format:	LP
Price:	$36.00
Catalog #:	EM 1071LP

Originally released in 2006 -- newly-produced vinyl LP version in a super limited edition. Certainly the most unusual reggae vox album ever made. Very disturbing slices of psycho-dub/doo-wop/jazz-fusion/exotica music. Prince Fari and Knowledge make sampled guest appearances, contrasting with Brenda Ray's breathy Chordettes meets Susan Cadgan vocals -- multi-tracked whisperings about inter-galactic Bluebeat starlight over what sounds like a modulated cut of heavy rhythm. Brenda Ray will be familiar to observers of the Liverpool scene as part of the NAFFI organization through the '80s, also famed as Brenda & The Beachballs. Over the past years, together with cohort Sir Freddie Viadukt (aka The Minister of Noise), she has been aiding and abetting the reggae producer Roy Cousins, once of The Royals, in his program of remastering and reissuing selections from his Tamoki/Wambesi imprint. Cousins suggested she record an album using original roots reggae tracks from original tapes. The whole album was overdubbed, played, recorded and mixed between 1995-2005 at NAFFI Studios. Everything was done by herself except the final mix-down with Sir Freddie. The cover photo has Brenda in a pose somewhere between Pharoah Sanders' Thembi and Augustus Pablo's East Of The River Nile with a melodica pointed towards water. Brenda explains that "Recording was not plain sailing. When engineering, recording and overdubbing tracks, I used a very close mike technique for vocals/harmonies. With my natural evolution of infusing vocal/harmonies, arranging and playing keyboards and a wide range of percussion instruments, I worked on tracks, and from the early stages knew this was something different than mainstream reggae." Housed in a handmade sleeve with a silkscreen print.

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