BORIS GARDINER – Ultra Super Dub V.1 (Repress) – LP – Vinyl [OCT 24]

LP – Indies Exclusive Limited Edition Black Vinyl (2025 Repress).

1970s Jamaica suffered an unprecedented stretch of political turmoil and violence, and as the countrys economy and morale collapsed, reggae and its offshoots exploded worldwide. Boris Gardiner enjoyed great success leading bands, issuing albums that mixed reggae, ska, soul and funk, and collaborating with the likes of Lee (Scratch) Perry and Herman Chin-Loy in their legendary studios and playing on hundreds of records. So many that he lost count. Sometime around the issue of his Boris Gardiner Happening Is Whats Happening album – a Loft classic, with David Mancuso favouring Gardiners take of Booker T. and the MGs’ Melting Pot at his legendary gathering and his soundtrack to Every N—-r Is A Star, famously sampled by Kendrick Lamar and used as the introduction to the film Moonlight, two albums – Ultra Super Dub Vols. 1 and 2 – credited to The Boris Gardiner Happening – two albums so obscure that for the longest time Boris wasnt even aware that they existed. Following classics such as King Tubbys Dub From the Roots and Augustus Pablos King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown, Miami-based Alty Easts Ultra Records took instrumentals Gardiner created for a run of 45s, and created and issued these compilations of dubbed out originals and JA renditions of songs by Otis Redding, Clarence Carter, Betty Wright, Jimmy Bo Horne and Ultra label-mate Frankie Zhivago Young.

Released in tiny runs in handmade, silkscreened, paste-on covers, they have become some of the most sought after Jamaican albums. Now, issued under Boris guidance, and with a detailed booklet by Jeff Mao, which delves into the deep scene which birthed these remarkable records, we can finally consider the last, unheard portion of this landmark musicians career.

Tracklist:

A1 Gimmy Dub
A2 Freedom Roots
A3 Expression Dub
A4 Rider Roots
A5 The Clay Dub

B1 The Train Roots
B2 Mine Dub
B3 Racking Roots
B4 Love Dub
B5 Paying Roots