Rought Guide to Reggae

The UK reggae studio and label that
has
emerged as one of the leaders in the field since
it was founded in 1994 is the McClead brothers' $eir:gr*y R*e*rcls. Based in the West
London suburb of Perivale, where they have
their own 24-track Big House studio, Carl
'Dillie' McCleod and sibling Sting have steadily
built a reputation for Stingray as possessing the
On Stingray itsell
joint production with Don Campbell, of the
Hunnigale's Cenuine album.
his
l-lects singer's Never Burn Your Bridges set par-
ticularly stands out.
The characteristic sound of tunes on Stingray
is fairly traditional - certainly informed by the
values of classic 1970s reggae - but built with
all the advantages of modern studio technology.
Besides the produc-
tion and
engineering
talents of Dillie, their
crisp and clean vibe
depends on musicians
of the calibre of
c'**-*g:a;*er Paui,
.$aeewrad, Fisl'!
*re;wr-r. F'!!ckaei
Sp*nee, earftst-l
'&r:hb!*:ns' 4?gi!vie
(another former
member of the llects), €rmi* 18fi{$qs,
6
(lny
rn!r!!i3s.
\*figlst,*cr Re:cc and
Tasc Tar-i. The expert
mixing from Faul
u
Fs"cac$'e*lr'
J**"r'a"rxine
most 'Yard' sounding of all the UK outfits.
They have produced both the best local performers (including F*ter &"{un*iga$*, Sylvia
Ye!!a, Wiats**te and *3*t*r' 5;:e;:ee) and
those with higher profiles from
n*:wc'*,
Fq:rr"*** or Dillie himself then provides the
very important finish-
The Stingroy teom
!tr,lt
ffi
*j*!'l-$o*o
Jamaica
(Luciano, Freddie McGregor, Lulcie D, Al
Campbell, Tony Curtis, Frankie Paul, et al). As
part of the growing internationalism of reggae,
they also record in Jamaica itself (using Freddie
McGregor's Big Ship and Bobby Digital's Digital
B studios in Kingston), as well as New York
(Phillip Smart's HCF on Long lsland, and Living
Room in Brooklyn).
With a background that included stints as a
social worker and both a sound system and
radio deejay - as well as drumming with the
l-lects band - Dillie has also contributed to the
recent success of Saxon Records, where he
worked closely with the renowned
F.{r..eseieitead to record gems lil<e Peter
ing touches. Reggae 'experts' often ignore
tunes made outside of Jamaica, but there's no
excuse for overlool<ing the consistently arresting production style of Stingray - unless it's
the criminal underexposure it receives on the
radio. Seel< it out.
OStingray Collection Volumes l-6
(Stingray, UK).
One of the best productton camps ln the UK has
collected its most popuiar tracks for these wel prc
grammed comprlations, Cass productions frorn
some of the most drstinguished performers around
Freddie McGregor, Bushman, Al Campbell, Tonl'
Curlis and Luciano (the sensational "lYy God &
King") from among the Jamaican contrngent, Cr3Washington representing New York, and '-:^nearer at home, the likes of Vivian Jones. r:,:'
Spence, Peter Hunnrgale and Roger Rocir.
Chapte r
9