Bellot, Errol
Youthman- The Lost Album
Errol Bellot is one of the best kept secrets in British reggae with a career spanning more than thirty years, he has released dozens of high quality records and become a singer of choice for reggae connoisseurs worldwide. The fact that his name is barely known beyond the hardcore reggae audience, is symptomatic of a career focused on one off singles for small independent reggae labels unable to give Errol's talent the support and exposure it so deserves. We were given full access to the session tapes recorded between 1983 and 1985 and selected a standout mixture of 16 vocals, dubs and extended disco mixes to which we've added Errol's first self-production, the excellent, expensive and very sought after "The Wicked Them" which is sequenced together with its previously unreleased dub version discovered on the original master tape. The only other track on the album to have previously surfaced is "Rootsman" which saw a belated and limited issue on 10" in 2006. The bulk of the tracks were recorded to four track and have the raw feel of dubplate mixes with an emphasis on the bass line and sound system play. Rather than try and tame them we've embraced that authentic sound. The tracks were transferred at the famous Conscious Sounds studio and where necessary, were then edited together by Rootikal's David Hill giving us four extended disco mixes that only add to the genuine eighties vibes. Five of the vocals are paired with full dub counterparts with Jah Bunny showing his mastery of the dub version and giving speakers a real workout with tracks like "Do What You Have To Do Dub" pushing your woofers to their limits. This entire album is definitely sound system friendly.