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The Rootsman | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | John Leo Bolloten [1] |
| Born | Brighton, England |
| Origin | Bradford, England |
| Genres | Reggae |
| Years active | 1985–2000s |
| Labels | Third Eye |
| Website | The Rootsman on Facebook |
John Leo Bolloten, also known as The Rootsman, is a musician and DJ based in Bradford, England. [2] [3] [ failed verification ] Bolloten is also a social documentary photographer. [4]
Bolloten was born in Brighton. He moved to Scotland at the age of nine. [5]
Bolloten's musical career began when he was living in Edinburgh, Scotland and taught himself to play guitar in 1978 at the age of 13 and formed his first punk band. After 3 concerts, he decided that being a guitarist in a band was not for him and he retired from that aspect of the music business. He moved to Bradford at the age of 18 in 1983. [5] He worked for over two years in the local Roots Record Shop, where he began to be known as 'Rootsman'.
Starting off making roots reggae in 1985, he began to incorporate African, Middle Eastern, Asian, trip hop and electronic dance music elements into his experimental dub music. [6] [7] In the mid-1990s, he started his own Third Eye label, and went on to work with artists such as Muslimgauze, Alex Paterson, Soulfly, Junior Delgado, and Dub Syndicate. [6]
Rootsman broadcast dub selections on various local radio stations from the late 80s to the mid Nineties including Bradford pirate stations Paradise City Radio (better known as PCR Radio) and WKLR, a selection of his vintage broadcasts from these stations uploaded to his official YouTube channel, including exclusive special guest interviews with dub reggae legends such as The Disciples from London Rootsman's YouTube channel.
In the late 1990s, Bolloten converted to Islam, and his music took on an increasingly spiritual quality. [8]
His 2002 album New Testament featured guest vocals from Sandeeno, U Brown, Earl 16, Mike Brooks, and Daddy Freddy. [7] [9]
Bolloten is also a social documentary photographer. [10]
Winston Rodney OD, better known by the stage name Burning Spear, is a Jamaican roots reggae singer-songwriter, vocalist, and musician. Burning Spear is a Rastafarian and one of the most influential and long-standing roots artists to emerge from the 1970s.
Lincoln Barrington "Sugar" Minott was a Jamaican reggae and dancehall singer, record producer and sound-system operator.
Jah Shaka, also known as the Zulu Warrior, was a Jamaican reggae/dub sound system operator who operated a South East London-based, roots reggae Jamaican sound system since the early 1970s. His name is an amalgamation of the Rastafarian term for God and that of the Zulu king Shaka Zulu.
Twilight Circus is the dub and reggae project of multi-instrumentalist Ryan Moore, former bassist and drummer of the Legendary Pink Dots. Twilight Circus is becoming increasingly popular and well known for Moore's work with artists such as Big Youth, Michael Rose of Black Uhuru and Ranking Joe. He originally started off producing dub albums, before recording vocalists for inclusion on his critically acclaimed Foundation Rockers album. In the classic tradition of reggae, Moore releases 10" vinyl record singles, often in limited edition.
Neil Joseph Stephen Fraser known by his stage-name Mad Professor, is a British dub music producer, engineer and remixer. He has collaborated with reggae artists Lee "Scratch" Perry, Sly and Robbie, Pato Banton, Jah Shaka and Horace Andy, as well as artists outside the realm of traditional reggae and dub, such as Sade, Massive Attack, The Orb, Gaudi, the Brazilian DJ Marcelinho da Lua, Grace Jones, and Perry Farrell.
Heartbeat Records is an independent record label based in Burlington, Massachusetts. The label specializes in Jamaican music.
S. Frederick Small, better known as Daddy Freddy, is a Jamaican ragga vocalist.
Asher D is an English rapper who was part of a successful partnership with reggae artist Daddy Freddy, known as the duo Asher D and Daddy Freddy. His name was later used by another English rapper.
Vadim Alexandrovich Peare, known professionally as DJ Vadim, is a Russian-English DJ and record producer. Born in Saint Petersburg and raised in London, Peare is additionally a promoter, record collector, radio presenter, occasional painter and writer, whose music combines hip hop, soul, reggae and electronica. He previously ran Jazz Fudge.
The Disciples are a dub roots reggae group that was formed in 1986 by brothers Russ D. and Lol Bell-Brown, named by Jah Shaka after providing Discomix Dubplates for his sound system. They recorded four albums of instrumental dub for Jah Shaka's King Of The Zulu Tribe label during 1987 to 1990.
Kevin Richard Martin, often known under his recording alias The Bug, is an English musician and music producer. Martin moved from Weymouth to London around 1990 and is now currently based in mainland Europe. He has been active for over three decades in the genres of dub, jazzcore, industrial hip hop, dancehall, and dubstep.
Reggae artist Burning Spear started his career in 1969. This article contains the discography of the artist's albums and singles.
The Meditations are a spiritual, conscious roots reggae vocal harmony group from Jamaica formed in late 1974, who have released several studio albums and are still performing in the 2000s and today.
Earl Sixteen is a Jamaican reggae singer whose career began in the mid-1970s.
Nkrumah "Jah" Thomas is a reggae deejay and record producer who first came to prominence in the 1970s, later setting up his own Midnight Rock and Nura labels.
Michael George Haynes, known professionally as Michael Prophet, was a Jamaican roots reggae singer known for his "crying" tenor vocal style, whose recording career began in 1977. Prophet was one of Jamaica’s most popular roots reggae singers and had several prominent hits during his 40-year career. After his death his family, together with Thomas Evers of Rockers Artist Agency, released the highly rated live album "live at plein les watts"
Paul Love, better known as Jah Screw is a Jamaican singer and record producer best known for his work in the 1980s and 1990s with artists such as Barrington Levy, Barry Brown, and Ranking Joe
The Bush Chemists are a British dub reggae group.
Ryan Moore is a Canadian musician known primarily for his dub project Twilight Circus, his long association with the influential experimental electronic rock band, The Legendary Pink Dots and the Tear Garden.
Aba Shanti-I is a sound system operator and dub producer from the UK. Aba and his sound system have been playing through UK and Europe for over 30 years. He has been a resident sound system at Notting Hill Carnival since 1993 and was voted the No. 1 DJ in the World by DJ Magazine in the same year.
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