Mirrorball Reggae

So we *usually* run a monthly reggae disco playing dub, dancehall, roots, rockers, ska, rocksteady etc, called General Echo, named after sadly departed MC Earl Anthony Robinson.

For our February session we're doing something slightly different though. Last month's guest was Don Letts, a figure who straddles the world of punk and reggae, having played heavy dub at The Roxy back in the day, and produced films on The Clash, managed The Slits, and took Johnny Rotten on that infamous trip to Jamaica to sign artists for Virgin's Frontline label. Of course there's numerous other examples of crossover between the genres, from Bob Marley's "Punky Reggae Party" to Two Tone.

For one month only we're leaving the reggae records at home therefore, and digging out our dusty boxes of punk rock 45s. We may well still sneak the odd dubwise selection in, but for the most part this is is going to be an evening of buzzsaw guitars, barked "1-2-3-4" introductions, ripped & torn sentiments, pogo anthems, untypical girls, spiral scratches, and other thrills.

Come down and listen to some great 45s in a beautiful old school club with affordable bar - Friday 11 Feb 2022 at Walthamstow Trades Hall E17, 7.30pm til late. 

We've also put together this mix to commemorate the occasion, recorded from a box of dusty 45s, some obscure faves (and a couple of out-and-out hits) that we might play on the night. 

Fatal Microbes - Beautiful Pictures
Armitage Shanks - Punk Tune
Kleenex / Liliput - Die Matrosen
Rhino 39 - Prolixin Stomp 
Snatch - All I Want 
The Quads - There Must Be Thousands
The Passage - About Time
The Fall - Rowche Rumble
Mo-Dettes - White Mice
Patrik Fitzgerald - Safety Pin Stuck In My Heart
Scientists - Frantic Romantic
Raincoats - Fairytale In The Supermarket
Adam & The Ants - Car Trouble
Television Personalities - 14th Floor
Girls At Our Best - Getting Nowhere Fast
The Shapes - (I Saw) Batman (In The Launderette) 
Urinals - Black Hole
Tampax - UFO Dictator 
Pop Rivets - Kray Twins
Delta 5 - Anticipation
Poison Girls - Closed Shop

Narration by Bill Grundy, Johnny Rotten, Janet Street Porter, Dee Generate, Susan Bullen, Paul Gambaccini and Freddie Mercury

MAJOR TRAUMA

A General Echo Sound System Mix December 2022

Ernest Ranglin & Count Ossie - Earth Sound Pt.1
The Mystic Revelation Of Rastafari - Mabrat (Passing Thru)
Augustus Pablo - New Style
Lloyd Robinson - Cuss Cuss
Carlton Coffie - Chant Away (Version)
Lee Perry - Justice To The People
Winston Wright - Psychedelic Reggae
Jackie Mittoo & Marshall Cousins - Rocking Universally 
The Congos - Sodom & Gomorrow
The Revolutionaries - Cardiac Arrest 
Glen Adams - Run Come Dance
Henry "Junjo" Lawes - A Yah Wi Deh Version
Tabby Cat Kelly - Don't Call Us Immigrants
Paul Whiteman - Say So 
The Mystic Revelation Of Rastafari - Way Back Home
Ernest Ranglin & Count Ossie - Earth Sound Pt.2

Earthbeat It Pauses In Space

General Echo Sound System in a lovers style

Johnny Clarke - Dub It On Home
Simplicity - The One For Me
Phyllis Dillon - Picture On My Wall
Pat Kelly - I've Been Trying 
Sonia - Ooh Baby Baby
Linval Thompson - La La Means I Love You 
Sharon Forrester - Love Don't Live Here Anymore
Pinky & Perky - Woman In Love (Disco Instrumental) 
George Faith - To Be A Lover
Mudies All Stars - Nineteen Love In Dub 
Marcia Aitken - My Man 
Fitzroy Henry - Can't Take My Eyes Off You 
Stranger & Gladys - Conqueror
Dr. Alimantado & The Rebels - Sitting In The Park 
Delroy Wilson - Rain From The Skies
Uniques - My Conversation 
Christine Oliver - Gonna Get Along Without You Now 
Johnny Clarke - Dub On My Pillow

Love In An Echo Chamber

GENERAL ECHO is a monthly reggae disco in Walthamstow, North London, playing dub, dancehall, roots, rockers and other bass transmissions on two turntables and a space echo. The night is named in tribute to Jamaican MC Earl Anthony Robinson who had deejay hits with "Drunken Master" and other classic tracks.

For our first birthday party on 16th November we've compiled this hour long mix of some favourite tunes played at the night. This will be available as a limited edition cassette on the night, and includes selections from Billy Boyo, Papa Levi, Vibronics and more. Dubbed up with FX and subliminal MC interjections by Lt. Echo & Private Sunshine.

“You ‘ear the advice come through the speaker, and 
the sound is sweeter with an echo chamber” - Papa Levi

https://www.facebook.com/events/699627380193770/
http://generalechoes.tumblr.com/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1026216090742296/
https://twitter.com/gen_echo_echo

Echo Lives!

Sneak preview of the forthcoming 2nd mixtape by General Echo Sound System - this time going deep in the jungle for an exclusive limited edition cassette on the Too Fucked To Dance imprint.

Jungle Echo Mix Teaser

I first met Ray “the thinking man’s skinhead” buying reggae 45s from his stall in the aladdin’s treasure cave that is Wood Street Indoor Market in Upper Walthamstow. His shop is called ‘Nobby Lawtons Olde Football Emporium’ and sells a winning combination of football memorabilia (mainly old programmes from the 70s and 80s), secondhand vinyl and music books. Ray explained that he’d started the shop after he’d retired as a milkman to earn a bit of extra money, but quickly realised that he was losing money on a regular basis, so had to start a little painting and decorating business on the side, but kept the shop running as it enabled him to get his hands on some pretty tasty vinyl! 

Partly inspired by the great dub singles I was picking up in his shop, I started doing a monthly night in a local Walthamstow pub, the Victoria, with my mate Dan, which we christened General Echo in tribute to the deceased Jamaican deejay with a moniker that succintly summed up our approach to the music policy. In the manner of all great record sellers, Ray hooked me in slowly but surely, taking note of the kind of sounds I was into and putting a little stash of tunes aside each month that he was sure I’d buy (and he was right). Aside from being a great source of quality records, it was apparent from the get-go that Ray knew far more about this music than I did, having been collecting Blue Beat 7”s since the mid-60s and his days as a sharply dressed East Ham mod. I asked Ray if he’d come down to the pub one month and play a few of his original singles. He was slightly reticent at first, having not DJed in public for a few years beyond family parties, but a little gentle arm-bending got him down to the Victoria with a box of singles, and it’s no understatement to say he absolutely blew us away with his set - tune after tune of life-affirmingly amazing music. I had to stop myself from going up to him after literally every record to ask him what he was playing. 

We’ve had him back at General Echo on several occasions since, all of which have seen him magically produce further sets of killer record after killer record. Ray is an inspiration and a mentor to our fledging reggae disco and we always feel blessed by his presence. When he asked me to spin some tunes at his new soul & reggae night in a pub in East Ham this Saturday I couldn’t refuse, and it’s given me a good excuse to dig out some crackly soul & r&b 45s I haven’t played for years. Here’s a mix of some of the tunes I’ve put in my box for Saturday. One day I’ll get one of Ray’s DJ sets recorded and it will piss all over this one. If you see Ray in the E6 ‘Spoons or the Victoria at one of our nights, he’s drinking Guinness. 

Rose Mitchell - Baby Please Don’t Go
The Nightriders - Lookin’ For My Baby
Gene Thompson & The Counts - You Don’t Love Me
Howlin’ Wolf - You’ll Be Mine
Bo Diddley - Let The Kids Dance
The Crystals - Walkin’ Along (La La La)
Nick & The Jaguars - Ich-I-Bon No.1
Sandy Nelson - Let There Be Drums
Ray Charles - I Don’t Need No Doctor
Barry St.John - I’ve Been Crying 
R. Dean Taylor - There’s A Ghost In My House
Big Maybelle - 96 Tears
Doris Troy - What ‘Cha Gonna Do About It
The Sand Pebbles - Love Power
Sam & Kitty - I’ve Got Something Good
Freda Payne - Unhooked Generation
Etta James - I Got Your Babe
Gene Chandler - There Was A Time
Mad Dog & The Pups - Hip Squeeze
Jean Knight - You Think You’re Hot Stuff
The Emotions - Me And My Honey
Al Brown - Here I Am...Come And Take Me
Bunny Rugs - Be Thankful
Roslyn Sweat & The Paragons - Black Birds Singing

East Ham Soul Special

Mix made on Good Friday 2018 for the Cambrian Line show on Noods Radio, features a few dubplates we made for the infamous Blackhorse Road soundclash with Wheel Up Sound System and Vital Sound. 

Laurice - Choices (G.E.S.S. dubplate edit)
Tetrack - Let's Get Started
The Willows - Nuh Need Trouble You
Carlton Manning - Live & Love
Lopez Walker - Fly Away
Ken Boothe - Old Fashioned Way
The Slickers - What A Botheration
Jackie Mittoo - Chemistry Dub (G.E.S.S. dubplate edit ft. Warrior Queen)
Prince Blackman - Rockers Delight (G.E.S.S. dubplate edit ft. Warrior Queen)
Peter Metro - Nuh Put It There
Philip Frazier - Lost & Found
Pliers - Conquer Me
Super Cat - Cry For The Youth
Cutty Ranks - Gunman Lyrics
Manasseh - People Rhythm
Black China - Composition

Echo In The Dark

In June 2018 our little reggae night was graced with the presence of greatness when the legendary DENNIS BOVELL visited. For the first half of the night he answered questions about his extraordinary life and work in front of a live audience, hosted by Janine Rainforth of Maximum Joy. For the second half of the night he did a live P.A. tearing the roof of the Victoria Walthamstow with raucous renditions of some of his best-loved tunes. We've finally come down off the high of having him to put together this little mix of Bovell-produced deep cuts. If you want to support Dennis and his music please purchase some tunes from his bandcamp: https://dennisbovell.bandcamp.com/

Tracklist:

Linton Kwesi Johnson - Reggae Sounds
Blackbeard - Strictly Dub
Dennis Bovell - Aqua Dub
Dennis Matumbi - Eye Water Dub
Dennis Bovell - Jughead Dubplate Mix
The Slits - Newtown
Garland Jeffreys - Escape Goat Dub
Errol Dunkley ft. Dreadful Julio - Differentah
Matumbi - Bluebeat & Ska (Version)
Bagga - Wishing On A Star
Marie Pierre - Can't Go Through (With Life) 
Dennis Bovell - Dennis Bovells Speaks To Castro Brown
Matumbi - Pretender
Dennis Curtis - Come With Me
Winston Edwards - Kensington Palace Shakedown
The Pop Group - We Are Time

Dennis Dubs

Celebrating 4 years of an irregular reggae disco at the Victoria public house, Walthamstow, London. 
Cassette version given away exclusively at the 12 December 2019 session
Mix by the General Echo Sound System

Gregory Issacs - We Rule Dub
Samantha Rose - Never Knew Love Like This Before 
Sister Rasheeda - World Crisis Dub 
Pilah & Leroy Green - Conscious Man + Dub
Prince Jammy Super Power Band - Lost & Found Dub
Mighty Diamonds - Gates Of Zion
Jah Thomas - The Creator
Dennis Brown/Castro Brown - Words Of The Emperor Version
Danny Red - Jahovah
Early B - Now Leave Mi Bible
Admiral Tibet - I Am The Water
Mind Spiders - Cosmic Horror
Errol Bellot - Roots Gone International
Jah Life - Dub Murder
Iration Steppas - Running Away
Andy Mac & Ossia - Cado

General Echolection

To celebrate our Lovers Rock Special on Thursday 13th February 2020 we've put together this mix of some of our favourite lovers tunes, from rocksteady romance to heartbreak in the echo chamber.

Love Joys - Gimme Back Pt.1
The Gaylads - Dub & Understanding
Phyllis Dillon & The Revolutionaries - Right Track
Linval Thompson - One More Chance
Davinia Stone - Lonely 
Ranking Ann - Love On A Mountain Top
Little John - Brandy
Marie Pierre - Choose Me
Dennis Brown & Trinity - Let Me Love You / Uptown Girl
Marcia Griffiths - Truly
Derrick Harriott & The Chosen Few - Have You Seen Her?
15 16 17 - I'm Hurt
Horace Andy - Love Is The Light
Annette & The Roots Radics - I'm Alone
Junior Murvin - Super Love
Sonya Spence - I Love You So
Dr Alimantado & The Rebels - Sitting In The Park
Simplicity - Waiting
BJ 21 - Night in Dub
Shara Nelson - Aiming At Your Heart
Love Joys - Long Lost Lover

A Mix For The Lovers

Rainy Saturday DJ session in lockdown, because what else is there to do?

D-Roy Band - Trenchtown Skank 
John Holt - Youths Pon The Corner
Augustus Clarke - No, No, No Version
Roots Radics Band ft. Johnny Clarke - Bad Boy 
King Tubby - Psalms Of Drums
Aston Family Man Barrett & Dizzy - Cell Block 11
Brother Dan - Eastern Organ
Sugar Minott & The Black Roots Players - Strictly Rub A Dub 
King Tubby - Money Dub 
The Itals - In A Disa Time
King Tubby & The Aggorvators - A Heavy Dub 
Barry Brown - Politician 
King Tubby & The Aggrovators - African People Dub 
Majestarians - So Many Times
Verne & Son - Little Boy Blue 
The Specials ft. Rico with the Ice Rink String Section - Do Nothing

Echo In Lockdown

Monthly reggae disco in North-East London.

https://www.facebook.com/GeneralEchoSound
https://www.instagram.com/generalechosound
https://twitter.com/gen_echo_echo
https://generalechoes.tumblr.com

General Echo Sound System

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