Purple Reggae (Mita Records, 2014)
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Prince’s popular album Purple Rain, reggae and dub outfit Radio Riddler has released a tribute album titled Purple Reggae. This new recording transforms Prince’s R&B, pop and rock songs into Jamaican-inspired pieces featuring reggae, ska and dub arrangements.
The producers behind Radio Riddler are Frank Benbini (vocals, drums, percussion, melodica, scratch guitar and effects) and Brian Fast Leiser (keyboards, ass, effects, and programming). Radio Riddler invited a diverse group of high profile singers to provide the lead vocal parts, including Irish star Sinead O’ Connor, Ub40’s Ali Campbell, American singer-songwriter Citizen Cope, British soul sensation Beverly Knight, English ska icon Suggs (Madness), English rock and blues vocalist Deborah Bonham, and English vocalist Naim Cortazzi.
“Prince is the reason I started playing music,” says Frank Benbini. “I grew up on this album. It’s the soundtrack to my life and this is a tribute to him from me.”
The experiment works and the reggaefied versions of Prince’s songs flow very nicely throughout the album. Purple Reggae is a feel good recording with memorable sing-along songs and irresistible danceable Caribbean beats.
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
I love that it says I play ‘ass’! Big Up!