THE ROCKERS STORY: THE MYSTIC WORLD OF AUGUSTUS PABLO
BOX SET PRESENTS COMPREHENSIVE LOOK AT THE GENUIS OF AUGUSTUS PABLO AS COMPOSER
PRODUCER AND MUSICIAN

FOUR CD/ONE DVD PACKAGE PRESENTS RARE RECORDINGS PLUS FIRST OFFICIALLY RELEASED
PERFORMANCE FOOTAGE OF THE LATE PABLO


Augustus Pablo won world-wide acclaim as a reggae artist, credited as being one
of the great architects of dub music and creator of two of the greatest reggae
albums ever created: King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown and East Of The River
Nile. While his dub creations are among the greatest ever produced, Pablo's
talents as a composer of melodies, as an accomplished instrumentalist and as an
inspired producer of some of the most profound music ever created, were
expressed on both his own recordings and his productions of other artists,
especially singers. As a New York Times critic noted: "Pablo is more than a
gifted instrumentalist; he is a masterful pop composer whose recordings are
possessed by a reflective, almost mystical sadness." Ironically, despite this
recognition, only a relatively small portion of Pablo's artistic achievement is
widely known. The reason for this is simple: few people who heard the music of
the reclusive Pablo ever saw him in concert. Also many of his finest productions
were issued in small quantities and have only been intermittently available. On
June 17th 2008, just in time for Pablo's birthday later that week on the 21st,
Shanachie Entertainment will release The Rockers Story: The Mystic World Of
Augustus Pablo, a comprehensive four CD, one DVD box set with a twenty page
booklet including extensive commentary from writers in Jamaica, England and
America and many rare photos. As such it provides a definitive portrait of one
of the most extraordinary musical artists ever to grace the world scene.

The four CDs in The Rockers Story cover the gamut of Pablo's artistry, moving
from instrumental works to dubs to vocal productions. Disc 1 ("Classic Rockers")
focuses on many of the key recordings which established his reputation in the
early to mid-1970s, including such classics as "East Of The River Nile" and
"King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown," as well as his ground-breaking productions of
such major vocalists as Jacob Miller, Hugh Mundell and Leroy Sibbles of The
Heptones. Disc 2 ("Roots Rockers") presents a selection of deep roots reggae,
showing off his ability on clavinet and xylophone as well as his trademark
melodica. Such relatively obscure but talented singers as Earl Sixteen, Delroy
Williams, Paul Blackman and Norris Reid come to the fore here as well as his
collaborations with Lee "Scratch" Perry and Vivian "Yabby You" Jackson. Disc 3
("New Style Rockers") traces the evolution of Pablo's music into the 1980s and
later into the "digital" era. Included on the disc is his biggest hit in the
dancehall realm, Jr. Delgado's "Ragamuffin Year," as well as a re-working of his
breakthrough hit "Java" and a rare vocal by Pablo himself. Disc 4 ("Rockers
Rarities") presents his first released recording ("Higgy Higgy"), rare
recordings for other producers, and a selection of tracks highly sought-after by
collectors, some previously only available on vinyl (Pablo's "Twin Seal," Asher
& Trimble's "Humble Yourself" and vinyl-only extended mixes) as well as
previously unreleased works by Earl Sixteen and Lloyd Hemmings.

The DVD disc presents the first official release of video footage of Augustus
Pablo in concert performance, featuring one song each from his 1986 JapanSplash
appearance and from PitSplash, another Japanese festival. These are followed by
extraordinary, previously unreleased footage shot in Jamaica by Jerry Stein and
Jeff Roth, producers of the documentary Word Sound Power. These segments
capture Pablo and Hugh Mundell in a leafy glade by a river, Pablo playing guitar
and melodica and Mundell singing prayerful, chant-like songs. A short interview
segment with Pablo follows.

The booklet features commentary by: Lol Bell-Brown, co-author of Augustus
Pablo: Original Rocker, a discography and career overview, who gives a
perspective of Pablo's impact on the UK scene; Herbie Miller, who has served as
manager of such artists as Peter Tosh, Judy Mowatt and The Skatalites and served
as road-manager for one of Pablo's Japanese tours, gives a perspective of
Pablo's significance on the Jamaican music scene and Randall Grass, who wrote
one of the first American articles about Pablo in 1980 and knew him throughout
his association with Shanachie Entertainment. The booklet includes many
never-before-seen photos of Pablo as well as artists he worked with such as King
Tubby, Hugh Mundell, Jacob Miller, Jr. Delgado, and others. The box cover photo
is a luminous portrait of Pablo by noted photographer Kate Simon.

Augustus Pablo was born Horace Swaby on June 21, 1953 in Kingston, Jamaica where
his father was an accountant. As a youth, from his bedroom window he was
mesmerized by the reverberating music from the outdoor sound systems in
neighborhoods down the hill towards town and frequently snuck out of the house
to go and hear the music firsthand. He taught himself to play piano and by
secondary school was cutting class with future Wailers keyboardist Tyrone Downie
to practice on the chapel organ. Soon he was skipping school to prowl record
shops and recording studios in downtown Kingston, soon starting a sound system
of his own. In 1970, he was discovered hanging around Aquarius Records by
proprietor Herman Chin-Loy, who was fascinated by Pablo's uncanny ability to
play a melodica and brought the youth into the studio to blow melodica on some
instrumentals that were released under the name Augustus Pablo. Soon after,
Pablo's schoolmate, Clive Chin, the song of Randy's Records owners brought Pablo
to the studio to record. The resulting recording Java, became a major hit in
Jamaica and introduced Pablo's signature minor-key "far east" sound. An album
followed and Pablo became an in-demand session musician, playing piano, organ,
clavinet and melodica for many different producers.

By 1973 Pablo began releasing his own productions on such labels as Rockers, Hot
Stuff and Yard and later, Message. Pablo's productions featured ultra-heavy
rhythm tracks and unique textures and melodies, as well as "Roots-and-Culture"
lyrics on vocal numbers – all of which helped usher in the classic "Rockers"
style of reggae that dominated the golden age of roots reggae during the
Seventies. A close association with King Tubby, the inventor of dub music,
helped Pablo become one of the great exponents of dub music along with Tubby and
Lee Perry. Ignoring commercial trends, Pablo's music was highly respected by
reggae insiders and he began to develop a following in the UK and United
States. His landmark King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown album made tremendous
impact in 1976 while East of the River Nile, hit another peak in 1977. Reclusive
by nature and uninterested in fame or fortune, Pablo recorded only when inspired
and often retreated to a simple existence in rural areas of Jamaica. In the
Eighties his touring was infrequent, which only added to this mystique. As
reggae evolved into the "digital" era, Pablo continued to follow his muse,
nonetheless often experimenting with digital rhythms, sometimes in combination
with traditional Nyabinghi percussion. Often in ill health over the years,
Augustus Pablo died suddenly of complications from a rare nerve disorder in
Kingston in 1999 at the age of 46. The Rockers Story: The Mystic World Of
Augustus Pablo is testament that Augustus Pablo's rich legacy lives on!


Street Date: June 17, 2008



For more information please contact Monifa Brown (973) 579-7763 EXT 26
or <mailto:mbrown@...>mbrown@...

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