Nice up the dance! Freshly unearthed, Bunny Lion's hard to find Red LP is an excellent intro to the world of dub, roots reggae, and dancehall. Originally released on London's Starlight records in 1979, little was known about it at the time. Fantasy Memory was somehow able to figure out that Bunny Lion is the legendary Puddy Roots of Killamanjaro Soundsystem fame. Red features a collection of pristine Linvall Thompson rhythms with Bunny Lion toasting over the top. Despite the record's obscurity, it's a prime example of the music that was being released as reggae morphed into dancehall. Aside from his own solo work, Thompson was noted for his songwriting and production, as well as a mentoring many up and comers, including Junjo Lawes, Scientist, and Eek-A-Mouse. With dancehall's rise in the late 70s Thompson started sharing his rhythms with many soundsystem DJs. Red serves as the perfect snapshot of what was happening at that time.

• music label: Starlight Records 1979 / Fantasy Memory 2015

reviewed by Garvey's Ghost 03/2015