Red Hills Road

As Jamaica’s premier rhythm section since the mid-70s, Sly & Robbie revolutionised reggae several times over, leading to renowned collaborations with Grace Jones, Bob Dylan and countless others. New album Red Hills Road references the famous Kingston club-circuit street where the duo first met, and although the sound is firmly rooted in the present, there are subtle references to their earlier creations, as well as various Jamaican sub-genres, blending a bedrock of technological beats with organic instruments to their own ends. Atop tough, durable rhythms crafted by Sly with quality musicianship from current members of the Taxi Gang, the material veers from genre to genre, playfully infusing their pounding reggae and dancehall stew with a heady mix of melodies and cadences. Opener ‘Yaw Yaw Yippie’ is a horse-trotting dancehall rhythm that reminds of the albums they cut with Bill Laswell in the 80s; ‘Linstead Market’ draws on the indigenous folk form of mento through Lenky Marsden’s violin and banjo melodies; ‘Belly Dancer’ mixes Bollywood snippets and Middle Eastern samples, and Latin mutation ‘El Bang Bang’ is revisited with cumbia shades; niyabinghi drumming, soul and funk, and a touch of baroque chamber music feature elsewhere.