The second album from reggae master Prince Fatty.
Renowned sound engineer and record producer Mike 'Prince Fatty' Pelanconi
has been a prominent member of the reggae and dub scene in the UK since
the mid-90s. Finding himself frustrated by the tempos and mixes of
certain records he loved, typified by DJing one time after Don Letts
who had already played half his selection, he set about recording his
own versions with a super group of London's finest reggae musicians.
"I have worked with many of the UK-based reggae musicians at one point
or another so I went about selecting the best possible musicians from my
experiences with two criteria in mind: the best skills and the most
vibe. At the same time my Dub Supervisor and Reggae Jedi aka Little Roy
and I had started to record tracks for his new album and I found myself
recording reggae every day. The Pioneers were dropping by my studio, Al Capone was cutting specials and singers like Winston Francis were just hanging out."
As well as versions of favourite reggae and soul songs, two tracks stand out: covers of Ol' Dirty Bastard's Shimmy Shimmy Ya and Cypress Hill's Insane in the Brain.
"I was sad when Ol' Dirty passed away and for me the great hip hop era ended with him. I cut the version of Shimmy Shimmy Ya
soon after he died. As a tribute we often hold a minute's silence when
Horseman and I perform it live. We did Insane In The Brain for fun as we
had a show supporting Madness. The nutty boys challenged us to a sound
clash and they lost. Though we played a dirty hand, they were gracious
in defeat."
The vocal line-up on the album also include Hollie Cook - Slits singer, daughter of Sex Pistols drummer Paul Cook and fellow Mr Bongo signing. Also on the album is a dub of That Very Night that features on Hollies debut album.
Prince Fatty's 2007 debut album Survival Of The Fattest
achieved widespread critical acclaim from the music press and was
supported across BBC Radio, resulting in a raucous live session on Mark Lamar's
show. Favouring recording on vintage equipment to preserve his
signature sound, Pelanconi's unique style has attracted the likes of Lily Allen, Graham Coxon, Little Barrie, Gregory Isaacs and Sinead O'Connor to work with him. He has recently opened his own studio, The Ironworks, in Brighton.