Strain Drop by the legendary reggae author John Masouri is revealed on fifth September by Omnibus Press and chronicles reggae’s most tumultuous and influential decade. Starting in 1970 and unfolding in Britain and Jamaica, reggae flourished in opposition to a backdrop of political upheaval, gang warfare, Black Nationalism, race and sophistication discrimination and grinding poverty. 

Together with an in depth evaluation of the last decade’s main singles and albums, Strain Drop tells eyewitness accounts and experiences of the last decade from artists together with Burning Spear, Chris Blackwell, Gregory Isaacs, Bunny Wailer, Jimmy Cliff, Black Uhuru, U-Roy, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, Augustus Pablo, Toots and the Maytals, Desmond Dekker, Sly & Robbie, Dennis Bovell, Don Letts and members of the Specials. It additionally options many first-hand anecdotes about Bob Marley and Peter Tosh.

John Masouri explains,
“I made a decision to put in writing the story of 70s reggae in the best way I did – because it unfolded as a result of that’s how I and followers of the music first skilled it. We eagerly awaited every new launch or tour and browse in regards to the newest developments within the music press or information studies from Jamaica, thanks primarily to The Voice and Each day Gleaner.”

He continues, “There was loads to put in writing about, particularly after weaving within the political turmoil that permeated the consciousness of musicians on either side of the Atlantic. The 70s was a decade in reggae historical past that supplied a humiliation of riches and a kaleidoscope of various varieties, sounds and improvements. It began with the rise of deejays: artists who pioneered the artwork of chanting rhyming verse on data and sparked off a worldwide love of rapping, since there was no hip hop when Rely Machuki and Sir Lord Comedian first strutted their stuff on native sound methods. A cultural revolution started when Rely Ossie took the sounds of nyahbinghi drumming from the Rasta camps and into the consciousness of younger rebels equivalent to Bob Marley and the Wailers. It was the last decade when proud African descendants fulfilled the desires of Rastafarian elders who’d suffered persecution and discrimination and stepped from out of the shadows to make their voices heard. Shanty cities and ghettos had been remodeled from burial grounds of poor individuals’s hopes into cradles of lyrical and musical brilliance. Nice storytellers, influential thinkers and philosophers arose, a few of whom might barely learn and write. We witnessed the coming of dub, a Jamaican artwork type the place music was free of all the standard strictures and delivered into the fingers of magicians like King Tubby and Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, whose capacity to control sound would attain close to mystical qualities.”

He sums up, “That each one the artists talked about within the ebook had been in a position to obtain what they did in a time of such political turmoil, financial hardship and rising social unrest was nothing in need of miraculous. Their onerous work, braveness and creativeness turned the Caribbean island they proudly represented into one of the crucial enduring centres of musical affect the world has recognized, lauded by followers, creatives, teachers, and UNESCO who, in 2018, designated reggae as an ‘intangible cultural heritage of humanity.’”  

In regards to the John Masouri
John Masouri is an creator and music journalist specialising in reggae and dancehall. For greater than thirty-five years he has interviewed and written about many of those genres’ most influential and
well-known figures, mainly for Echoes Journal within the UK and specialist magazines in France and Germany. His work has appeared in Mojo, Music Week, The Guardian, Observer and NME, in addition to publications abroad.

John’s earlier books embody a trilogy centered on Bob Marley and the Wailers, Steppin’ Razor:
The Life Of Peter Tosh, Simmer Down: Marley-Tosh-Livingston and Wailing Blues, an authorised
biography of Marley’s backing group the Wailers, described by Roger Steffens as “the very best ebook
ever written on Bob Marley.” He has not too long ago accomplished ghostwriting the autobiography of
Marcia Griffiths, and is at the moment engaged on ebook initiatives with Maxi Priest and UB40.

Keep watch over our web site for our Give-Away of John Masouri’s newest ebook.