The 10 best timeless reggae songs, according to Cadenza
Cadenza is Oliver Rodigan, who has been on Dummy's radar for a long time: way back in 2011, we heard his dancehall-kissed The Darkest Hype at Sonar Festival, and ended up releasing it on our own Dummy Records.
Although just 25 years old today, Cadenza has done a lot since that single, working with everyone from hitmaker Ryan Leslie to rising London talent TALA to Kiko Bun and UK rapper Loyle Carner on his recent single When Will I Stop Dreaming.
Cadenza's latest single Foundation lands on The Full Hundred/Sony Music and features none other than upcoming reggae star Stylo G and dancehall hero Busy Signal. As Cadenza told The FADER, the single was originally conceived when he was interning at Geejam Studios in Portland, Jamaica. "I made the arrangement and then I actually got an acapella of Super Cat's Don Dada and put it on top so I could use it as a DJ tool," he said, "Last year, when I finally moved into my own studio [in London], my very first session was with Stylo G, so I pulled up the beat and he was into it straight away. After we cut Stylo's part, I knew Busy had to be on the record, so we sent it back to Jamaica, and a day later we had his verse and the record was done."
Cadenza knows reggae, and as the sun comes out there's no better time for him to count down 10 of his favourite timeless reggae songs.
Cadenza: “The most simple yet memorable horn line, and a song with a great message.”
Cadenza: “A record I came across by chance when I was browsing a compilation. I was taken in by the haunting piano part… I had never heard reggae with such a sinister tone to it.”
Cadenza: “The dinky tin pan organ at the start always makes me smile.”
Cadenza: “If they only wrote the opening horn line and nothing else, this would still be in my top 10.”
Cadenza: “The little organ trills and runs complement Sugar Minott’s voice perfectly.”
Cadenza: “I have memories of playing GTA and waiting for this to come on the reggae radio station while cruising round in my stolen Banshee.”
Cadenza: “I was going to put Real Rock, but I feel this is equally as good but never gets the praise.”
Cadenza: “I recently had the pleasure of working with this man, and I think this record deserves its place alongside Jr. Gong’s Welcome To Jamrock as one of the great island anthems.”
Cadenza: “Pablo at his best, mixed by Tubby – you can’t really argue.”
Cadenza: “Believe it or not, this was made two years ago by a group from New York. These guys are the real deal!”
The Full Hundred/Sony Music release Foundation (feat. Stylo G & Busy Signal) on August 16th 2015 (buy).
