Saturday 9 September 2017

Ska Vengers


Ska Vengers, Rum Shack Glasgow 2 September 2017

From India with Dub


A ska band from Delhi? Are they just a novelty act doing cover versions with a sitar thrown in? Far from it, this band of young, gifted musicians with their original songs and two charismatic lead stars demonstrate a solid foundation in the history of Jamaican music, not just ska but mixing it up with dub, raggamuffin styles and a serious lyrical consciousness. And why the hell wouldn’t they, as ska and reggae has spread all over the world, India could not miss out. After all, let’s not forget the involvement of musicians, producers and artists of mixed Asian heritage since the early days of the Jamaican recording industry from Ken Khouri and Jackie Mittoo to Supercat. There were always plenty of Asian people into reggae and ska, but they may not have seen themselves represented on stage in the original Two Tone movement. Things have moved on since then of course, from Neville Staple’s work with Johnny Zee and Stereo Nation in the nineties, right up to the Patel Brothers of The Frightnrs. So it’s really not a big deal, I’m going to shut up about it now. The Ska Vengers had a tough act to follow, taking the stage after raucous local favourites Esperanza (what? - white Scottish people can play ska too?), and last week’s nostalgic love-in in the park with Misty in Roots and Aswad still fresh in the Glaswegian memory. The front two combine the style and energy of Pauline Black with the fire and attitude of Apache Indian to an urgent backing featuring blazing horns section, rollicking basslines and chopping guitars reminiscent of The Beat. Their own songs like ‘Kick Up Rumpus’ and ‘Gunshot’ and ‘Vampires’ keep the pace moving alongside versions of ‘I Put A Spell On You’ and ‘No, No, No’. Just as you think this might be too familiar territory, they draw out ‘Frank Brazil’, the story of a 1930s Indian revolutionary who assassinated a British officer responsible for colonial massacres. Their unique take on reggae foundation rhythm ‘Rockfort Rock’ brings it back to its Cuban roots and then takes it away to turn into ‘Redfort Rock’. All these infectious sounds and intriguing stories were still flying around my head by the time they had to go, to be followed by Delhi Sultanate taking over the decks, dripping with sweat from his performance, to fling down some dubplates from the likes of Johnny Osborne, Shabba Ranks and Barrington Levy to show they have not just come around in this reggae thing but are steeped in it. Their two albums (available on Spotify, Amazon, i-Tunes, etc.) are well worth repeated listens once you get home to let the lyrics sink in after the deceptively catchy tunes have drawn you in to skank to their live performances. And if you get a chance to catch them at Bestival tomorrow, or next time they come to the UK, don’t miss them. One love.