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.
