Description

Soul Jazz Records new release Harmony, Melody & Style tells the story of lovers rock, which exploded in the UK in 1975, when an ex-Caribbean population of producers, artists and audience who had grown up in London, created for the first time a new uniquely British reggae sound.

Lovers rock mixed American soul music with Jamaican reggae. At the forefront of this movement were young black women who became both the main stars of lovers rock (Janet Kay, Carroll Thompson and Louisa Marks) as well as its primary audience.

This explosion of musical artistry was partly a reaction against the strident political roots sound emanating from Jamaica during this period, as well as a defining of a unique Black British heritage which absorbed influences from the USA, Jamaica and the UK.

At the heart of lovers rock remained the soundsystem culture that Jamaican producers brought from the Caribbean and transposed to inner city London life.

Harmony, Melody & Style tells the story of lovers rock from its soundsystem beginnings, its commercial explosion at the start of the 1980s, and its underground continuance into the next decade where it continued to effortlessly absorb and mutate American soul, disco and rare groove styles into a distinctly British reggae sensibility.

The album includes classic and rare tracks and comes with extensive text, as well as interviews with artists, musicians and producers who helped define lovers rock as well as exclusive photography.

The album is available as a double CD pack with slipcase, and as special edition two super-loud separate volumes of double heavyweight vinyl, both with gatefold heavyweight card sleeves.