Rum Tree

Rum Tree is an incredible rub a dub to digital transitional effort originally from 1986 by the members of the Roots Radics aliased as “The Radicals”. Errol Flabba Holt on vocals and bass, Style Scott on drums, Steely on the keys, and Dwight Pinkney with Bingy Bunny on guitars. 1986 was an interesting year, not only for reggae music but particularly for the Radics. Dancehall's had a different sound with digital reggae becoming increasingly popular in Jamaica and the short lived Rub A Dub style was transforming into a faster paced vibe. Drum machines and synthesizers were coming into the recording studio more frequently and the members of the Radics were doing many different exploratory projects. Flabba Holt and Style Scott began doing more writing and recording in the U.K. creating another sound with the great Adrian Sherwood and Dub Syndicate. The U.K. reggae recordings at that time seemed to be a very serious sound. Artists like Bim Sherman, Prince Far I, and Congo Ashanti Roy were working with Flabba and Style to form and contribute to African Head Charge, Dub Syndicate, Creation Rebel, Singers and Players, and many other groupings of amazing musicians from the On U Sound label. While this sound was morphing in Great Britain, the Jamaican sound was getting more digi and playful. The Casiotone keyboard was king and the dances were a new vibe with much more energy. The Radics showed tremendous versatility as usual performing and recoding in both styles between the U.K. and Jamaica. Rum Tree in particular is a very unique blend of the two sounds utilizing many musical techniques that only the Radics could pull off. Please enjoy this official reissue of another classic by The Roots Radics Band!