Guest Spots Sequel: Hollie Cook

 

Way back in 2018, Hollie Cook was featured in "Guest Spots", a series that I started to compile songs featuring an artist that did not appear on their own albums.  Here we are eight years later with another set from this talented young singer.  

Hollie Cook's most recent album Shy Girl was one of my favorite new releases of 2025. It was followed by Shy Girl In Dub, which is equally wonderful.  She is back on the Mr. Bongo record label (where she started her solo career with her self-titled 2011 album.)

Hollie is in demand as a vocalist, and not just in the world of reggae and dub.  It doesn't hurt that her parents are both professionals in the music world, but her success is entirely the result of her own talent and hard work.  Among the artists from her parents' generation, she has sung with The Slits, Vic Godard, Glen Matlock, Keith Levene, and Jah Wobble.  She recently appeared on Don Letts' first solo album and Mark Stewart's final album.  

I was also really pleased to see her name among the guest vocalists featured on the 2025 album by West Coast soul and reggae band The Night Owls.  Here's hoping that Hollie's career continues to grow, so that we can feature her music here again in the near future!

ELSEWHERE ON THE BLOG: The first volume of Hollie's Cookbook. 

Reggae Paradise

As I still have a huge liking for roots style reggae I was wondering what happened last year and decided to take a digital deep dive.
To my pleasant surprise I found quite a few way above average tracks by familiar names such as Adrian Sherwood, Dub Syndicate, Fishbone, Manu Chao, Hollie Cook, Roots Radics, & Mark Stewart and a bunch by unknown artists: Chalart58 & Matah, Chancha Via Circuito ft. Leon Demaria, El Búho & Alex Serra, Iseo & Dodosound, Joe Yorke & Big Chip, Santa Fe Klan, Gambeat, Pachyman, Skaracha, Stick Figure, & Sumac Dub & Jardin Secret.

This 18 track compilation goes all across the globe and ranges from ambient dub to ska to electro borderline rhythms and everything in between, but don't worry, good vibes rule!

About the artists:

Chalart58 - Spanish DJ and musician from Barcelona, sound engineer at La Panchita Studios.
Matah - Spanish-based dub and reggae musician known for energetic, "rub-a-dub" style vocals, releasing music via La Panchita Records.

Chancha Vía Circuito - Producer, DJ/remixer and composer, from Greater Buenos Aires, Argentina, fusion of electronic music and cumbia is key factor of his music.

Leon Demaria - Reggae, Dub and Raggamuffin singer/musician of Argentinean origin based in Spain for almost two decades.
El Búho - British-born DJ and music producer, his music mixes Latin American folk rhythms with organic sounds, birdsong and downtempo electronica.

Alex Serra - Spanish musician and explorer from Barcelona, his music ranges from downtempo, soul, reggae, dub & more.

Gambeat - legendary French bassist of Radio Bemba Sound System and La Ventura, who has played with Manu Chao since 1994. He is a multifaceted artist: producer, artistic director, coach, musician, DJ, designer, and creator of his own clothing line.

Iseo & Dodosound - Spanish duo from Navarre , formed in 2014, composed of Dodosound (Alberto García Iriarte) and Iseo (Leire Villanueva López). Their style blends reggae and dub , and they have strong trip-hop influences.

Joe Yorke & Big Chip - UK reggae/rocksteady artists, Joe Yorke is a vocal talent, while Big Chip (Chip Huelin) is a producer/musician, with their work rooted in Jamaican sounds, featuring strong rhythms and dub elements.

Santa Fe Klan - Mexican singer-songwriter and rapper who featured on several songs which were highly certified by AMPROFON in Mexico.

Pachyman - Puerto Rican dedicated craftsman working in the lineage of dub reggae using vintage gear, constructing glorious walls of sound, and developing an intuitive understanding of the power of repetition. 

SKARACHA - Jamaican ska band, hailing from Kingston, this crack nine- piece unit of young bloods and seasoned professionals steps forward to revive the grand tradition of Jamaica’s ska originators, blending brand- new compositions with choice classics.

Stick Figure - American reggae and dub band founded in 2005. The group has released eight full-length albums and one instrumental album, all of which were written and produced by Scott Woodruff, the frontman and a self-taught multi-instrumentalist.

Sumac Dub - French trained violin player and compulsive traveler, enriched by multiple musical influences and largely influenced by the current electro dub scene.

Adrian Sherwood - Legendary English record producer & musician, best known for his On-U Sound label and his dub music, as well as for remixing a number of popular acts such as Coldcut, Depeche Mode, Sinéad O'Connor, Primal Scream or Skinny Puppy.

Dub Syndicate - On-U Sound's premier dub outfit and a name synonymous with the label from its inception. Emerging from the early Creation Rebel and centered around drummer Style Scott. Scott was also the rhythm force of The Roots Radics, the number one Jamaican session & live band for deep roots music.

Fishbone - California based band formed in 1979 in Los Angeles, who play a fusion of funk, metal, rock, reggae, ska, punk and soul.

Manu Chao - French-Spanish musician, songwriter, record producer and guitarist, founded the band Mano Negra in 1987, achieving considerable success, particularly in Europe. He became a solo artist after its breakup in 1995 and since then has toured regularly with his live band, Radio Bemba Sound System.

Mark Stewart - English singer, songwriter, artist and producer from Bristol, founding member of The Pop Group, and went on to front many different projects for On-U Sound and Mute Records.

The Roots Radics - Legendary Jamaican band, whose genesis traces back to Morris "Blacker" Wellington's band, the Morwells, a group that featured future Roots Radics members Errol 'Flabba Holt' Carter on bass and Eric 'Bingi Bunny' Lamont on guitar. Named the Roots Rock Band (mostly on Sky High related productions), and Lawes Rockers, before, in late 1979, the band became the Roots Radics. 

Finley Quaye - B-sides & more + Bonus Live

Late 1997, I’d bought the latest edition of CMJ New Music Monthly Volume 51 at Tower Records in Bangkok! On the way home I browsed through the magazine and looked at the artists/bands featured on the CD, a lot unknown, but also Portishead, The Beautiful South, and Pat Dinizio (Smithereens!), at least some tracks I would enjoy.

Once home I inserted the CD into my player and read more of the magazine while listening to the songs. A lot didn’t do that much, one ear in, other ear out, until I heard something that sounded a bit like an old Bob Marley song!

This turned out to be from a new British artist named Finley Quaye with “Sunday Shining”, based on Marley’s “Sun Is Shining”, the Lee Perry production from 1970.

 

It sounded very refreshing, elements of reggae and pop with trippy lyrics, great.

Later I managed to score the “Sunday Shining” CD single (and another: “Even After All”) which had some great non-album tracks.

His album “Maverick A Strike” got excellent reviews and when I finally heard it I could only agree.

For a while Finley was very popular, but with his second album “Vanguard” things began to spiral downward, both sales wise as well as personal. Further albums didn’t improve this situation…

His last album, “Royal Rasses”, was released in 2014 and since then it has been suspiciously quiet…

My own interest in him faded as well, but those songs from the beginning I remember fondly and still get played from time to time.

 

A quick check on Discogs showed a lot of CD singles in 1997 & 98 and only 1”The Best of Epic Years” compilation in 2001.

Therefore the idea of making an alternative collection of those CD singles and some stray tracks from the same period began to look more and more appealing!

While doing some digital field work I discovered that Finley had recorded already a song in 1995 with A Guy Called Gerald on his album “Black Secret Technology”. This track, “Finley’s Rainbow”, combines a vocal from Finley, the Bug in The Bass Bin drums, nebulous sub bass line and plucked strings: “It feels like reggae, viewed under water and utterly devoid of joy, a psychedelic masterpiece of electronic music”. Oh well, but it does feature elements of “Sunday Shining”!

I also found another anthology (digital only) on Amazon (not on Discogs!) from last year called “Best of the B Sides + Remixes: The Epic Years”, which included some, but not all, of those tracks…

 

No matter that, my final resulting collection is quite different and I’m happy to share it here with you, enjoy!

It features tracks from the 5 CD singles from 1997-98.

These included dubs, acoustic, live versions as well as remixes and non album tracks.

Additional tracks include a cover of Gershwin’s "It Ain't Necessarily So” cover for Red Hot + Rhapsody, the A Guy Called Gerald collaboration, and a 2 Meter Sessies track: “My Cup Is Running Over”.

 

Bonus: FM Broadcast Live @ Glastonbury Festival, England, 26-06-1998

Paul “Groucho” Smykle

Sometimes you see a name passing by and realize that you’ve seen elsewhere too…
One that kept appearing at times in my reggae collection was of Paul 'Groucho' Smykle in different functions: engineer, producer, remixer, dub master, compiler, and even artwork (as ‘Dubmaster Productions’)!
He’s a bit of an enigma, despite those credits there are very few photos of him and he hasn’t released much under his own name either.
I probably first encountered Groucho in Sly & Robbie’s A Dub Experience’s liner notes where’s he’s described as the Wicked Professor Smykle responsible for laser mixes on top of the Rhythm Twin’s tracks as well as providing  a special solution of nitro rhythm!
Next was Black Uhuru’s The Dub Factor, where he performed similar magic but without fun liner notes.

He was also responsible for the awesome Raiders of the Lost Dub compilation I found out much later!
Searching the Net of a Million Lies I discovered that Groucho as a youth traveled a lot between Jamaica and London, was a fan of King Tubby’s work, dabbled a bit in art and eventually started working at Island Records, first as tape copier and tea boy!
In 1979 he got his first mixing experiences and in 1980 he overdubbed successfully bass, drums, & whole heap of things on The Twinkle Brothers’ Countrymen album for Virgin.
In the 1980’s he started remixing & producing African musicians such as King Sunny Ade, Ray Lema as well as Wally Badarou.
Grouch was probably the first remixer making a dub of African music!
His only album until now is Quantum Dub Force from 2001, a rather different kind of dub.
Since then he seems to have been less active but I still managed to find a couple of interesting remixes such as those for Manu Chao and Sidestepper!
As mentioned before, he’s someone not in the spotlight, doesn’t even have a website, but this compilation is imho a decent introduction to broaden your musical horizon!

Sinéad O'Connor Meets On-U Sound

Sean-Nós Nua was the first album I reached for after learning of Sinéad O'Connor's passing.  It is a collection of traditional Irish folk songs with contemporary touches, including electric guitar (Skip "Little Axe" McDonald), bass (Carlton "Bubblers" Ogilvie), Hammond organ (Nick "Mutant Hi-Fi" Coplowe), and programming (by Alan Branch and Professor Stretch).  These parenthetical names should be familiar to fans of Adrian Sherwood and On-U Sound.  Adrian and Skip coproduced Sean-Nós Nua.

Sinéad first worked with the On-U crew on her 2000 album Faith And Courage.  Four songs were produced by Adrian and Skip.  On the album's finale, "Kyrié Eléison",  Sinéad is accompanied by the voices of Bim Sherman, Ghetto Priest, Junior Delgado, and Bonjo Iyabinghi Noah.

Sinéad's 2000 single No Man's Woman was backed with an On-U remix of "This Is A Rebel Song", plus the folk tune "Her Mantle So Green".  The latter track reappeared in 2002 on the Sean-Nós Nua album.  

Sinéad's 2003 compilation She Who Dwells includes several songs "produced by O'Connor/Sherwood/McDonald".  She remade one of them ("Dense Water Deeper Down") for her final album, 2014's I'm Not Bossy, I'm The Boss.

Sinéad O'Connor Meets On-U Sound (today's share) concludes with "1000 Mirrors", her 2003 single with Asian Dub Foundation, which was produced by Adrian Sherwood and Nick Coplowe.  

Bovell Out Of Control

Dennis Bovell's legendary work with The Slits, The Pop Group, and Linton Kwesi Johnson (as well as the dub LPs he recorded under the Blackbeard name) are probably what endeared him to younger generations of rock musicians. Bovell has been an unlikely collaborator for Arcade Fire, Joss Stone, Jarvis Cocker, Boy George, and The Beta Band's Steve Mason (the Mason/Bovell album Ghosts Outside is highly recommended, and Dennis recently said that he "loved making this album".)

He's worked with young punks like Argentina's Las Kellies, Sacramento band Drug Apartments. and British newcomer(s) Rat. For last year's Record Store Day, Bovell dubbed the b-side of a new Spoon single, "Wild". This year he remixed "The Smoke" for The Smile (Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, and Tom Skinner).

The Pop Group's second reunion record, Honeymoon On Mars (2018), was mostly produced by Bovell (three tracks were produced by Hank Shocklee of The Bomb Squad). For the 40th anniversary of The Pop Group's 1979 debut album, Bovell remixed Y (later released as Alien Blood), and last year we were treated to Y In Dub, a new deconstruction of the original tracks.

Bovell also worked with On-U Sound again on music featuring Lee Scratch Perry (2010) and Coldcut (2017). He and Adrian Sherwood each contributed dubs to the Gaudi album 100 Years Of Theremin. The On-U related label Pressure Sounds has released two collections of Bovell's dubs, Decibel and Mek It Run. A new 2LP compilation called Dennis Bovell: Dubmaster arrived last month from Trojan Records.

I compiled some of the Dubmaster's adventures in the 21st Century for today's set, Bovell Out Of Control. Don't miss Dennis' own Bandcamp page, which features a wealth of his music, both new and old.

Bovell At The Controls

The compilation Sherwood At The Controls inspired today's collections of Dennis Bovell's work from the same time period as a producer, remixer and musician. Bovell and Adrian Sherwood worked together on Creation Rebel's Dub From Creation (1978) and Starship Africa (1980), as well as War Of Words by Singers & Players (1981). 

Bovell began his musical career in the early 1970's as a member of Matumbi, one of the first British reggae bands. He was sentenced to three years under false charges, but got out in six months and resumed his music career in time for the "punky reggae party" and Rock Against Racism. 

(Tracklist for Vol. 1)

“I had so many different projects that I was involved with, to get them out there at the same time I couldn’t have put Dennis Bovell on all of them. So I made up several different stage names,” he explained in a recent Bandcamp interview. His aliases included Blackbeard, The Dub Band, African Stone, and The 4th Street Orchestra. Bovell's Dub Band backed Linton Kwesi Johnson in the studio and on stage throughout LKJ's recording career.

In 1979, Dennis Bovell produced the massively influential debut albums by The Slits and The Pop Group, and early 80's singles for Factory, Rough Trade, Y Records, and other indie labels. Major label work followed for Garland Jeffreys, Bananarama, Orange Juice and others. Bovell became known worldwide: during the 80's he produced the Swedish artists Perfekt Alibi and Giant Steppers, as well as Norway's Tredi Tilstand, Israel's Avi Matos, and Liberian singer Miatta Fahnbulleh.

(Vol. 2 tracklist)

In his Baker's Dozen feature for The Quietus, Bovell talks about his formative musical influences, as well as some of the significant records that he worked on and his sense of "kinship" with punks. "We were both facing the same pressures, the same attacks. We were socially in the same bag - at the bottom of the ladder."

Bovell At The Controls volume 1 features production and remixes from 1978-1982, and volume 2 covers the rest of the 80's (plus Vic Godard's 1993 single Won't Look Back). There's a bit of cod reggae as well as dub, post-punk and dance music. Speaking of the former, please also check out my cod reggae compilations DIY Dub (on Jonderblog) and Sleeping In Hammersmith Palais (courtesy of Nothin' Says Somethin'). 

sHERwood's chanteuses

One thing I love about the On-U catalog is the variety of singers (and players). Many of the vocalists are untrained, but their performances are no less compelling than those of a professional singer. As a producer, Adrian Sherwood can capture the energy of Ari Up, Lee Perry and Mark Stewart without restraining them. And the On-U label has provided a showcase for seminal reggae singers like Bim Sherman, Congo Ashanti Roy and Akabu.

In Adrian's own words, “All great singers and vocalists have one thing in common: their voice stands out like a uniquely tuned instrument that only one person can play."

Adrian Sherwood seems to have a particular rapport with female singers. I've gathered some interesting productions and remixes which include Samia Farah, Sussan Deyhim, Shara Nelson, Sinead O'Connor, Beth Orton, and others. This past year, Adrian Sherwood co-produced the debut album by BABii, and at some point On-U onlookers hope to see the release of a long-promised solo album by Adrian's daughter, Denise Sherwood. 

I would love to see Adrian make a record with Hollie Cook! (Both of them worked on the final Slits' album, Trapped Animal, but I'm wishing for a Hollie Cook solo album with AMS at the controls, or maybe another volume of Hollie In Dub.)

Sherwood In Dub

The Near Jazz Experience

Here's a set of dub versions and remixes produced by Adrian Sherwood during the past 20 years. Included is a track from his recent collaboration with the Near Jazz Experience (thank you to The Swamp for sharing this recording, from a NJE radio session). 

The NJE is a trio led by Terry Edwards (sax and trumpet), with Mark Bedford (Madness bassist) and drummer Simon Charterton.  Back in the 1980's, Charterton and Edwards were in the bands Serious Drinking and The Higsons. Bedders and Edwards first recorded together in 1988 as Butterfield 8.

The Voice Of Thunder (Prince Far I) is heard on two tracks: "Wise Blood" (from Echo Dek, Sherwood's dub version of Primal Scream's Vanishing Point LP); and "Garden Of Perfume" by Temple Of Sound (a tune that also features Jah Wobble and Ghetto Priest). Singers and players seem to keep reconnecting with each other in the On-Universe.

Sherwood At The Frontiers

There have been two volumes of "Sherwood At The Controls", retrospectives of Adrian Sherwood's production work. A long-promised On-U compilation of international artists called "Dub No Frontiers" has yet to be released.

"Sherwood At The Frontiers" is a homemade compilation of reggae and dub from Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Today, artists from around the globe can collaborate easily online; but decades ago, Adrian Sherwood and his On-U Sound compatriots traveled to Poland, Japan, Italy, and other countries to collaborate with singers and players. 

Sherwood (among others) recognized that dub techniques could be utilized in rock, blues, jazz, rap, and the folk musics of many cultures. "Whatever I've applied my own production techniques to -- be it industrial music, funk, anything -- I've made sure the production settings are using similar space and frequencies as in those great Jamaican productions."

The artists themselves incorporate local influences (such as folk instruments, musical styles and indigenous languages). Dub from Poland (or New Zealand, or Wales) may seem unusual, but reggae is no less likely to have worldwide appeal than rock, jazz, blues or hip hop.

In this set, Adrian Sherwood produces and remixes music from Spain, Italy, France, Tunisia, India, Colombia, Brazil, NZ, Japan, Peru, and the Democratic Republic Of The Congo. Some of the artists reflect the history of the African diaspora (as does reggae itself); others have been displaced by the idiosyncrasies of modern migration. For example, Mamadou Diouf is Senegalese but lives in Warsaw.

In The Precinct Of On-U Sound

Coneyl Jay photo of Little Annie from DP 21

The first On-U Sound Disco Plates (released in 1982-83) were 10" records that featured Kishi Yamamoto's black and white portraits, each in a bold and angular frame.

A decade later, On-U issued a second series of 10" Disco Plates, this time with monochromatic color sleeves featuring the photography of Coneyl Jay (on DP 21 through DP 27). 

In 2015, the On-U label revived the 10" Disco Plate once again with Kishi's photographs and the classic border design. The latest Disco Plate (DP 62) was released this year to accompany Lee Scratch Perry's Rainford album. (A dub version of this album, entitled Heavy Rain, has been announced for release next month.)

Some of the earliest Disco Plates were compiled in CD form, on Discoplate Collection Part 1 and Part 2. Most of the Disco Plates from the early 1990's remain uncompiled, and some have never seen digital release.

Today we have five of them. Vocalists include Andy Fairley, Bim Sherman, Jesse Rae, and Little Annie, backed by the likes of Dub Syndicate and Strange Parcels. The Little Annie Disco Plates are my vinyl rips. For more of Little Annie, immerse yourself in this epic career-spanning post by my friend Nathan Nothin!

DIY Dub

Time for a punky reggae party! DIY Dub is a home brewed compilation inspired by Spiky Dread, Wild Dub, and Snuffin' In A Babylon. It's a sequel to a cod reggae mix that I made last year.

DIY Dub features recordings from the first era of punk and post punk (1978-86). Most of the artists are British, with the exception of Male and Metal Boys.

Thanks to the blogs Die Or DIY, Holland Tunnel Dive, Rhythm Plague, Skank Bloc Bologna, Tone And Wave, and Zero G Sound for inspiration and source material.  

There's an interesting story here about how "Lift Off" by The Detonators (the first track on this mix) inspired The Specials to make "Ghost Town". More cod reggae soon come!

Guest Spots: Prince Far I

For the who-what-where-when-why on the man called Prince Far I, look no further than his tune with Singers & Players, "Autobiography". He describes his youth and education in St. Jago de la Vega (Spanish Town), his musical beginnings with the sound system called Sir Mike the Musical Dragon, and his recording debut as Sir Cry Cry. 

Prince Far I started his own label, Cry Tuff, and formed a partnership with a UK label called Hitrun, where a young Adrian Sherwood was working. Hitrun released the first Cry Tuff Dub Encounter in 1978, and 1979's Dub To Africa (both credited to Prince Far I & The Arabs).  The Arabs were The Roots Radics, and the albums were produced by Prince Far I himself (with the exception of Sherwood's production on Dub Encounter Chapter III).

"The Voice Of Thunder" can be heard on On-U Sound releases by African Head Charge, Singers & Players, Dub Syndicate, and 2 Badcard. Sadly, the musical collaborations between Prince Far I and Adrian Sherwood ended when the man born Michael Williams in Spanish Town was killed in his Kingston home in 1983 at the age of 39.  It is said that the gunmen waited to attack until after he watered his garden. Where will the wicked run to on that last day?

Pictured: Prince Far I reading the Sherwood family Bible (from a photo by Kishi Yamamoto).

Guest Spots: Hollie Cook

Ari, Tessa, and Hollie

This has been a busy year for Hollie Cook: her third album Vessel Of Love (produced by Youth) was her first to be released in the US (on Merge Records). She has a new single, a version of "Sweet Like Chocolate" (a UK #1 hit for Shanks & Bigfoot in 1998).  Mad Professor's upcoming compilation album Queens Of Ariwa includes another new Hollie track, "Sunshine Holiday".

Hollie is also in demand as a guest vocalist, and she sings on new releases by The Orb, Gentleman's Dub Club, the Rotten Hill Gang, and They Say Jump (the latter featuring Hollie's longtime drummer and deejay Horseman). 

Paulie and Hollie

Hollie Cook's mother is a singer, and her father is apparently also a musician of some sort. She has shared stages with Ari Up and Mick Jones, and both Jah Wobble and Keith Levene guested on Vessel Of Love. 


Hollie and Charles Rowell from the group Crocodiles had a duo called Psychic Dancehall (Fall fan alert!) They recorded versions of "He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss)" and "Long Lost Lover" (originally by the Love Joys) on their 2011 album Dreamers. 

Hollie has also covered The Whispers' "And The Beat Goes On", the Shangri-Las' "Walking In The Sand", the Classics IV's 1968 hit "Spooky", the Andrews Sisters' oldie "For Me You Are" and the Carpenters' "Superstar".  She contributed a version of "You Know I'm No Good" to an Amy Winehouse tribute album. Hollie shares with Pearl Harbour and Amy Winehouse an appreciation for the girl groups of the 60's. I shared Hollie's version of Rachel Sweet's "It's So Different Here" in my last post.

Hollie Cook has immense talent as a songwriter and performer. Her records evoke the pre-digital days of classic reggae and lovers rock. Her lovely voice recalls the pure and simple charms of singers like Caroll Thompson, Susan Cadogan and Dawn Penn. Hollie prefers to call her own music "tropical pop". I highly recommend all three Hollie Cook albums, and the dub LP produced by Prince Fatty.