Martin Campbell

Martin Campbell -Rootsman - The Real Thing -Channel One UK -1998

The Channel One -Roots Radics sound of the early eighties inspired a lot of people in the reggae business.Its a sound that is not only powerful, but its got a space to it not heard since the early seventies and the sound of skank.When Channel One closed down in the mid -eighties no one expected to hear the sound again. Martin Campbell based in the UK, just outside of London. Not only loved the sound -he was close to the Hookim Brothers in Jamaica owners of Channel One.And so it came to pass that Martin brought back that sound -in its fullnessUpdating it in the process. A talented singer/songwriter. His singing style is a bounce off of Kiddus I. A mixture of someone like Horace Andy and Sammy Dread. His songwriting skills are his own -a mixture of cultural and reality. Tunes like 'Just Another Day' and 'Lost Generation' are great examples of it. Martin is also a talented musician and plays all of the instruments on this set. Creating a sound that even the Roots Radics would be proud of. Anything and everything happened in the nineties as far as reggae music. And this set is another part of that history.