Ska Blah Blah

Ska Professor Dextor Campbell

Posted on April 24th, 2008 by JJ Loy.
Categories: news.

Tom sent me this Jamaican Gleaner story about Dextor Campbell, who’s record collection is one of the largest in the world.

Affectionately referred to as ‘The Ska Professor’ from his days as a sound system selector specialising in ska music, Campbell says his collection is valued at over $15 million.

“Right now mi have 20,000 albums and 15,000 seven-inch (45s) and mi know mi can safely get roughly $15 million for my collection without a doubt,” Campbell said.

But when he started collecting vinyl music it was not with the intention to one day become one of the largest collectors of his time. Instead, it was all for the love of the music.

Link

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Oddity: Ska vs Acid House and Hip Hop

Posted on June 22nd, 2007 by JJ Loy.
Categories: MP3, oddity, video.

Here’s another Rarity/Oddity from the archives of Soul Seek. The album I downloaded was called Ska Rap, although I can’t find any evidence of this compilation having existed at all. The individual artists are easy to find with a quick Google search, but most of what’s available are in vinyl singles. In fact, from the sound of the mp3’s, I’d say the album itself is a vinyl rip.

It seems that in the late 1980’s, while Acid House was blowing up, several DJ’s attempted to add a little ska influence into the mix. The result is very silly as is most house and techno from that era. But it’s very catchy in places, and recognizing familiar hooks is always fun for me. You can also hear how the ground is being laid for Jungle and Drum & Bass which would dominate the scene, 10 years later. A couple of the DJ’s featured on the Ska Rap album would go on to change their names and become huge in the Jungle world.

Some of the Tracks:
MP3’s REMOVED

Videos of Interst:

Longsy D’s static video, This is Ska:

VIDEO REMOVED

Wyclef Jean and the Rock lay down some Ska Rap:

I’m not posting this as an endorsement of this music. I’m a big believer that Ska can mix well with almost any kind of music, but this is an interesting failure.

I have some more Ska Rap/Ska Electronica tracks that I will post in the near future, so check back. Also, if anyone has more info on these DJ’s or the music, I’d love to hear from you.

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Ska Oddity: Original Mexican Ska

Posted on June 5th, 2007 by JJ Loy.
Categories: MP3, news, oddity.

Here’s something you might not know about. I found this 60’s era Mexican Ska record on SoulSeek a couple years ago, and it definitely falls into the category of Ska Oddities.

The album was from Tono Quirazco, who’s fan-run-MySpace page, touts as “El Byron Lee Mexicano.” An apt comparison for sure. There isn’t much information online that is in English, but from what I gather Quirazco was a very popular guitarist in 1960’s Mexico. Not only was he a fan and contemporary of the Skatalites, but his guitar style is clearly Hawaiian influenced.

Links:
- Merida Ska.mp3
- La Mucura.mp3
- Pepe el Navaja.mp3
- The above mentioned MySpace page has more songs for download.

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