Ashoil Riddim – Fat Eyes Records

Muted heat. Ashoil Riddim lands in that mid-2000s Fat Eyes zone where the groove is relaxed but the cuts still carry weight, and the set keeps a tidy eight-track frame with Anthony B opening on “Bad Fi Who, ” Luciano pairing with Nadine Sutherland on “Love Is The Future, ” and Tanya Stephens getting two swings at “Party Tonight, ” one edited and one raw. The mix leans more rootsy and lovers-friendly than hard-edged dancehall, with Nikki Tukker’s “Sweet Summer” and Ronnie Twaites’ “Love Of A Lifetime” keeping the pace light before Turbulence steers it back toward conscience music on “World To Me. ” Fat Eyes’ Jamaica-rooted outfit, led by Bulby York and Lynford Marshall, had already built a deep catalog by 2004, and that seasoned touch is all over the riddim’s clean, airy pulse. The final word belongs to Tanya Stephens, whose raw take gives the project its sharpest finish.