Cool It Riddim (2007) – Digital English

With just six cuts, Cool It Riddim keeps the focus tight on a small but sturdy lineup: Carlton Livingston’s “Everybody Lets Dance, ” Don Angelo’s “Selassie I The 1st, ” Glen Brown’s “Equal Rights And Justice, ” and The Meditations’ title tune sit alongside a couple of dubs from Digital English All Stars. The 2007 set comes off like a late-digital roots session, with clipped drum programming, a rounded bassline, and enough space in the arrangement for the voices and dub versions to breathe. Digital English, the Brooklyn outfit behind it, had been working in reggae since the mid-1980s, and that sound-system background shows in the way the riddim stays lean, echo-heavy, and measured. It never rushes; the groove sits in a steady mid-tempo pocket, with the bass doing most of the talking.