Crystal Woman And Musik Two Riddim – Rootdown Records

Rootdown Records was deep in the European reggae circuit when it cut Crystal Woman and Musik Two in 2005, and the riddim’s roster tells you plenty about the moment: Anthony B’s “Player No More, ” Richie Spice’s “Gideon Soldier, ” and Lutan Fyah’s “When Mi Rise It” sit alongside voices from Jahmali, Chuck Fenda, and the German sing-jay Maxim. The groove is warm and steady rather than flashy, the kind of one-drop backdrop that leaves room for the chants and warnings to land clean, and Rootdown threads the whole thing with a cross-Atlantic cast that even dips into German-language cuts like Nosliw’s “Musik” and Maxim’s “Wein Nicht Mehr. ” It’s a snapshot of reggae moving through Switzerland, Germany, and Jamaica at the same time, with “Gideon Soldier” and “Player No More” doing a lot of the talking, plus a few surprise turns near the end.