Guard Your Joy Riddim – Vibeguard Recordings

Cut out in France’s Aube region, Guard Your Joy Riddim has that careful roots feel Vibeguard have been sharpening since the early 2010s, with local players MattBoich and Maxime “Suga” Mignot at the center of the instrumental. The riddim leans into one-drop reggae rather than anything flashy, so the songs have room to breathe, and the cast is a smart mix of familiar and regional voices: Carl Meeks opens strong with “Island Girl, ” Rosa Shanti brings a tougher edge on “Rescue The Children, ” and Vanzo’s “Just One Night” gives the set one of its cleaner modern hooks. There’s also a nice push from the label’s French and international circle, with Thiecko, Ginkgo Belova, Liu Brown and Lady Manuella all folding neatly into the same groove. After the label’s earlier singles and vinyl work, this CD-era one-riddim project sits as one of the more complete entries in the Vibeguard catalogue.