Number One Station Riddim – Pull Up My Selecta

With just seven cuts and eight voices, Number One Station Riddim plays like a tight little 2013 showcase rather than a sprawling compilation, and the names do the talking: Randy Valentine’s “Victory, ” Mr Vegas on “No Plastic Dolly, ” Macka B twice over, plus Shanty B, Captain Sinbad and Dean Fraser. Put together by Pull Up My Selecta and issued through Maximum Sound on June 24, 2013, the set sits in that clean roots-reggae pocket where the rhythm section stays disciplined and the singers get room to work. Macka B’s pair of tunes push the conscious-chat angle, while Dean Fraser’s “Lost and Found” brings a more melodic, horn-led touch to the same framework. The whole thing moves at an easy mid-tempo pace, anchored by a steady bassline and crisp one-drop pulse that keeps the vocal phrasing front and centre.