Ras Beethoven Riddim – Heartical Label

Heartical keeps its hand on the roots pulse with Ras Beethoven Riddim, a 2026 one-riddim set anchored by Sergio Marigomez’s long-running Paris-based Heartical operation and its deep link with Basque Dub Foundation. That pairing has been part of the label’s identity for years, and this release sits neatly inside a catalogue that has repeatedly gone back to vintage Jamaican foundations while recutting them with a modern, heavyweight sound. Heartical started as a sound system before becoming a label, and the BDF connection has produced plenty of dubwise roots work over the years, so this project lands like a continuation of a familiar conversation rather than a one-off experiment.

The riddim has a stately, classically minded feel without losing the grit that keeps a reggae juggling alive. The title alone signals the angle: Beethoven as a nod to arrangement and drama, then the roots side of the bandstand in the rhythmic weight and melody-led bassline. The vocal cuts move across generations and styles, from elder statesmen to more recent European and international voices. Cornel Campbell’s Too Many Soldiers brings that unmistakable silky tenor grace, while Carlton Livingston’s Robbery and Macka B’s Robbery Of The Century? push the theme into social commentary and streetwise wit. Joseph Cotton’s Show Time and Owen Knibbs’ Danger Zone give the set a sharper sound-system energy, and the pairing of Ernest Wilson and Papa Kojak on Chant Dem Down feels especially natural for the rub-a-dub spirit that Heartical has always favored.

The European side of the lineup gives the riddim extra color. Rootsamala bring their Malaga roots credentials, Straika D adds a French-language cut in Dans La Stéréo, and Colour Red with Clive Hylton widen the reach again on Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Basque Dub Foundation also close the circle with Classical Roots and the dub version Ras Beethoven In Dub with Darren Jamtone, which is the kind of finishing touch that makes the whole project feel properly assembled for selectors and dub fans alike.