King Zepha

King Zepha’s Northern Sound Happy People CD Album

Launched mid-April 2019, King Zepha’s third album, King Zepha’s Northern Sound, his first release after joining Pama International’s Happy People rosta, is already creating a stir. Based in his native Leeds, King Zepha is a talented saxophonist, singer, songwriter and record producer, who draws inspiration from Jamaican 60s music and its more contemporary derivatives, which are detectable throughout the entirety of this 11-track collection of original cuts. Opener Bottom Of The Pile sets the scene, with its piano and sax-laden dub reggae flavour, while Let Your Hair Down comes across like early Motown meets Studio One, with a Hammond-riding soul ska groove. Ali Baba sits between two-tone and 60s ska Skatillites style, which is followed by DubFart, a (dub) version of Ali |Baba. Talk about throwback sound, King Zepha transports us back to the formative era of what became ska with the jazzy, orchestral-esque instrumental Tin Man, before serving up Shoot The Messenger, a hybrid reggae scorcher infused with raw rhythm ‘n’ blues. Spirit Of The Skatalites at their best revisited, melded with a more contemporary vocal style, combine on Mother Of All Hangovers, followed by the dancefloor ska feel of You Let Yourself Go. King Zepha’s exploration and revisitation of 60s Jamaican sounds takes the journey into rock-steady territories with a killer reworking of Just One Look. The shuffling ska instrumental workout Catalunya comes in the penultimate slot in the chronological running order, with Grass Is Greener, an interesting closer with its big band goes 60s Jamaican aura. All the tracks were recorded by King Zepha in his home (bedroom) studio in Yorkshire, yet the essence of various 60s Jamaican music sub-genres are captured on this album, and then some.