Review - Aba Shanti-I ,Dennis Bovell and Nabihah Iqbal, Brighton Festival club night

Ahead of this year’s Brighton Festival’s guest director Nabihah Iqbal said she was keen to work with artists she admired.

As well as being a critically-acclaimed musician she’s also a DJ who can be found all over the dial, on Radio 1, Radio 4, 1Xtra, Asian Network, World Service and 6Music.

But her career on the ones and twos is in its infancy in comparison to the two reggae heavyweights she shared the stage with last weekend.

Dennis Bovell MBE is a hugely influential figure on British reggae, both performing and producing, while Aba Shanti-I is a dub producer, a Notting Hill Festival mainstay, and the man behind a reggae sound-system which has the kind of bass that can shift tectonic plates.

The club night was the second bass-heavy show of the evening after the wonderful Jah Wobble attended to some dub and post-punk business at The Chalk.

https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/review-jah-wobble-at-brighton-dome-for-the-brighton-festival-4137860

Ninja Records artist Iqbal was first up on the decks as the cavernous Concorde filled surprisingly quickly.

For the first part of her set she kept it light with some old Rocksteady tunes from Carlton and the Shoes, and Byron Lee and the Dragonnaires.

The upbeat tunes continued with some 70s home-grown bands Capital Letters and Steel Pulse, and a Lovers Rock number ahead of Mr Bovell MBE at midnight.

Bovell is a great bassist but was nestled behind the decks for a DJ set, but at least treated everyone to some epic toasting and a bit more besides.

Little stories were told about pinching basslines from his daughter, and playing songs he produced for Joss Stone and Sade.

Bovell’s discography as a producer is such that he could spend a large part of the festival playing songs he’s produced (from I-Roy to Fela Kuti, via the Thompson Twins and Bananarama).

He’s also recognised as a key figure behind Lover’s Rock reggae, and wrote the classic Silly Games for Janet Kay, and sure enough he played it on the night and contributed some vocals to a dub plate of the same tune, karaoke’s don’t come much better than that.

From then on it was barrage of reggae bangers: Augustus Pablo, Toots and the Maytals, The Pioneers, Marcia Aitken. It was wonderful to hear them played at that volume in a packed club.

The Concorde’s sound system was in a good shape but couldn’t compare to previous Aba Shanti-I shows at the same venue over the years, when the bass would lift physically lift the hairs on your head and make its presence felt in your insides.

Instead we had a loud P.A. but not the type that could potentially end your career as a safe-cracker.

Aba Shanti-I shared his admiration and love for Bovell and also his sadness at the recent death of fellow reggae sound-system and dub DJ Jah Shaka.

But the tone was joyful with tributes and Shaka tunes.

A festival club night was a brave choice but well overdue, so kudos to Nabihah Iqbal for putting the show on.

There’s more to follow at the end of the month when Goldie headlines a drum n bass night at the Concorde on May 28.

https://brightonfestival.org/whats-on/goldie-submotive-riz-la-teef-medic-mc-6135/?gclid=CjwKCAjwge2iBhBBEiwAfXDBR4M3vh2jzAp2GXyIXbmVdUW5ZH19jz1tylelNLUCUajE_WZjFwI1lRoCuxgQAvD_BwE