Black Roots

Formed in 1979 in the St Paul’s district of Bristol, Black Roots sits within the British roots reggae tradition, with an approach marked by vocal harmonies, deep bass lines, and songwriting oriented toward the social realities of daily life. Active on British and European stages in the 1980s, the group recorded several sessions for the BBC, appeared on John Peel's show, and also featured on Channel 4's Rockers Roadshow. Its discography from this first period includes Black Roots (1983), The Front Line (1984), In Session (1985), All Day All Night (1987), In a Different Style (1988), Live Power (1989) and Natural Reaction (1990), as well as several dub records drawn from this repertoire, with mixes by Mad Professor and Dub Judah. After a long hiatus from live performance in the 1990s and 2000s, Black Roots returned to the stage from 2010 and relaunched studio work with On the Ground (2012), Ghetto Feel (2014), Son Of Man (2016), Take It (2018) and Nothing in the Larder (2021). Black Roots has since maintained an identity faithful to reggae roots, nourished by dub, collective singing, and an organic sound forged between Bristol, the sound-system circuit, and European festivals.