THE SKINTS VIDEO: Exclusive video interview with The Skints during their first tour in Italy...enjoy it!

Having reformed in 2013, it hasn't taken Capital Letters long to get back into their stride and 2015 sees them embarking on a series of European live dates reminiscent of their heyday in the late seventies and early eighties when they were the unofficial UK reggae ambassadors to Europe, constantly touring throughout the Continent.

To coincide with the start of these dates, Sugar Shack Records will be releasing the first all new Capital Letters album in thirty years. The band have spent much of the summer in the studio of Noel Browne, Noel only recently relocated to the UK and built his new studio. He's a former Studio One Band, Taxi Gang and Maytals keyboard player who is perhaps better known as the man behind New Name Music, the studio he set up in 1987 where he was to achieve success with Luciano, Mikey Spice and Jack Radics amongst many, before building Big Ship Recording Studios in 1995 where he worked with Freddie McGregor, The Wailing Souls, Papa San and numerous others. Utilising Noel Browne's engineering skills, the band recorded 14 songs which were then passed into the safe hands of regular Sugar Shack collaborator Dave 'Oldwah' Sandford for final mixing.

The album kicks off with a trio of classic roots tracks, “Jah Music”, a highlight of their live shows, “Wolf” as recently released in a remix form on a Sugar Shack 12” and “Roots Music”. Just when you think the pattern is set, the band turn things around and with a novel approach they continue with a mainly roots themed set, but in a case of an iron fist inside a velvet glove, hard hitting roots messages are underpinned by often upbeat backing. The songs; “Place On Earth”, “Dat Nah Stop”, “False Natty”, “Tell Me What's Wrong” and “Opportunity” all contain strong messages that may be missed on casual listening with their deceptive, almost too upbeat backing tracks, an unusual approach that shows just how confident and skilled the band are.

It's not all politics and preaching. One of the songs is a heartfelt tribute to the band's home town, Wolverhampton in the British Midlands. It was obvious that with Capital Letters strong ties to the City, this was the perfect track to name the album after and so “Wolverhampton” is the album title and will no doubt have more than a few of the band's overseas fans checking their atlases. A perfect companion piece to “Wolverhampton” is the track “Jamaica” which paints a charming child's eye picture of the huge changes and culture shock encountered by the children who arrived in Britain to join the windrush generation during the fifties and sixties.

Co vocalist Lukas doesn't forget his past as a Lovers Rock artist and we are treated to a solitary love song with “Movie Star”. Lukas puts in such a consummate performance, it makes one hope the band will record more material along similar lines in future.
Capital letters are a band at the top of their game; they have maturity, confidence and musicianship to spare. This is a deceptive album, the more you listen the more it reveals the depth of quality within, good on first listen it grows in stature and really rewards repeated plays.

“Wolverhampton” is released by Sugar Shack records on 23rd March 2015 as a digital download and compact disc available from all leading sites and retailers, there will also be a limited edition vinyl album containing the first five tracks along with their accompanying dub mixes.

Reggae artist Apache Indian is set to release a hot new track, 'Election Crisis’, which is already setting fire to the airwaves at radio stations up and down the UK. Slated for release on 30th March, the track scathingly blasts the state of British politics, capturing the atmosphere of disaffection and disappointment felt amongst much of the voting public.

Famously known for his UK Top 5 hit song ‘Boom Shack-A-Lak’, during his 20 year career Apache Indian has worked with artists from around the world: touring with Sean Paul and recording with Boyz II Men, Blackstreet, UB40, Shaggy, Boy Georgeand Prasof the Fugees. Never one to run scared from controversial issues, Apache is also known for tackling difficult subjects with his music such as arranged marriages, AIDS, alcohol & drug misuse, caste system and more.

Election Crisis is a hard hitting dancehall reggae style track produced by Charlie Hype, who working alongside Jim Beanz has produced for music industry superstars Timbaland, Wu Tang Clang, Nelly Furtado, Shakira, Fat Joe, Craig David and Raekwon. The song’s lyrics raise serious questions about the state of the nation in the face of the May General Elections the importance of making the right choices when voting. With every line Apache goes for the jugular, cleverly addressing the key issues at the heart of this year’s elections: immigration, unemployment, poverty, bankers’ bonuses and cuts to public services.

“The song wasn’t easy to write but some things need to be said. This is a crisis. We have schools and universities making cuts whilst fees are on the rise. We have £3 billion a year to spend on nuclear weapons, but every day they’re slashing budgets for the NHS. 140,000 people are out of work in Birmingham, whilst the bankers fall back on big fat bonuses and the rich and powerful slip through tax loopholes. This is definitely a crisis and a lot of people don’t know who to turn to. People are either are confused about who to vote for or have just stopped caring!”

For Apache this is not just another song, ‘Election Crisis’ highlights the current political reality for many people in the UK. Apache himself has worked very closely with his community in Handsworth, Birmingham over the years, in particular helping the young people in the area. Two years ago Apache set up the 'Apache Indian Music Academy' (A.I.M), a music academy based at South and City College on Soho Road, Handsworth. The A.I.M Academy is a registered non-profit charity, run by Apache on a voluntary basis for free, with the aim of helping young people with music and life skills.

AIM has become very popular in the community, drawing up to 70 young people weekly. The Academy is now supported by various local sponsors that provide food, water, clothing and various other things that benefit the young people on a weekly basis. The college offers further support by encouraging young people to enrol on courses and provide advice about apprenticeship and jobs.

Apache's vision was to encourage the community to help each other without any money passing hands and without any funding. His vision has worked and is growing every week with more young people attending the Academy and with more local businesses wanting to help.

The Academy and its students are featured in the music video of 'Election Crisis'.

Show your support for the Movement that is making a real difference by downloading 'Election Crisis’ from iTunes, Google play or Amazon Monday 30th March 2015, with partial proceeds going to the Apache Indian Music Academy (AIM).

Apache Indian's new single "Election Crisis", produced by Charlie Hype, featured on Sky News.

Alpha Steppa Meets Don Fe featuring Reality SoulJahs. After the success of Steppas Records' previous collaboration with Don Fe it was inevitable a second instalment would surface. This time with musical and lyrical support from label head Alpha Steppa and long time UK Roots vocal duo Reality SoulJahs, respectively. A heavy steppers riddim from Don Fe featuring the conscious militant lyrics of Reality SoulJahs accompanied by an earth-shattering Alpha Steppa version and dub mixes from both camps. Mastered with maximum clarity and bass pressure and housed in the brand new reverse-board 300gsm Steppas Records house-bag.

The Reality duo initiated their musical kinship in 1990 with the launch of their Reality Sound System. From the early days of lifting boxes and recording dubplates, this North London duo have gone on to forge a powerful relationship and have established themselves as intelligent and instantly recognisable vocal and lyrical talents. An integral part of today's UK roots reggae scene.

UK born musician and producer based in Spain for over 20 years, Don Fe’s passion since the age of five has been music, classically trained in piano, flute and theory and as from sixteen reggae. From his humble beginnings in the 80s with a 4 track and a TDK D90 his riddims and productions are now being played by the world’s most respected sounds – Channel One, Jah Shaka, Aba Shanti, Iration Steppas and many more all over the world.