Journey, by Black Symbol

Journey

by Black Symbol

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Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
Pressed on Gold Marble this LP is limited to 300 copies only and includes insert

Includes unlimited streaming of Journey via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

ships out within 2 days

edition of 300

£21.99 GBP or more
Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

£8 GBP or more
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
White label of the 'Journey' album

Includes unlimited streaming of Journey via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

ships out within 2 days

edition of 4

£40 GBP or more
Full Digital Discography

20

releases

Get all 20 Reggae Archive Records releases available on Bandcamp and save 50%.

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Journey, Feel It, Menelik, Political / Generals, Mark of Slavery / Slow Down (New Stock), The Midlands Roots Explosion Volume Two, Black Symbol presents The Complete Handsworth Explosion, The Midlands Roots Explosion Volume One, and 12 more. , and , .

Purchasable with gift card

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1.	I'm Not Afraid 04:00	buy track
2.	Mama Africa 05:27	buy track
3.	Journey 03:52	buy track
4.	Jah People 04:14	buy track
5.	Morning Dew 03:59	buy track
6.	Mr Money Man 03:11	buy track
7.	Let It Shine 03:53	buy track
8.	Bongoman 03:54	buy track
9.	Bongoman (Version) 03:54	buy track

about

Black Symbol
‘Journey’

Released 23rd February 2024 on Strictly Limited (300 copies only) Gold Marble Vinyl

Ten years ago, we released the Black Symbol album “Journey” on our sister label Sugar Shack Records. It was the first new music from Fatman in thirty years and has sold steadily ever since but at the time we only released it on CD. The last decade has seen the vinyl revival go from strength to strength so a vinyl issue of “Journey” is long overdue and as the album is not a new release, we've placed it on our Reggae Archive Records label alongside vintage Black Symbol recordings.
During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Fatman and Black Symbol helped to put Birmingham’s Handsworth area firmly on the reggae map with a series of Black Symbol singles and three albums in conjunction with other local artists, including the two legendary volumes of “Handsworth Explosion” mostly released on the band’s own eponymous label. Over the last forty years, those original Black Symbol releases have grown in status as more and more people discovered them via our comprehensive reissue campaign.
Although he stopped releasing music in the early eighties, Fatman continued to write and record and it was a selection of the then new recordings we put out as “Journey” in 2014, produced by Paul Horton for Ecks Productions. Paul has twice been nominated for a Grammy Award for his work on Steel Pulse’s “Victims” and Pato Banton’s “Life Is a Miracle.” Although the music benefits from Paul’s experience and knowledge of the latest production techniques, he was careful to ensure that the music recalls the Black Symbol of old retaining that original spiritual edge.
Spiritual is the best word to describe this collection of eight songs and an instrumental version and there couldn’t be a more apt title than “Journey,” our lives are a journey. Fatman’s journey has taken him from St. Ann’s, Jamaica to Handsworth, England and increasingly he looks towards Ethiopia and Africa. It is a recurring theme throughout the songs on this collection.
When Fatman sings “Mama Africa,” he sings of Africa as his homeland just as much as Jamaica or England. Africa is the mother that gave birth to all humanity whilst in “Bongoman,” he quotes from Psalm 137, a tale of exile and weaves it into a song of great beauty and spiritual power with Nyahbinghi undertones that are further explored on the instrumental version. The travel theme is repeated in “Morning Dew” and title track “Journey” where he proclaims that “Rasta no build his house on sinking sand.” Fatman rejects the corruption of modern society, we must come away from the “muddy water” and drink from the pure spring of Rastafari. Fatman is not afraid to proclaim his faith throughout this album, in fact that is exactly how he begins with the track “I’m not Afraid” with more positive, uplifting, and spiritual messages filling “Let It Shine.”
Special mention should be given to Empress Bev, whose backing vocals add so much to the unique sound of this album and help it stand out from the crowd. Black Symbol always sounded different from any other British reggae, the music always felt as though it had flowed straight from a spring in the hills of Jamaica rather than coming from the terraced streets and concrete of Birmingham. There is still nobody making music like Fatman and ten years later, this is just as enjoyable a listen as it was on first release. Finally on vinyl it should deservedly reach a whole new audience.
“Journey” is released on limited edition vinyl LP on Reggae Archive Records on 23rd February 2024, available from all leading retailers worldwide.