google5fdb2843fc4f1b5b.html Rock Chic: Roots Manuva - Bristol Eco Veggie Fayre

Thursday 1 July 2010

Roots Manuva - Bristol Eco Veggie Fayre

Bringing his Roots to Bristol, Roots Manuva, with his reggae, Caribbean and African influences, mixed with dance hall style and clean crisp vocal performances, showed the crowd what he can do.

He swaggered onto the stage wearing a smart, cool long coat looking every bit the jam master that he is. It was a rainy evening but managed to hold off, and the Jamaican sun shining from the stage soon warmed things up. He brought us a taste of the past with remixes of ‘Yellow Submarine’, ‘Buff Nuff’ and all his old classics. They got the crowd singing and dancing like the stuff carnivals are made of.

In the middle of the songs he took the time to talk to the audience - making jokes and talking of funny anecdotes. He is a proper showman and the audience loved it. There are not many artists like this around at this time in the music industry. Today we have the likes of Dizzy Rascal and Wiley and this is where they learnt their craft, from the Daddy of cool.

Roots has come under scrutiny from the critics and never quite gained the ultimate success through his career, whereas the young bucks seem to have come from the woodwork leaving Roots in the darkness. It is easy to see how his second album Run Come Save Me, has influenced music today - from booming dub-influenced sounds and urban rap, to typical British lyrics about living at home in Sheffield. All of these methods are used heavily in today’s charts.

Manuva never really gained the recognition he deserved. Some songs are an example of why he didn’t quite make it into the top 10. Songs like ‘Witness’ being a weaker joint from Roots, but then he brought it back with ‘Dreamy Days’ - one of his best known songs which always makes for a goosebump moment.

Roots can sure still get a party going and keep the beats flowing even after all the years he has been in the business. He kept the crowd going “again and again” until the lights came on, still leaving them wanting more.

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