All Fruits Ripe

Switzerland’s Fruits Records drops All Fruits Ripe, a showcase LP that keeps one foot in the Golden Era and the other planted firmly in the present. The tracks span a full decade of sessions, from 2015 to 2025, and the result is something worth sitting with.

To Be Free

Micah Shemaiah opens with To Be Free, and true to form, the man delivers. No surprises there, and that’s meant as a compliment. Jamaican hornsman Everton “Sting” Wray lends some genuinely beautiful accents that lift the whole track. Classic, warm reggae brass, exactly what you want. And when the dub rolls in it’s pure pleasure as the horns and keyboards take the wheel and you just ride the soundwaves.

Guiding Star

Rod Taylor follows, and if you know your reggae, you know this man don’t get nearly enough credit. One of the most consistent voices in roots music, and lyrically he stays true to his calling: social justice, repatriation, spiritual devotion. Guiding Star is built around Jah as his compass in life, and it feels sincere because it is. But the real jaw-drop here is Leroy ‘Horsemouth’ Wallace on the drums, playing like it’s 1978 all over again. The dub, Shooting Dub, keeps it tight: a solid drum and bass foundation with a nice spread of guitar effects layered on top.

Let Thy Kingdom Come

Kevor “Var” Williams steps in next, representing a younger wave. Co-founder and lead singer of Pentateuch, Var has a strong connection with the Fruits Records crew in Geneva, and it shows in how naturally everything inna it feels right. Let Thy Kingdom Come is conscious and devotional, sitting comfortably over 18th Parallel’s warm analog production. The dub leans hard into those syndrum sounds that defined Jamaican music at the close of the 70s, with the blazers section filling in the gaps just right.

Love Gets Sweeter

Side two opens with Keith Rowe, one half of the classic rocksteady duo Keith & Tex. Love Gets Sweeter is uptempo and light on its feet, carrying messages about love both in the personal and the universal sense. The steppers riddim is near impossible to sit still to, especially in the dub, where the whole thing opens up and you just float. Lovely workout, this one.

No More Will I Roam

Then comes Itral Ites, a name that might not ring loud for everyone, but this man carries deep roots in Jamaican musical culture and strong nyabinghi connections. His contribution is No More Will I Roam, and from the first bar, his vocal style demands attention. Vintage backing vocals from Black Steel add real warmth, and the track fires on all cylinders. The dub counterpart, Roaming Dub, is nothing short of flawless.

Hezron

Keep On Keeping On from Hezron (Clarke) closes things out in extended mix form, and it’s a fitting finale. His raspy delivery draws comparisons to Mikey Spice, Beres Hammond, and even Luther Vandross, and you can hear why. The extended format gives his emotional performance room to breathe, with Maria Smith’s backing vocals weaving in behind him. After a classic tape rewind we drop into the dub, and it’s the kind that leaves you a little sad when it’s done. Not because it’s heavy, but because it’s that good, and the LP has reached its end.