Best Seven Records

Drop your track through soundcloud.com

admin — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 12:00:07 +0000

If you want to send us some music, your new demo, your most recent mix or a hot live recording, then use the drop box on the top right edge of the website or access our soundcloud dropbox here.

Best Seven Selections 3 Rec Release feat. Ladi6 @ Bohannon

admin — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 12:30:05 +0000

Friday, September 19th 2008
Doors 23h
Bohannon, Dircksenstr. 4, 10178 Berlin

Record Release Party - Best Seven Selections 3

Ladi6 live (co-produced by DJ Mu from Fat Freddys Drop)
Parks (Ladi6), Wellignton, NZ
Daniel W. Best (Bestseven)
Alex (Metrosoul/Such a Sound)

www.ladi6.com
www.myspace.com/ladi6

1st Berlin Dubfestival

admin — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 11:07:48 +0000

Ladi6 - Walk Right Up

admin — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 14:48:44 +0000

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

This track is featured on Best Seven Selections 3.

Our new forum is online

admin — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 14:42:28 +0000

Best Seven Records now has a new feature. Check out our forum!

The Black Seeds - Solid Ground European Release Tour 2008

admin — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 10:30:26 +0000

17. November: Münster, Gleis 22
18. November: Hamburg, Knust
19. November: Berlin, Maria
20. November: München, Die Registratur
21. November: CH- Rorschach, Mariaberg
23. November: Köln, Underground

More information about the new album here.

Best Seven Selections 3

admin — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 14:58:45 +0000

DANIEL W. BEST is Berlin’s godfather of Soul, Dub and Reggae. The long-time partner of JAZZANOVA has come a long way and his taste for soulful dub and reggae music refines itself time after time. After years of passion and hard work DANIEL W. BEST is making it to the top with his small but excellent imprint Best Seven that he established almost ten years ago in 1999. BEST, who brought the legendary band FAT FREDDYS DROP to Europe, who released the 2 latest albums of the other super Reggae band from New-Zealand THE BLACK SEEDS and who helped great artists such as EVA BE, CHAKA DOMU, KABUKI, PAUL ST. HILAIRE and FROST & WAGNER to make a name for themselves on the music scene, is always on his quest to bring us rare dub pearls and forgotten roots-reggae hymns from all over the world. And almost 2 years after the acclaimed second opus of his famous Best Seven Selections, BEST is now coming up with a new compilation of dub and reggae gems and you can believe us at Sonar Kollektiv, when we tell you it was definitely worth your wait! Best Seven Selections 3 is simply the best installment of the series so far.Once again DANIEL hits the sweet spot with a wicked recollection of tunes fused with dub spirit, soulful vocals and conscious lyrics. BEST extended the spectrum of his selection and presents the music of brilliant and upcoming artists such as SISTERS, LADI 6, JAH SEAL, CAT RAT and THE DYNAMICS as well as works by friends and members of the Best Seven family such as KABUKI, FROST & WAGNER, SYGAIRE and HAAKSMAN + HAAKSMAN and tracks by famous artists and big names in the dub and reggae scene such as TOSCA, RECLOOSE and JOE DUKIE and THE BLACK SEEDS. Whereas Dub and Reggae constitute the common musical ground of all the artists that are featured on Best Seven Selections 3, this new chapter easily crosses over the traditional boundaries of the genre. Each artist and each band combines roots, reggae and dub with more personal influences and various musical flavours coming from the 4 continents, which makes of Best Seven Selections 3 the reference record for the community of dub, roots and reggae lovers.Best Seven Selections 3 starts on a feminine note with Play With Fire of SISTERS, the Afro-German soul collective lead by singer ONEJIRU. Known for their activism and their daily fight against violence and discrimination, SISTERS join soul, dub and conscious lyrics to drop a musical statement against all forms of racism. THE ROLLING STONES cover Play With Fire is a great opening, JAGGER’S lyrics emphasize on respect, one of the key values of the roots community. KABUKI follows that footpath with Another You. The Berlin Drum ‘n Bass DJ and producer reveals once again the hidden side of his musical soul for Best Seven with this dubby and soulful number. The next in line is CAT RAT, whose debut EP Freedom (incl JAY HAZE & KABUKI Remixes) has been recently released on Best Seven (SB7025/elektrish). This upcoming producer unveils his skills with Real Rebel longsde Robert Lee that associates great lyrics with roots and reggae sounds in a very fresh minimal dub style. RECLOOSE and Kiwi legend JOE DUKIE are celebrating the release of the new studio album Perfect Timing (SK191CD/ilicity) on Sonar Kollektiv with the wonderful YES KING remix of RECLOOSE’s first single Deeper Waters feat. Joe Dukie (SK192/dem roots) and FROST & WAGNER, who recently released a compilation of their best Remixes on Best Seven (SBCD0009/dem roots), come up with You’re The Best Thing feat. Esther Cowens, a brand-new and original composition that has been especially recorded for the third opus of Best Seven Selections. Then THE BLACK SEEDS enter the game to enlighten our spirits with Love Is A Radiation, which will be the second single taken from their new album Solid Ground released on Best Seven.The second part of the compilation is a bit more upbeat and combines dub and reggae with many other music influences. New Zealand’s premier female vocalist LADI6 comes on board with Walk Right Up, a powerful dub-roots number, where her wonderful presence shines all the way through. DYNAMICS explores the influence between Jamaican reggae and American Soul with the moody 90% Of Me Is You. SYGAIRE a.k.a. JAZZANOVA’s ROSKOW KRETSCHMANN also innovates and stretches the spectrum of roots music with Good To Go of that melts dub and reggae sounds with Arabic influences and features the solid flow of MISS YOLANDA who has worked with AMP FIDDLER for his 2007 Album Afro Strut (Genuine). Another surprise of DANIEL BEST’s new compilation is the presence of TOSCA’s brand new single Brian Emely which is exclusive on this compilation. The 2 Viennese legends RICHARD DORFMEISTER and RUPERT HUBER of G-Stone Recordings fame will amaze the dub community with this number fusing roots vocals and their inimitable downtempo style. Berlin’s JAH SEAL slows down the tempo even more and relaxes us with the heavyweight Rastafarian excursion Jah Soldier. Finally the brothers HAAKSMAN + HAAKSMAN, known for their remixes of various artists such as GOTAN PROJECT, SHANTEL, TOSCA, MUNK and BOBAN MARKO ORKESTAR amongst others and for running the great label MAN Recordings that makes us discover the rhythms and sounds of Brazilian favelas, conclude this exquise roots travel with Na Lathina that couples dub infusions with Latino and Brazilian spices. In 12 titles DANIEL W. BEST proves us that dub-reggae is a globalised music genre that builds upon the past to look towards the future. With Best Seven Selections 3 the future sound of dub and reggae is already in your ears!

The Black Seeds - Solid Ground

admin — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 07:50:35 +0000

Reaching the age of 10 years is always a major and unique event in the life of a band. It is a very special moment that invites you to look on back on the past and admire the long way you’ve come. THE BLACK SEEDS are celebrating this very special birthday with Solid Ground, the best album they ever released.In ten years the 8 piece roots/dub/funk outfit hailing from the coastal capital of Wellington, New Zealand has matured to become one of the major pacifasian music bands. In 2001 the band lead by singer/writer BARNABY WEIR recorded the critically acclaimed and gold-selling debut album Keep On Pushing. They kept on turning heads around with their second album On The Sun released in 2004. With its 2 hit singles So True and Turn It Around being on heavy rotation on all the national radios and music televisions On The Sun achieved double platinum sales at home and helped solidifying THE BLACK SEEDS’ status as one of New Zealand’s premier groups.. They exposed internationally their pacific vibe and their feel good, reggified and sunkissed grooves with Into The Dojo released in 2007 on Sonar Kollektiv. To support the release of their third album THE BLACK SEEDS completed a very successful 18-show European tour in July/August 2007 that included sell-out shows in London (Mean Fiddler), the Edinburgh Festival (3 shows), Berlin (2 shows), a standout performance at the famous Lowlands Festival in Holland (70,000 strong), a live performance on the BBC’s CRAIG CHARLES Funk and Soul Show, as well as strong attendances in many other venues across the UK, France, Germany and Holland.
With such an extensive local and international touring over the past years the members of THE BLACK SEEDS have never been so close to each other. This closeness has had a great influence upon the band, his evolution and upon the creative process of their fourth studio-album Solid Ground, in which everybody has been constantly involved. Moreover founding values such authenticity and integrity never left the creative spirits of all the members of the SEEDS after all these years. The result is an album showing more creative maturity and more conscious experimentation. As BARNABY WEIR puts it „THE BLACK SEEDS are a tight. (…) We have set a solid foundation for the band over 10 years (…) and with Solid Ground we’ve been experimenting with some new flavours and directions. (…) I believe we have all got better at what we do individually and together and have created some exciting new songs.“ Recorded again at The Surgery Studio with DR LEE PREBBLE and produced by MIKE FABULOUS, Solid Ground is a real masterpiece fusing infectious dub-reggae grooves, melodies and party jams with raw, uncompromising and undiluted conscious roots music. Once again a great importance has been placed on remaining true to who they are and where they are from - from the expansive green landscapes and coastlines of New Zealand and the South pacific, to the urban community of their home city Wellington.With Solid Ground THE BLACK SEEDS aim for the truth in twelves gems made of dub, funk, afrobeat and soul, with a vintage reggae base. Crossing genre boundaries in only a way THE BLACK SEEDS can, Solid Ground oozes with the bands distinctive flavour – from the heavy-hitting karma-inspired first single Slingshot, to darker reggae/dub-infused tracks like Send a Message &The Bubble, infectious reggae gems like Love Is A Radiation, Come To Me and Bulletproof, and the funk/soul filled - Rotten Apple and AfroPhone. Once again every song conveys very deep feelings and very strong messages: Personal triumphs and failures, the fear of Love, death and apathy, relationships - good and bad, personal stories and insights into their lives in a multi-cultural, modern nation. But, ultimately every song is underpined with a positive and optimistic undertone, even when confronting hard truths or lessons learnt. This year again THE BLACK SEEDS will be performing all over Europe and presenting Solid Ground in all the biggest festivals such as The Lovebox Weekender (featuring the FLAMING LIPS, MANU CHAO, GROOVE ARMADA) and Rip Curl Boardmasters Festival in the UK, Roskilde in Denmark (featuring RADIOHEAD, KINGS OF LEON, etc); the Summerjam and Splash Festivals in Germany (JAY Z, COMMON, STEVEN MARLEY); the Garance Festival in France and many more. So don’t stay aside and come enjoy the solid grooves and fresh irie sounds of THE BLACK SEEDS!

Frost & Wagner - Remixes

admin — Mon, 05 May 2008 14:01:23 +0000

When it comes to releasing the freshest sounds in Soul, Dub and Reggae, Sonar Kollektiv can trust the flair of DANIEL W. BEST, long-time partner of JAZZANOVA. Besides being the co-organizer of the legendary „Innercity“ parties in Berlin’s Weekend, which draws crowds from all over Europe, DANIEL BEST established the fine little label Best Seven in 1999 that concerns itself with the interface between Soul and Reggae. He already displayed his great A&R skills over the years by releasing the works of many talented artists such as FAT FREDDYS DROP EVA BE, CHAKA DOMU, KABUKI, PAUL ST. HILAIRE, JOE DUKIE or THE BLACK SEEDS. Moreover BEST heightened the label’s profile with the 2 critically acclaimed Best seven selections compilations (SBCD0005 and SBCD0006) featuring the crème de la crème of contemporary Soul, Dub and Reggae.OLIVER FROST and ADRIAN WAGNER aka FROST & WAGNER are a long time cohort of DANIEL BEST and his imprint Best Seven. They are part of the striving Berlin Reggae scene since the late 80s.The love story between ADRIAN WAGNER and Reggae started at the early age of 13, when he watched a concert of Reggae legend BOB MARLEY on TV. It was his first big music experience. He still has vivid memories of it and never stopped loving Reggae ever since! On his side OLIVER FROST discovered Reggae through his love for Ska. Since both music styles share the same roots and have many features in common, WAGNER finally got hooked on the purity of the Reggae sound. FROST and WAGNER got to know each other in the Berlin Reggae band GROWING TREE in the late eighties. FROST played the keyboard and WAGNER was drummer. In these early years they refined their skills and learned how to incorporate and merge other influences and genres such as Soul, Jazz, Dub and Hip hop into their flexible sound. They really started to produce music as a duo in 2002 and thanks to FROST’s brother BARNEY MILLAH, who is one of Berlin’s most famous Reggae DJs, they met up with DANIEL BEST, who promptly enrolled them in his Best Seven staple.Besides their own music productions, notably their wonderful Big Disgrace EP (SB7015/dem roots), a deep slice of Berlin style Dancehall that came out on Best Seven in 2006 and turned many Dub and Reggae heads around, FROST & WAGNER made a name for themselves as talented remixers.Indeed whereas many artists and DJs consider remixing as a very purposive form of music producing that aims at making people dance and sweat on the floors, FROST & WAGNER see remixing as a form of art in its own right. They really enjoy using the input of other artists as a basis for a new song. From there they innovate, express their own creativity and give a different perspective to the original tune. Most of the time FROST plays the guitar and keyboard parts, while WAGNER takes good care of the drum and the percussion sections. Sometimes it’s the other way round. Sometimes they use computers to create their sounds and sometimes they record guitars, horns, drums and percussions themselves. For FROST & WAGNER there’s no rule to follow to make a good remix. Freedom of creation is the only thing that really matters.Their very personal touch is widely appreciated amongst fans of reggae and dub community and even crossed over the roots community, as they also worked with renowned artists such as Downbeat heroes TOSCA aka RICHARD DORFMEISTER and RUPERT HUBER of G-stone Recordings fame, GALLIANO and TWO BANKS OF FOUR mastermind EARL ZINGER and Soul Queen JOY DENALANE and rising star BEN WESTBEECH amongst many others and with labels such as G-Stone Recordings, Buback, Sonar Kollektiv, INFRACom! and Brownswood Recordings to name but a few.Being probably one of FROST & WAGNER’s biggest fan, DANIEL BEST couldn’t let all those Dub-Reggae gems sleep on vinyl anymore and decided to re-release all of them on a very special compilation retracing their music career of the duo from 2002 up to now.The Remixes (SBCD0009/dem roots) starts off with FROST & WAGNER’s remix of Torch Of Freedom. Originally written by CLEVELAND WATKISS, this song has been rearranged by MATTHIAS VOGT’s jazz band project RE:JAZZ in 2002. FROST & WAGNER transformed it one year after into a wonderful slice of Jazz-roots Reggae that features the lovely voice of Soul diva JOY DENALANE, who used to sing in the band CULTURE ROOTS in the mid-90s with OLIVER FROST. This great number is followed by She Walks Alone of Best Seven Dub and Reggae mistress EVA BE. Their soulful remix treatment highlights the sweet vocals sung by PEGAH FERYDONI and gives a new intensity to the original tune that appears on EVA BE’s debut album Moving Without Travelling (SBCD0007/SB7020/dem roots).Their remix of TAXI’s A Certain Something highlights once again the charming voice of singer JO LAUNDY with laid-back drum parts and beautiful strings arrangements. FROST & WAGNER certainly have a thing for female vocals but male voices are equally inspiring for them and they prove it an impressive remix of TOSCA’s Superrob that features the soulful organ of EARL ZINGER and with remixes of BEN WESTBEECH’s So Good Today originally released on GILLES PETERSON’s Brownswood Recordings, of KABUKI and CLEVELAND WATKISS’ Speed Of Sound and of JAN DELAY’s Klar, all present on the compilation. From DEYAMPERT’s The Sweetest Delusion to ONEJIRU’s We Carry On over to MATTHIAS VOGT TRIO’s The Look Into Your Eyes, all the remixes of FROST & WAGNER have these compelling Dub-Reggae grooves that make you feel good after a few seconds and make you dance after a few others. The crowning glory for Berlin’s Reggae duo comes with their remix of Everything of Sonar Kollektiv’s own CLARA HILL. They give a new depth to CLARA’s voice and build a soothing atmosphere around it with beautiful layers of strings and with an extra groove that feels like the sun shining lightly over your head. In eleven tracks FROST & WAGNER will show you that remixering can be wonderful artform and with Remixes (SBCD0009) Best Seven serves you once again eleven fragments of heaven.

The Black Seeds - 2008 Tour

admin — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 08:55:33 +0000

The Black Seeds live!

25. Juni 2008 England: London Electric Ballroom
27. Juni 2008 France Paris Nuit Zébrée
28. Juni 2008 France Paris Garance Festival
04. Juli 2008 France Festival Terre Neuvas
05. Juli 2008 Germany Köln Fühlinger See Summerjam
06. Juli 2008 Denmark Roskilde Festival
09. Juli 2008 Denmark Copenhagen Rust
10. Juli 2008 Germany Berlin Club Maria
11. Juli 2008 Germany Leipzig Halbinsel Pouch Splash! Festival
14. Juli 2008 The Netherlands Nijmegen Valkhof Affaire Fest
16. Juli 2008 France Perpignan Les Estival
18. Juli 2008 France Besançon Camp Bestival
19. Juli 2008 UK London Lovebox Festival
25. Juli 2008 Germany Köln Underground
01. Aug 2008 UK Brighton Komedia
02. Aug 2008 UK Stanton Stanton Calling
03. Aug 2008 UK Edinburgh Castle Palooza Festival
04. Aug 2008 Ireland Dublin tba
05. Aug 2008 UK Edinburgh Liquid Rooms
10. Aug 2008 UK Bristol Bloom Fest

More dates to be confirmed!