Biography
Sound Dimension functioned as Studio One’s resident ensemble and generated many of Jamaica’s most lasting and widely embraced riddims, issuing a series of landmark instrumental recordings while also supplying the instrumental foundation for countless vocal successes on the label. Among reggae listeners the ensemble’s output came to represent the period’s signature sound across a five-year span stretching from 1968 to 1972. Following the Skatalites’ breakup in 1965, pianist Jackie Mittoo established himself at Studio One in the combined roles of arranger, composer, and performer. The first group he assembled there was known as the Soul Brothers. As rocksteady gained prominence the personnel changed and the unit adopted the new name the Soul Vendors. During a 1967 visit to Britain, guitarist Eric Frater acquired an echo unit that he brought back to Jamaica. The device’s hallucinatory tones prompted the musicians to rename themselves Sound Dimension in 1968. At that point the lineup comprised Mittoo, Frater, lead guitarist Ernest Ranglin, drummer Leroy “Horsemouth” Wallace, rising bassist Leroy Sibbles, and horn players Vin Gordon, Cedric Brooks, and former Skatalite Don “Deadly Headley” Bennett, together with additional members. After Mittoo moved to Canada in 1968, Robbie Lyn or Richard Ace regularly occupied the keyboard chair, though the pianist continued to participate in sessions whenever he returned. Sound Dimension began releasing material in 1967 with the tracks “Walk Don’t Run” and “Swing Easy,” then delivered a series of notable instrumentals the next year that included “Mojo Rocksteady,” “Musical Scorcher,” “Heavy Rock,” “African Chant,” and “Rockfort Rock.” “Mojo” remained a steady favorite across subsequent decades, yet “Rockfort” achieved even greater longevity. The two selections that exerted the widest influence, however, were “Full Up” and “Real Rock.” Because of its relaxed atmosphere, “Full Up” later became identified as the “Country” riddim. One of the most frequently versioned compositions in reggae, its melody reached number one on the British singles chart when Musical Youth recorded “Pass the Dutchie.” Still more consequential was “Real Rock,” which has been versioned more often than any other reggae rhythm. Over time it has underpinned so many successful recordings that it stands apart from other riddims, and like “Full Up” it continues to be reused extensively. In 1969 the group issued another batch of strong singles such as “Rathid,” “Soulful Strut,” “Time Is Tight,” “Return of the Scorcher,” and “Drum Song.” The last of these, originally issued under the Soul Vendors name, likewise proved durable. Although Sound Dimension kept producing quality singles into the early 1970s, none matched the earlier material in lasting appeal. Even so, most of the later releases enjoyed strong favor on sound systems. The musicians’ contributions are equally audible on the many vocal sides Studio One issued during the same years, since numerous Dimension singles were instrumental counterparts to vocal releases. Toward the end of the decade Coxsone Dodd revived several of the group’s rhythms and reworked them for contemporary audiences, achieving notable results. Other producers had already begun the practice in the mid-1970s, drawing on both Soul Vendors and Sound Dimension rhythms to create additional hits. The ensemble’s recordings appear on numerous anthologies, yet the Soul Jazz label gathered a selection for the 2006 release Jamaica Soul Shake, Vol. 1 and the 2008 collection Mojo Rocksteady Beat.
Albums