Stubborn Records is a real,
honest-to-goodness, truly independent DIY label with deep roots in the east
coast ska and reggae scenes. We are a small operation totally supported by you,
our favorite people-- true fans of Jamaican and Jamaican-inspired music from
around the world.
King Django says:
I started Stubborn
Records in 1992. I was a die-hard ska and reggae
fan and my heroes growing up were people like Prince Buster,
Coxsone Dodd and Lee Perry. It was only natural
for me to start a label to release both my own recordings and those of my talented
friends. Ska and reggae are the musics that originally inspired me to become
a musician. The mid '90s were great times in NYC for that, and it was like a
dream come true to be able to champion the cause of this very special music.
The first release on the label was Skinnerbox Tales
of the Red in CD and cassette(!) formats. Over the next
7 years, we were able to release 10 CDs and a pile of 7" vinyl records.
Things didn't really hit a boil until the end of '96 when I began putting together
the Version City Studio.
Once that was in swing, we were cranking out some of the most fun records I
have had the pleasure to work on. Since that time, I've been lucky enough to
continue making my own music as well as steadily working in the studio producing,
engineering and doing guest appearances for many other wonderful artists.
In 2003 we started taking
in a lot of outside product with the focus on classic ska, reggae, rocksteady,
reggae and dub from around the world. This enabled us to spread the good word
of our favorite music, and also to strengthen the label and support and develop
local artists. For a while we were chiefly licensing the output of Version City
to great friends of ours at labels like Jump Up, Megalith and Asian Man. Lately
we've been able to once again start releasing our own records, and we've got
a steady stream of releases lined up. In late 2006 I was privileged to start
the Version City vinyl label in Kingston, Jamaica with the assistance of Mr.
Bertram Brown who ran Freedom Sounds records there from the 1970s until his
untimely passing in September of 2008. During that time we were able to release
about nine 45s on the Version City label featuring Jamaican and American artists,
as well as a number of singles which I co-produced for the Freedom Sounds label.
My goal for stubbornrecords.com
is to continually seek out and bring back to you you the best in hard-to-find
and underground music-- both old and new ska, reggae, dub, dancehall, punk rock
and other cool interesting stuff from Jamaica, the US and around the world.
Please feel free to drop
me a line any time at info@stubbornrecords.com
ONE LOVE
King Django
November, 2008
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