10.28.05 (MusicPortal.com) During the months of November and December, streetwear brand 55DSL along with Trojan Records will bring a unique art and music exhibition to venues in the UK cities of Liverpool (Polished T, November 17th), Birmingham (The Rainbow, December 1st), and Glasgow (Carnival Arts Centre, December 8th) during November and December. "55 Roots" is a retrospective celebration of Roots music and it's influence on youth culture and popular music. Six new up and coming artists have been carefully selected for the exhibition to visually interpret a selection of sixteen original Trojan Records tracks. Artists include Dragon and Shibuya from Japan, Mitchy Bwoy of Straight No Chaser and BUGZ IN THE ATTIC fame, as well as James Carey, Jim Stoten, and Peter Quinnell. Born in Shiga in Tokyo, artist Dragon resides in the cultural city of Osaka, Japan. Drawing upon strong influences in black culture, Dragon captures the vitality and views of a minority. For the first time, 55DSL will be bringing him together with his largest influence Trojan Records to create live and original artwork before the eyes of a young and influential crowd. Dragon has previously painted live at venues around the world, most recently at Rocket and NOS Gallery in Tokyo. A limited edition magazine edited by Paul Bradshaw, publisher and editor of Straight No Chaser and designed by Mitchy Bwoy will be available to through 55DSL UK wholesale accounts and attendees, together with a limited edition mix CD featuring the 18 tracks that inspired the art. Since its creation in 1968, Trojan Records has led the way in presenting the very best in classic Jamaican sounds, from the Rocksteady and early Reggae sounds that dominated in the years of its launch, up to the modern styles of Dancehall, Jungle and Ska. With releases form the likes of BOB MARLEY & THE WAILERS, Dennis Brown, John Holt, Ken Boothe, TOOTS AND THE MAYTALS, INNER CIRCLE, Arthur "Duke" Reid, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Clement "Coxsone" Dodd and Leslie Kong, their roster has featured some of the all-time greatest Roots artists. However, Trojan Records' influence is more fundamental than that - it's inspired generations of people throughout its existence.The mods and the skinheads of the 1960's all reference Roots music and Trojan as major influences, while Johny Rotten of THE SEX PISTOLS was seen by the Jamaica contingency as one of their own, and more recently the likes of ROOTS MANUVA have referenced and even named themselves after the Roots music genre.

[Ethnic News: September 2005]
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