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After making music together for three decades, drummer Bruce Benjamin  and bassie Herb Daly recently embarked on the “100 Riddim Project.”  Recalling how his artist father stretched canvases to paint later, Bruce  decided to apply the same principle to compiling a catalog of roots  rhythms that could be colored beautifully with the singers and musicians  he loves. Bruce’s Actual Music Productions recorded a large selection  of Herb’s original foundation bass lines on 2" analog tape at Oakland’s  Wally Sound Studios with the Stamina! Allstars (Herb and Bruce, along  with Mike Mongiello, Rusty Zinn and John Nevin).

The  tracks were then sent to Kingston, JA to be overdubbed and mixed by the  very best in the Jamaican music industry. Enter the extremely talented  singer/songwriter Paul “Lymie” Murray (who has worked in different  capacities with Dennis Brown, Freddie McGregor, Burning Spear, Judy  Mowatt, Luciano, and Etana) whose vocal palette laid down some of  Jamaica’s most stylistic, soulful, and satisfying examples of  contemporary reggae to date. He also more than assisted in the  production, bringing in an elite list of session masters (including  familiar old-school names like Robbie Lyn, Franklin “Bubbler” Waul, Sly  Dunbar, Noel “Scully” Simms, Dean Fraser and Nambo Robinson). Let’s not  omit the legendary “Mr. Rocksteady” Ken Boothe, whose duet with Lymie,  “Mutual Feeling,” has the makings of a surefire hit in what is Mr.  Boothe’s sixth decade of blessing us with his golden voice. Finally, the  professional mixing excellence of Michael Williamson, Fatta Marshall  and Clive Hunt added the rich textures that were so essential to this  world-class work of art. Good Things Forward is the result of this  special collaboration showcasing Lymie Murray on Actual Music  Productions’ first Stamina! Allstars release.

The reggae revival  is growing as a new wave of conscious roots begins to move forward in  Jamaica, America and many other international communities. Here is our  contribution, straight from the hearts of the Stamina! Allstars, who  have long been steadfast in their passion for upholding a quality  standard and a sincere yearning to play another crucial groove.

Good Things Forward is available for download with Apple Music