FEBRUARY 2026 ISSUE
A sneaky peek of just some of what is in the February 2026 issue – OUT NOW!
INCOGNITO
I’m thinking first we should explain the rabbit.
So, the new Incognito album is titled Music. Magic. Ironic. And magicians are prone to producing rabbits out of hats, right? Well… OK, let’s hand over to group leader Bluey Maunick, who can further expand on the theory:
“The title of the album goes back to when I was four or five years old, on the beaches of Mauritius, where I grew up. I used to sit on a little bench with my grandmother – we used to watch the sunset together – and I liked it there because I knew what was going to happen: the people would come from the sugar cane fields at the end of the day…
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UK REGGAE 1976
In the beginning was Black Echoes, the weekly black music newspaper launched on January 31, 1976 that morphed into today’s Echoes and began a 50-year, unbroken history of covering soul, reggae and other forms of black music, without apology. It’s a remarkable legacy, founded in a very different era when the internet, social media or mobile phones didn’t exist, and the only publications covering Britain’s vibrant reggae scene were Black Music and the occasional fanzine. Being a weekly, Black Echoescould offer more up-to-date news of releases, tours and features than any of its rivals. It made essential reading, and the paper’s UK reggae singles and album charts not only let everyone know what was selling but provided other important functions as well – just listen to any number of veteran UK reggae artists as they proudly recount their No. 1 hits.
The first Echoes chart was dominated by Jamaican releases, as you’d expect…
RAHSAAN ROLAND KIRK
The 1990s was a decade of ubercool names in soul. D’Angelo. Ledisi. Adriana. Bilal. Goapele. And then there was Rahsaan Patterson. His talent alone, from that gilded voice to the songwriting chops on the classic Love In Stereo would have assured him a place in hearts and minds, but he stood out for the seven letters of his unique identifier. Once heard the two crisp syllables of Rahsaan were not forgotten.
Jazz fans related. After all, the designation was in honour of Rahsaan Roland Kirk, one of the most uncommon legends in a genre of music full of legends. Known for his ability to blow several saxophones at once, as he played music that was as emotionally charged as it was technically adventurous, Kirk was a blind man who nonetheless had extraordinary artistic vision.
VP RECORDS
When the story of reggae music is told, attention inevitably turns to labels such as Studio One and Treasure Isle, which ruled sixties Jamaica. Few onlookers back then would have imagined that Vincent and Patricia Chin, owners of Randy’s record store on North Parade, would play such an important role in the music’s history after relocating to the US in the late seventies and founding VP Records – the world’s leading reggae label and distributers.
Randy’s celebrated their own 50th Anniversary in 2008 by issuing an essential three-disc compilation on the 17 North Parade label called Randy’s 50th Anniversary. This included two CDs of music, plus a DVD of the film Story Of Randy’s. Nearly 20 years later, those same tracks have been repackaged as two double LP sets, with Chapters One and Two being split between Randy’s sixties and seventies output…