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Buru Style started with the heartbeat. For the first few years Buru had a rotating crew of musicians that all shared a love of thunderously pounding Nyabingi rhythms and the minimal and fractured soundscapes of dub, and all the music the group played, whether by Cedric Brooks, Count Ossie, or original, emanated from that place. Buru Style began backing singers in 2007. First Dion Knibb, then Toussaint Liberator and ultimately Ras Coley, Lady Lee, the Ghanian superstar Shasha Marley, Haiti-by-way-of-Boston firebrand Ajani and a whole mess of others too. The group really has a few sides: the avant-dub instrumentals, the traditional reggae backing band, and, more recently, the roots-funk stuff too.

It might seem a little strange to play both dub and funk/soul, but really it just isn’t. It’s all music from what Paul Gilroy dubbed the “Black Atlantic,” meaning it’s all sounds that result from four centuries of intermingling West African and European musical ideas and practices. Both reggae and funk are defined by the interlocking grooves of drums, electric basses and guitars, keyboards, and horns. Ultimately Buru’s original sound lands somewhere in the middle of the two styles but is heavily influenced by both.

Recently Buru Style has been recording like crazy. In the next few months they’ll be dropping their first instrumental album, “The Crab,” a full length album with Toussaint the Liberator, and an album with vocalist Ras Coley .

The "2 Draw a Day into Champion," "Taxi," "Sit and Talk About It," and "Lovin U" feature the giant voice of Toussaint Liberator (Soulive, Toussaint and the China Band). "Sit and Talk" is from our recent and oh-so-gloriously slamming show at The Blue Note in NYC and "Taxi" is from our performance at the 2008 Feet to the Fire Festival, the others are from our recent slot at Bishop's Lounge in Northampton.

The "O Nine" riddim features our dear friend and collaborator Ajani, from Haiti via Boston, and his great backing vocalists Sam and Mel. It was recorded at the "Three the Hard Way" show at the Western Front in Cambridge that also featured Lady Lee and Toussaint. Some Lady Lee will be up soon.

This version of Count Ossie and the Mystic Revelation of Rastafari's 400 Years is a little different for the group. Usually solos are less prominent, but on this occasion--a middle of the night (1-3AM) performance in our now-Canadian bound saxophonist Kyle's living room--Jared Sims (1st solo, Bari sax) and Kyle Brenders (2nd solo, Tenor) were particularly inspired. It's Bill and Craig Welsh on bingi drums here, no drumset.

Cedric Brook's seriously serious composition Sabayindah is a favorite of the band, although it is quite hard to keep it as slow as it wants to go (and it's also hard to call such a deep slow number once the crowd gets bumpin'). This version was culled from a live performance at Matt Murphy's in Boston.